Girl Stays in the Picture

Girl Stays in the Picture

Melissa de la Cruz

Simon and Schuster

$16.99

June 2009

FTC: This is a library book. I did not receive it from the publisher or author.

Characters 15/20

Plot 10/20

Setting 15/20

Cover 20/20

Ending 20/20

Total grade: 80% B

Total rating: 14+

Summary: (Amazon)

The newest rich girls series from de la Cruz (Au Pairs, Blue Bloods) cuts between the points of view of three teenagers: pop star Devon, celebutante Livia and Casey, assistant to singer Summer Garland, Devon's rival. The three girls converge on the French island of Saint-Tropez for the summer-where egos collide and designer outfits compete on a regular basis-and manage to become friends. Tabloid excerpts, blog entries and magazine articles between chapters provide a paparazzi-eye view of the girls' back-stories and report juicy, hyped-up gossip on their nights out, drinks imbibed, possible love affairs and exaggerated, nasty interactions. All three struggle with insecurities about their success (or lack of it) under the constant watch of the gossip-hungry. Those hoping for a new spin on the genre needn't bother, though there is enough boy-drama, label dropping, club hopping and backstabbing to satisfy those addicted to Gossip Girl-style series-and better yet, it all takes place on the French Riviera.

My Thoughts:

I adore the Au Pairs series so I was hoping this would be just as great. It was good but it didn’t match up. The plot lacked anything super new from the typical “rich girl” story. The characters were similar to many books. I felt that she should have mixed things up a lot more. Maybe I am being too picky but I wasn’t looking for a common book. I recommend this as a beach read!

Quotes:

Here is a random quote I found by opening to a random page:

So this is why dresses like this cost three thousand dollars instead of three hundred