Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Lizzie Summers, Hudson Jones and Carina Jurgensen are 14-years-old, BFFs trying to escape the shadow of their rich/famous parents.

For Lizzie, her supermodel mom, Katia, is constantly turning heads. Lizzie’s father, who isn’t so graced in the looks department, is a well-known writer for the New York Times. Lizzie seemed to inherit her father’s gift for writing, more so than her mother’s breath-taking beauty.

Lizzie wonders if her mom notices that her daughter just isn’t pretty. Since Katia constantly insists she be in some of the photos (much to the photographer’s alarm) Lizzie assumes the answer to that is “no”.

Hudson is trying to carve her niche in the music world. With her own bluesy, sultry style and is in an up-hill battle with her pop-diva-superstar mother.

Carina is the fearless one of the group and loves the outdoors, whether she’s surfing, climbing mountains or snowboarding. Carina’s father is a media mogul and one of the richest men in the world. It is Karl’s (non-negotiable) desire that Carina takes over his business when she graduates.

On the eve of their first day as high school freshmen, the girls will help each other through tough issues and navigate the rough waters of growing up together; of course the return of Lizzie’s first kiss, Todd Piedmont, who just moved back from London and is 100 times hotter than when he left, makes life even more interesting.

Despite the usual suspects, the story feels fresh and very authentic. With less focus on high school lives and pecking order of the popularity ladder, and more focus on Lizzie, Hudson and Carina, whose strong friendship and loyalty helps to get them through first love, over-bearing parents and bad decisions.

Even with the presence of millions of dollars, upper-east/west-side mansions and celebrity parents, the issues are relatable, Lizzie and girls are very down-to-earth, accessible and grounded; they know what they want, but still have a naïve innocence about them. However, they’re still teenagers and despite their parents’ warnings and good intentions, they’re going to do what they think is best, usually resulting in a valuable lesson being learned.
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Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Poppy (May 1, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0316049009