In Hollywood, fame can be found on every corner and behind any door. You just have to know where to look for it. Nineteen-year-old Madison Parker made a name for herself as best frenemy of nice-girl-next-door Jane Roberts on the hot reality show L.A. Candy. Now Madison's ready for her turn in the spotlight and she'll stop at nothing to get it. Sure, she's the star of a new show, but with backstabbing friends and suspicious family members trying to bring her down, Madison has her work cut out for her. Plus, there's a new nice girl in "reality" town—aspiring actress Carmen Price, the daughter of Hollywood royalty—and she's a lot more experienced at playing the fame game... When the camera's start rolling, whose star will shine brighter?Reality TV isn't really familiar to me, though it isn't completely unfamiliar either. With this book, I felt as though it was pretty much like reading a book based on a reality television... and I'm not talking about the part of the book that is indeed about a reality show. If that was the intended outcome, then Conrad definitely succeeded in that. If it wasn't... well, it was.
Filled with characters both familiar and new, Lauren Conrad's series about the highs and lows of being famous delivers Hollywood gossip and drama at every turn.
This is a spin-off series from Lauren's L.A. Candy series. I have to admit, I tried reading L.A. Candy and it really just didn't work out for me - which is why you will never see a review for that book on this blog - I don't review DNF's for many reasons, including being fair to the author and giving them more positive publicity through those that do enjoy the books. With that being said, I can say that it was a good thing that I did read at least some of L.A. Candy because it helped the scoring of this book.
One of my big things in reading a book is checking out the writing - and every single aspect of it. I can honestly say that the writing in this book compared to L.A. Candy is much MUCH better, and it really shows that the author has evolved with each of her stories. I also enjoyed Madison as a character, which was surprising to me considering that I spent a good portion of the book having a very love/hate relationship with her.
As a matter of fact, I had a love/hate relationship with most of this book and its characters - ultimately finding more "hate" with the other characters than "love" like I did with Madison. Unlike her role in the L.A. Candy series, Madison is definitely more fleshed out and developed in this book, which is its own saving grace considering this is her book/story. The other characters fell a little flat for me. There wasn't much growth nor maturation, rather the characters seemed to be shallow and not much more past that. However, they were pretty good for some laughs.
The plot of this book was pretty much non-existent... or just seemed to play hide-and-go-seek with me, and I failed miserably at seeking. I couldn't tell you a single commentary about what the actual storyline of this book was as it felt more like a story told the way stories are told in tabloids - which, again, could have been a nod to that whole "reality television" feel that seemed to have been missed on me.
I'm sure it seems that I am ripping this book a new one because I hated it, but it's not true. In fact, it wasn't an incredibly atrocious read - it was actually fun. I'm just being hard because I feel like this story could have been taken to the next level because it does have the potential to get there. Having said all of this, even though this wasn't my favorite read of the year... I could definitely see where a lot of teens and reality show fans would love this book. If you're one of these, I would recommend checking this book out and forming your own opinion.
Rating: ★★★✩✩ Avg 3.57
Source: Young Adult Books Central
Title: The Fame GameAuthor: Lauren Conrad
Series: The Fame Game, Book 1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover, 313 pages
Release Date: April 3, 2012
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