Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book....great read!
Review: I am not familiar with Lisa Jewell's other work. This book just 'found me.' I'm glad it did. Jewell tells the story of two sisters -- Bee is the one-hit wonder of the title and Ana is the ugly duckling forced to live in Bee's shadow. When Bee suddenly dies, Ana's mother sends her to London to collect Bee's belongings. Not content to just pack and go, Ana begins to unravel the mystery that was her sister. She tracks down Bee's friends, lovers (past and present) and she realizes what a sad and tragic life her sister led. I love Jewell's fresh take on the glitz and glamour of the 1980's rock scene. She has great storytelling abilities. Even though the love story was telegraphed way ahead of its final development, I enjoyed learning about Bee, Ana, Gay, Lolita, Flint, and Zander. This is an author to watch. She's got talent to let. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Wonder-ful
Review: An easily-digested, thoroughly enjoyable little gem of the so-called chick-lit genre. I read it in a day and was loathe to put it down once I'd started. It's the adventures of Ana, the half-sister of Bea Bearhorn, '80s pop star. Ana comes to London after Bea's suicide, meeting her sister's friends and finding out about the one hit wonder's frequently unhappy life. The characters are likeable and if not they're always redeemable, and all's well that ends well. It's not literature and who cares? Lisa Jewell herself strikes me as a top chick, giving out practical advice on writing on her website, www.lisa-jewell.co.uk. It's refreshing to come across someone who wants you to have a crack at what they've been successful at, rather than someone who's up their own where-the-sun-don't-shine, jangling the Keys to the Gate of the Literati in one hand, London Review of Books in the other.
Rating: 
Summary: It's pleasant reading
Review: I have read Jewell's other two books and found them more entertaining than this one ~~ this book is more morbid and darker of the two. It is also slow-going at first, then it picks up then all of a sudden, the story drops off and leaves the reader slightly disappointed. Also, once again, Jewell seems to be obssessed with potty humor ~~ and it's a big turn-off for me (the bad language is typical for this sort of novel and not as grating as it would have been with a different author). Ana Wills is sent to London by her mother to gather her sister's belongings and bring it home ~~ only when Ana arrives in London, she meets two of her sister's friends and stayed to solve the mystery of her sister's sudden death. Bee, her sister, is a pop star famous in the 80s ~~ then all of a sudden, her fame dies out and Ana is left to figure out who Bee is. And this is Ana's story ~~ as well as Bee's story entertwined as these two sisters grew up apart from one another. It's Bee's secret too that comes to light. Ana also comes to find love with Bee's best friend, Flint, and finding herself in the process as well. It's an amusing story ~~ pleasant beach-reading time as well. It's not as good as Thirtysomething, which was my favorite Jewell novel. But it's pleasant and quick and fun. 3-24-04
Rating:
Summary: Great writing, different story
Review: I loved Ralph's Party and ThirtyNothing, and this one was more serious to me. I thought that Jewell's writing was fantastic, she really takes you in, it's just that maybe the main character was too meek and mild for my taste. And, the man she ends up with was so totally out of character/left field. I thought the story was endearing, and I never considered putting the book down. If you've never read Jewell before, I'd say read one of her other books first.
Rating:
Summary: A great mystery in an amazing novel
Review: I picked this book out on a whim. I'm more of the light-hearted reader, my favorites books were the Shopaholic series, but this caught me. I'm a sucker for any well-written romance, so I wasn't so passionate about getting through this book at first. Let me tell you, it is, to date, the best novel I have ever read. The beginning is a little slow, but you are immediately hit with compassion for each and every character, for different reasons.
Jewell creates an extremely enticing world in this novel, with a cast of characters that everyone can relate to. I've always said that good writing is shown when you forget the writer and even the fact that you're reading; when you believe that the story is present day and you are surrounded by the current situation. Jewell does just that, but keeps it light-hearted. Because of the plotline, you keep turning pages. But because of the characters, you keep reading. And about that romance thing, Jewell does a great job in that department. I encourage you to enter this world that she's created, and enjoy every word of it. (I'm going to go order her other books.)
