From The Critics

Children's Literature

When sixteen-year-old Lily Miles lands a summer internship with starlet Sabrina Snow, she figures that her life has skyrocketed to perfect. She is actually going to be paid to work up close and personal with the hottest female teenager in film. Lily is convinced that no task will be too difficult, no schedule too grueling, no request too intimate; there is no way she could mess this up. Yet, from her first taste of life in the glamour lane at the opening of Sabrina's movie, to the closing days of her summer job, Lily gets acquainted with much more than the razzle-dazzle of life in the public eye. The flip side of being famous, for Sabrina, is being used. Lily also discovers that the flip side of Sabrina always having to present her best side to the camera is that Sabrina is dismally self-absorbed. Lily's persistent efforts to rationalize the behaviors she witnesses, to find solid ground for her own values, and to satisfy her own inevitable longings for a taste of the sweet life, result in a roller coaster ride on the coat tails of show business with sparks flying. Lily's comprehension of the compromises show business life can demand, and her refusal to make the same concessions that Sabrina has made, develop side-by-side as she stumbles forward, ultimately winning much more than she expected. This is a satisfying story of a coming-of-age experience in an unusually glamorous setting. The teen voices are well written and the high powered lifestyle pacing is convincing without being frantic. This book would make an interesting addition to a class about contemporary ethics or the sociology of American youth culture.