Good Morning Everyone :)
Do any of you ever discover a book that you really love by an already fairly established author, and then decide to go back and read some of their earlier releases?
Well, ever since I first read The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel, I'd really been wanting to read more of her books.
I ended up reading When We Meet Again in January, and had a pretty positive experience with it as well.
When I discovered that she had written a young adult novel a few years ago that features one of my favorite book tropes-the famous person falling for the regular person-I knew I needed to give it a try.
It was such an adorable read, and today I'm excited to share my full review of it with all of you guys.
When You Wish by Kristin Harmel:
Source: Library
Publisher: Delacorte Books For Young Readers
Publication Date: February 12th, 2008
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Contemporary
Synopsis:
Star Beck is super-duper megastar famous. She rocks–literally–every night in concert for thousands of cheering fans. But the pop star life–tour buses, fauxmances, size 0 minis–is getting a little old. Star can’t help wondering what it would be like to be a regular girl–without paparazzi trailing her every move, and without people being nice just because, well, she’s Star Beck. And when she discovers that her mom has been lying to her for years about something very important, Star decides to find out what the world beyond her stage is like after all.
In the blink of an emerald green eye, Star finds herself . . . buying a car. Eating cheeseburgers. Swapping her stilettos for flip-flops. Getting a job that doesn’t require dancing, winking, or mall appearances. And falling for the cutest, realest boy she’s ever met. But how will she know if he feels the same way? Because for once in her life, someone is going to have to like her for who she really is.
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
After falling completely in love with Harmel's The Life Intended, I knew I wanted to give some of her earlier novels a chance. I'm usually a big fan of young adult novels, and the famous person falling for the regular person trope is one of my favorites, so When You Wish sounded like something I was probably going to enjoy, and I definitely did.
It's a cute, sweet coming of age novel that focuses around a sixteen year old girl "Star Beck" who's become a household name in the last six years, thanks to her hit TV show, and the four albums she's released that have each become huge successes. Everyone everywhere wants to be Star Beck, but unfortunately Star herself. She's feeling burned out on being a celebrity, on never having a say in her own life, and from everyone around her treating her like a dollar sign rather than a regular person. When she discovers that her mother has been keeping a huge secret from her, Star decides to run away, and try to live life as a normal teenager for a change. However, how can someone who's never known normal possibly ever be normal, and Star's in for quite a ride on her adventure to discover just who Star Beck truly is.
I've been hearing the term adorkable thrown around quite a bit in the book community lately, and to me, this charming story is the epiphany of this. Star is quirky, hysterically funny, and surprisingly relatable. It was refreshing to see how despite her huge success, she's still very down to earth, and has kept a fairly decent head on her shoulders throughout the entire ordeal. She also may be a celebrity, but she still needs to know that she matters truly to the people she should.
Her journey brings her into contact with a few different people, but I'm going to be honest that "cute textbook boy" was definitely my favorite. While the romance is slightly insta-lovey, I did still really enjoy it, and thought that Star and Nick were so stinkin cute.
As well, since I've only read more serious books by Kristin Harmel, I wasn't expecting this one to be quite so hilarious. The numerous antics Star finds herself in were downright hysterical, and in particular, I loved the passage where Star informs Nick that she attended "Sweet Valley High."
All in all, I adored this and gave it four out of five stars. It stays pretty clean too for the most part, with only mild thematic elements thrown into a few passages. I highly recommend this one, and am wholeheartedly glad that I gave it a chance.
Favorite Quote: "Maybe the people who we love and who love us-the people who see us for who we really are-can be family too."
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo doesn't belong to me, and all rights to the respective owner.
Do any of you ever discover a book that you really love by an already fairly established author, and then decide to go back and read some of their earlier releases?
Well, ever since I first read The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel, I'd really been wanting to read more of her books.
I ended up reading When We Meet Again in January, and had a pretty positive experience with it as well.
When I discovered that she had written a young adult novel a few years ago that features one of my favorite book tropes-the famous person falling for the regular person-I knew I needed to give it a try.
It was such an adorable read, and today I'm excited to share my full review of it with all of you guys.
When You Wish by Kristin Harmel:
Source: Library
Publisher: Delacorte Books For Young Readers
Publication Date: February 12th, 2008
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Contemporary
Synopsis:
Star Beck is super-duper megastar famous. She rocks–literally–every night in concert for thousands of cheering fans. But the pop star life–tour buses, fauxmances, size 0 minis–is getting a little old. Star can’t help wondering what it would be like to be a regular girl–without paparazzi trailing her every move, and without people being nice just because, well, she’s Star Beck. And when she discovers that her mom has been lying to her for years about something very important, Star decides to find out what the world beyond her stage is like after all.
In the blink of an emerald green eye, Star finds herself . . . buying a car. Eating cheeseburgers. Swapping her stilettos for flip-flops. Getting a job that doesn’t require dancing, winking, or mall appearances. And falling for the cutest, realest boy she’s ever met. But how will she know if he feels the same way? Because for once in her life, someone is going to have to like her for who she really is.
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
After falling completely in love with Harmel's The Life Intended, I knew I wanted to give some of her earlier novels a chance. I'm usually a big fan of young adult novels, and the famous person falling for the regular person trope is one of my favorites, so When You Wish sounded like something I was probably going to enjoy, and I definitely did.
It's a cute, sweet coming of age novel that focuses around a sixteen year old girl "Star Beck" who's become a household name in the last six years, thanks to her hit TV show, and the four albums she's released that have each become huge successes. Everyone everywhere wants to be Star Beck, but unfortunately Star herself. She's feeling burned out on being a celebrity, on never having a say in her own life, and from everyone around her treating her like a dollar sign rather than a regular person. When she discovers that her mother has been keeping a huge secret from her, Star decides to run away, and try to live life as a normal teenager for a change. However, how can someone who's never known normal possibly ever be normal, and Star's in for quite a ride on her adventure to discover just who Star Beck truly is.
I've been hearing the term adorkable thrown around quite a bit in the book community lately, and to me, this charming story is the epiphany of this. Star is quirky, hysterically funny, and surprisingly relatable. It was refreshing to see how despite her huge success, she's still very down to earth, and has kept a fairly decent head on her shoulders throughout the entire ordeal. She also may be a celebrity, but she still needs to know that she matters truly to the people she should.
Her journey brings her into contact with a few different people, but I'm going to be honest that "cute textbook boy" was definitely my favorite. While the romance is slightly insta-lovey, I did still really enjoy it, and thought that Star and Nick were so stinkin cute.
As well, since I've only read more serious books by Kristin Harmel, I wasn't expecting this one to be quite so hilarious. The numerous antics Star finds herself in were downright hysterical, and in particular, I loved the passage where Star informs Nick that she attended "Sweet Valley High."
All in all, I adored this and gave it four out of five stars. It stays pretty clean too for the most part, with only mild thematic elements thrown into a few passages. I highly recommend this one, and am wholeheartedly glad that I gave it a chance.
Favorite Quote: "Maybe the people who we love and who love us-the people who see us for who we really are-can be family too."
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo doesn't belong to me, and all rights to the respective owner.
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