Hollywood is Like High School With Money (Book Review)

Title: Hollywood is Like High School With Money
Author: Zoey Dean
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing/Hachette

First sentence: Dear Michael, You'll never guess where I am.

My synopsis: Taylor has just moved to L.A. and gotten her first real job. She is working as the second assistant to Iris Whitaker, the seventh most powerful woman in Hollywood. She has dreamed of making movies since seeing Journal Girl as a teenager. What most people had considered a flop, Taylor had claimed a masterpiece and had been sending letters to Michael Deming, the movie's director, ever since.

So now here she was--her first day of her dream job at Metronome. Unfortunately her immediate boss, Kylie, the first assistant, only shows her the bare necessities of surviving and then leaves her to flounder. Since Kylie appears to be the queen of all the assistants, Taylor soon views herself as the misfit and can't seem to fit in.

Taylor realizes that she doesn't wear the trendy clothes or drive a new Prius, but she doesn't know what to do to break through the wall--to be on equal ground with her peers. Then she meets Quinn.

Quinn in the 16-year-old daughter of Iris. She hadn't put much credence in the saying "Hollywood is like high school with money" until now. Maybe with Quinn's help, she can scale the wall and learn how to handle herself better at work! Quinn agrees to help - but only if Taylor promises her one favor--anytime, anywhere--and then the games begin.

First, Quinn brings over a bag of clothes that are 'so last year' to her and her friends, but compared to Taylor's current Gap wardrobe - they are tres chic. As time passes some of the other rules Quinn passes on are - Fake it until you make it- and - It's never your fault. Things seem to be working out in Taylor's favor until she gets a chance at a promotion. Her main competition appears to be Kylie. Quinn's advice is to go after Kylie's boyfriend. She feels that will devastate her and take her out of the running for the promotion. Taylor is not sure she can follow through with something so devious - but after she meets him, she finds herself falling for him! She just doesn't understand how he can be attracted to Kylie - the girl he describes to Taylor as his girlfriend sounds like a different person entirely!

Does Taylor succeed in getting the promotion? Or has she finally gone too far? You must read this book to find out!

My thoughts: This book was a fun read, even though you could take it a step further and get some good life lessons out of it! I really related to Taylor as I was never one of the "popular" kids (I was a book geek - go figure). I found myself rooting for her and wanted her to win against the beautiful and popular Kylie. I wasn't disappointed when things started to turn around. The author does a good job in showing the changes in Taylor and how subtly they can happen. If you want a good summer read - then this would be a good pick!

Hollywood is Like High School With Money
Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing, July 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-69719-4
288 pages