I really enjoyed this lighthearted read; Ms. Samson crafts such genuine characters they are always fun to read about. This is her first teen novel I've read (reviewing it for my kids' Christian school library). That being said, this is probably definitely at least middle school level, as the main character's life involves seeing the movie world behind the scenes, so sex and drug & alcohol use are brought up (but definitely with the right perspective). In this book, Scotty is not a Christian, but she is interested in Jesus and maybe sort of believes in God, or not! This would be a good book for any young person to read, I think. Her attitude towards sex is that it is definitely not a choice she is willing to sacrifice her future for right now (she's about to turn sixteen), and she sees drugs/alcohol in a negative light - having seen the reality of people who are controlled by substance abuse. But these themes are really tangential, not major topics. Her main "thing" seems to be that she prizes people who are KIND and tries to be so to others. A very winning character. And I think young people will appreciate her celebrity review-type blog entries, interspersed with diary entries and narratives. I was just going to read them to check for content, but I want to find out what happens to her next!
Hollywood Nobody was a great and fairly fast read and I cannot wait to read the next few in the series. The story of Scotty is told through many different ways with using just plain first person narrative, her diary, and her blog entries. Scotty is a diverse 15 year old that only wants what anyone at any age wants, to not be lonely. Lisa Samson did a great job of really sharing Scotty's life through this book. I can relate to Scotty and see where she gets her emotions and her strengths from. Not only do you get to read about a little Hollywood, but you also get a little romance, some family love, some suspense and extreme plot twists, but there is also this little mention of Christ's love. It is just enough that I do not think this book would scare anyone away, but perhaps interest them in just the slightest to be curious for a little more information. Which in my experience tends to be the best way to be an evangelical.
For me this book also slightly depressed me, but that's because I'm a lonely person and seeing how lonely Scotty was at times made me think of my own lonely-ness. Also, as ridiculous as it might be, it also made my slightly jealous of her. I write a blog too, but I cannot say that my rants and ravings give anything near the amount of people and comments as she. Sometimes, well most times, I feel like I write and nobody is listening nor cares. But either way, that just shows one of my weaknesses that I shall work on in the future of my own lonely attitude.
