The Princess of Pop

Rating:
Summary: Cathy Hopkins does it again!
Review: Cathy Hopkins is a genius when it comes to young adult fiction. In this series, we meet up with some new girls. The Princess of Pop is from a girl named Becca's point of view. As a dare, she auditions in a contest that is very much like American Idol. She actually makes it pretty far, but discovers along the way that maybe she isn't as bad as she really thinks she is. Becca goes from always criticizing her body type to liking herself just a little bit more. I gobbled this book up in one day. In fact, I HAD to run to Borders to get the next two in the series. This series is worth reading. Congratulations Cathy Hopkins!

Rating:
Summary: Very cute story for teen readers.
Review: Fourteen-year-old Becca Howard made a miserable failure of herself trying out for the school production of "Grease." When she hears about the Pop Princess competition, it's not something she would normally go for. But when her friends dare her to enter, she has no choice -- and surprisingly finds herself really getting into it. She never thought she'd get anywhere -- and ends up getting to travel to London for the finals! But as the competition, and the practice for it, begin to take up more and more of Becca's time, she finds herself neglecting her friends. Can Becca have a chance at winning without betraying who she really is? I highly recommend this really cute book to teenage girls, who will enjoy the contemporary pop culture themes. Fans of Cathy Hopkins' "Mates, Dates" series will love this new series, "Truth or Dare."

Rating:
Summary: a fun look at stardom and self-discovery
Review: The second book in the Truth or Dare series is even stronger than the first. Becca's story centers on an exciting American Idol type contest --- "Pop Princess" and "Pop Prince." Becca may have chickened out at the tryouts for her school play Grease, but this contest becomes more than a laugh for her and her friends as she starts to rise through the eliminations.

Does she really want this? Becca now has to endure image changes, stress, judges who seem out to get her and the added tension of her parents fighting at home as she keeps returning for higher and higher levels of the competition. Some other teens in the contest, like Jade, her boyfriend Mac's sister, seem confident and ready for stardom. Becca doesn't even know what she's doing but finds that she is up to the challenge when she needs to be, especially with the support of her friends.

But her friends don't always seem to fully grasp what she is going through, especially Mac. They don't understand that she needs to spend every minute getting ready for her big contest. As she moves past her obsession with the competition, Becca's path to find herself and straighten her priorities will endear her to readers, even if they have not been through the contest process themselves.

The roller coaster ride of the competition will keep readers turning the pages. Becca resolves to tough it out, and readers will be somewhat surprised but satisfied by the ending.

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