Rating:
Summary: I could "see" the characters !!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The writing is relaxed and confident. Having the two perspectives of Anna and Bee was a great contrast. Anna ia a bit of a wallflower who embarks on a journey to find out why her estranged sister Bee, a faded pop star, committed suicide. Bee's history is revealed truthfully but without judgement. While the premise seems grim, the combination of Anna's wise observations of people and her own path to personal fulfillment makes for a tremendous story.
Rating: 
Summary: Voyeurs
Review: I thought I would challenge my natural male fear of these 'Chick Lit' books, when unlucky enough to come across this one...... but it turns out that my taste, that is, for well written literature, can just not be over-come. This is bad, bad writing - bad characters, bad dialogue, bad plot - but since it is a book for lonely Auntie Mildreds past their sell-by date, none of this is important, the attraction of these books are psychological, not literary. By reading about prettier, thinner women finding the 'Flint' (please, no) of their dreams, the need for love is momentarily satisfied. What a cheap illusion. Silly girlies: even if you dont want to be taken seriously yourself, PLEASE stop insulting femalekind everywhere by buying stupid mindnumbing drivel like this.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best novels I have read in a long time
Review: I'm an extremely avid reader, and I find that so many of the books I read are okay, with no obvious flaws, but certainly nothing to write home about either. Often, the characters experience unrealistic dilemmas, are victims of unbelievable coincidences, and frustratingly repeat the same stupid patterns over and over again. Happily, One Hit Wonder was a refreshing, delightful change. Ana Wills, a gangly 25 year old living with her mother in the London countryside, has just been informed of the death of her much older half-sister, Bee Bearhorn. When Ana was only four years old, Bee went off to London to live with her own father and to pursue stardom--which came to her briefly with a hit single in the mid-1980s. At the time of her death, Bee had been estranged from Ana and her mother for over a decade, but as Bee's only surviving relatives, they are her only inheritants. At her mother's insistence, Ana goes to London on what is supposed to be a day trip to pack up Bee's things. Once there, however, she finds herself enraptured by Bee's friends and caught up in the mystery of Bee's life and death, the latter of which may or may not have been a suicide. Jewell's true-to-life characters react in ways that seem real rather than contrived. She keeps the reader interested with flashbacks into Bee's past, which makes for an engrossing, absorbing read with a satisfying conclusion. Overall, this book was even better than Jewell's previous book, Thirty Nothing, and so I'm looking forward to reading her next one.
Rating:
Summary: One Hit Wonder is definitely a wonder.
Review: Lisa Jewell has done it again. After her success with Ralph's Party and Thirtysomething, she manages to deliver yet another literary art. With her latest book, One Hit Wonder, Jewell has already proved herself just the opposite of what this title claims. You find yourself stuck inside the thoughts of a tall, lanky woman, Anabella, who has never really been able to live for herself. With the help of her overbearing mother and her already insecure self-esteem, she has never managed to become her own person. While constantly in the shadow of her successful celebrity sister who left home at age fifteen, Ana still has yet to leave home at the age of twenty-six. Bee is everything Ana wishes she could be and beyond. With a successful popstar reputation, a hefty amount of money on the table and her very own loft in London, she seems almost untouchable, immortal to her younger sister. What Ana wouldnt give to have Bee's life for just one day.. or perhaps forever. When Bee suddenly commits suicide, Ana finds herself hurrying to London to retrieve the last precious possesions of a foreign older sister. Little did she know that this innocent lapse of her lifestyle would turn into a permanent way of life and she would never be the same again. With the help of Bee's old friends, lovers and money, Ana discovers her extreme ability to live, laugh and love for herself for the first time in her life. Jewell keeps you on your toes with each mind-blowing secret that Ana uncovers on the search to find out who her beloved older sister really was- and on the search to find herself.
Rating:
Summary: One-Hit Wonder is a hit!
Review: Lisa Jewell is one of the best British chick lit writers out there. I thought her previous books, Ralph's Party and Thirtynothing, were great, but she's outdone herself with One-Hit Wonder! Ana Wills has always romanticized the life of her half-sister, Bee Bearhorn, a pop star who had a #1 hit record in the eighties. But then Bee appears dead in her London apartment. Now Ana must find the cause of her sister's mysterious death. This is chick lit mixed with a bit of mystery, which makes this novel even more enjoyable to read. One-Hit Wonder should be on every chick lit fans' list of summer must-reads! I urge to read it.
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