{My Thoughts} – Peer pressure can be one of the more difficult things that any teenager has to deal with in their lives. However, it doesn’t just happen to teens, it can happen to anyone at any age and it isn’t fun when you are stuck trying to figure out what you think you should do that is right verses what your friends would prefer you do. More often then not, the friends win and many poor choices are the end result.

Caitlin is an awkward individual. She has to deal with so much in her life that bothers her in terms of anxiety and other mental type issues that she doesn’t really function like someone should at her age. She has a cousin named Heller that is the complete opposite of her. She has no problems getting out there and showing the world what she is made of and that she won’t back down.

Heller is this famous television star that is now the star of a new hit movie series that is based on a set of books called Angel Wars. Heller has been in so much trouble lately that the producers of her movie and her manager is worried she won’t be able to stay out of trouble until the premiere. This is where Caitlin comes in. Caitlin is Christian and she is grounded in her beliefs. She has been home schooled and sheltered from everything that could influence her from making really poor decisions. However, Heller seems to need her so she is going to help Heller to stay on track so that they can make it to the premiere of the movie.

A lot goes on within this book. There is a lot of self discovery, of finding out who one really is. There’s a lot of standing up for one’s beliefs and taking charge in situations where you might think you are in over your head. There is so much that takes place and it all reads rather quickly.

There are a ton of questions that come up while reading this book and I can promise they all get answered.

I really enjoyed reading this book and the descriptions of the Angel Wars books as well. It helped to tie the book into a nice little bow and it was all easy to follow. I think that any teenager that reads this book will be able to relate to the language, the peer pressure and the storyline to an extent. Most importantly I think they will be able to understand just where it is that Caitlin and Heller were coming from as individuals within it’s pages.

There wasn’t much I didn’t like about this book other then the character Sophie. I couldn’t stand thinking that a thirteen year old could act the way she did and I’d be grounding my child for a long time if she came even close to that behavior. I am sure most will think it’s normal and natural, but it all depends on how you were raised, how you raise your children and if you children do indeed have a moral compass. ( )

Caitlin is a pure, homeschooled, sheltered, Christian girl from a large family that sings religious songs together. It has been four years since something happened between her and her cousin Heller. Heller has become a big movie star and the premiere of her blockbuster movie is coming out soon. Suddenly Heller's mom (Caitlin's aunt) visits out of the blue. She asks Caitlin if she would be willing to "babysit" Heller and keep her out of trouble for the final days before the premiere. Heller has been in rehab and has been linked to numerous scandals. Caitlin sees this as an opportunity to serve God and reform her fallen cousin (they used to be best friends). As the story unfolds we learn what happened four years ago that tore them apart and we see them go through an interesting series of events/adventures. Fun read with a good ending. ( )

Caitlin and Heller are cousins who could not be more opposite in their personalities and experiences.
Caitlin’s mother and aunt convince her to chaperone Heller in the weeks preceding Heller’s big movie
premiere. Keeping Heller out of trouble is no easy task amid parties, drugs, and Heller’s anything
goes attitude. Caitlin is doing a good job keeping control of Heller, but is shocked to wake up one day
in jail to find that she has a tattoo, pierced nose, and dyed hair, and doesn’t remember how it
happened. The story unfolds as Caitlin discovers what happened that night. As a result of their time
together Caitlin and Heller’s relationship grows as they discover truths about themselves and each
other.
The story and the characters in this book are well-developed. The reader can find qualities they relate
to in each of the main characters, straight-laced Caitlin or rebellious Heller. While reading to find out
how Caitlin would up in jail, the relationship of Caitlin and Heller is defined and strengthened. The
fast pace of the story made it an easy read. The book does contain profanity and refer to some sexual
innuendo if readers are concerned about content. ( )

Caitlin Singleberry is about as straight-laced as they come, even in her conservative Christian family who perform together as the Singing Singleberrys. Her life is going along just fine, thank you very much, when her aunt Nancy (aka Ecstasy) rolls back into town asking for a favor. It seems her celebrity daughter Heller Harrigan is going on a press junket for her new film, Angel Wars, and needs someone to keep her under control as her drug and alcohol problem have spiraled out of control. Mom and aunt convince Caitlin to take on the role, who reluctantly agrees, thinking the Lord was challenging her to guide Heller to a better way of living. Heller, as you might expect, is less than enthusiastic about her cousin chaperone, causing trouble for her staff and Caitlin at every turn.

Rudnick is a screen-writer, so excels at fun dialogue and moving a plot along, with chapter breaks that demand that you keep reading the next one, and so on. I thoroughly enjoyed his first YA release, Gorgeous, so picked this one off the shelf without even reading the jacket description, knowing I was in for a good read. The characters start out as caricatures, extreme examples of the good girl and the bad girl. As the reader, you know they'll have to come to the middle to be more believable, and Rudnick accomplishes this successfully. On top of being straight-laced, Caitlin also has anxiety, making it hard for her to do anything out of her comfort zone. Heller is not just a babied celebrity - she started of as a Hannah Montana type of TV character and the fan base for the wildly successful Angel Wars book series seriously challenges her ability to succeed as their favorite character. Plus, the girls were childhood friends until a significant incident occurs, causing a rift which we know as we read will have to be healed in our story. This book is funny, fun and touching - not a life-changing story but an entertaining romp.

This book is for high school, 9th grade and up. There are some sex and drug use references, plus language which may or may not be appropriate for a middle-school reader. As a librarian, I didn't find a huge audience for Gorgeous, but I was able to interest quite a few of my more adventuresome readers, especially those who needed a change from some of their curricular readings or the surplus of dystopian YA fiction. ( )

Seventeen-year-old Caitlin Singleberry is a proper Christian teenager and member of a family singing group, but today she has been given a truly impossible assignment--keep her cousin Heller Harrigan, Hollywood wild child, out of trouble for the last weekend before her first big movie debuts. ( )