Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List - Hardcover

Rallison, Janette

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802789919 ISBN 13: 9780802789914

Publisher: Walker Childrens, 2005

Synopsis

A PC school principal turns West Side Story into a comedy of errors.

Sixteen year-old Jessica dreams of Hollywood fame, and when Jordan moves into her small town, she dreams of him too. He's a movie star's son, and hey, he's gorgeous to boot. Jordan has always wanted to get out from the shadow cast by his superstar father, but now that he and his mother have moved so far away from LA, how can he get his divorced parents back together? Jessica convinces Jordan the way to get his father to come for a long visit is to be a part of the school play. And if she's "discovered" in the process, all the better. Things go wrong when she lets Jordan's secret identity slip, and grow even more disastrous when the principal tries to change West Side Story into a gangfree, violence-free, politically correct production.

In the same romantic and sharply witty spirit of Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws, Janette Rallison delivers another comic gem that teen readers are sure to love.

About this title

About the Author

Janette Rallison is the author of Playing the Field; All's Fair in Love, War, and High School; and Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws. She lives with her husband and their five kids, in Chandler, Arizona, where she continues to dream up book titles that use a whole lot of commas.

Reviews

Grade 7-10–Jessica, a junior in a small New Mexico town, dreams of Hollywood stardom. She is devastated when a lack of funds threatens cancellation of the school play. Into her life steps Jordan, a new student whose father is a famous actor. Jordan wants to keep this hidden, but Jessica hatches a scheme to save the play by revealing his identity to the drama teacher and promising that he will audition for a role. When Jordan's secret gets out, Jessica's plan is turned upside down and her relationship with him inside out. A confrontation with him causes her to miss getting the lead in West Side Story. Ultimately, she discovers that fame and fortune can hurt relationships, and their romance blossoms. The plot moves fast and there are some enjoyable parts, but the writing is average. The characters are sometimes fun, but Jessica is self-involved and manipulative. While this novel may appeal to fans of Meg Cabot, most teen girls will seek other, more sympathetic heroines.–Amy Patrick, New York Public Library
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Gr. 7-10. True to the book's title, Jessica's cool, hilarious, first-person narrative mocks her dreams of stardom. When gorgeous Jordan arrives in her small town in New Mexico, she falls in love with him. What really grabs her attention, though is the fact that his divorced dad is a movie idol. If Jordan can persuade his dad to come to their high-school production of West Side Story, he would see her great talent. The trouble is, everyone else at school has the same dream, and the performance, on and off the stage, degenerates into wild fighting and farce. The heavy attack on self-righteous political correctness seems more attuned to adults than teens, but plenty of readers will enjoy the fun of putting on a play, the humorous take on what can go wrong, and the rivalry, the embarrassment, and the romance between friends and lovers. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Walker Childrens
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802789919
• ISBN 13: 9780802789914
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192