Genre: YA Romance
Published: May 9, 2017
Pages: 278
Synopsis
When seventeen-year-old Nora Novak’s father dies and she discovers he cut her from his will, she finds herself in an unbearable situation with a woman who can only be described as a step-monster. Struggling to put together the pieces of her shattered life, Nora moves from Austin, Texas to Beverly Hills, California to live with her aunt in hopes of a fresh start.
After a silly T-shirt sparks a conversation with Eli Evans, an up-and-coming teen celebrity heartthrob, Nora is swept into the dazzling limelight of Hollywood. But beneath the glitz and glamour of fame lies a world where even the most innocent stories are twisted for a great headline.
As secrets from Nora’s past emerge in the tabloids, she must challenge the most ruthless paparazzi in order to hold onto her relationship with Eli and salvage what’s left of her reputation—or return to a life where she’s just another nameless face amid the masses.
After a silly T-shirt sparks a conversation with Eli Evans, an up-and-coming teen celebrity heartthrob, Nora is swept into the dazzling limelight of Hollywood. But beneath the glitz and glamour of fame lies a world where even the most innocent stories are twisted for a great headline.
As secrets from Nora’s past emerge in the tabloids, she must challenge the most ruthless paparazzi in order to hold onto her relationship with Eli and salvage what’s left of her reputation—or return to a life where she’s just another nameless face amid the masses.
Review
I was hired to proofread this book. The only aspects of the story that I influenced were the spelling and grammar. If you feel that my connection to the book makes my review untrustworthy, so be it, but this is my honest review.
This was an interesting change of pace from the paranormal I'm accustomed to reading from Ginna Moran. I almost expected some of the paparazzi to turn into demons or something. (That doesn't happen.) Now because I'm a gossip rag junkie and occasionally enjoy indulging in a little reality television, I found myself completely sucked in to this story. I thought it was an interesting look at what life might be like in front of the cameras, particularly for someone who never really wanted to be there in the first place. Because while it's true that celebrities deserve privacy too, they did also make the choice to put themselves in the spotlight for their career. They could've all chosen to pursue boring jobs, like being accountants, and then no one would care what they do in their free time. And I do really think they deserve some privacy, but I also really want to know where Justin Timberlake buys his toilet paper. Now you know my secret shame, and I feel even more shame for enjoying it after reading this book.
Now because I've been on a celebrity memoir kick lately, I know that there are some details about this story that just don't quite jive with what being a child celebrity in Hollywood is really like. In the story they are basically the idealized one-in-a-million type experiences that is just really probably not existent in the age of reality tv. That being said, without my recent memoir kick, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about those things, and ultimately, making them more complicated wouldn't serve any purpose in the story beyond adding an extra layer of reality. I hereby give you (and myself) permission to suspend reality for this. In fact, forget I even said anything.
In the end, this was an almost lighthearted read. There were a few things that brought me down a bit, but there was a supremely satisfying conclusion and while I'm interested to see how Ms. Moran continues this series, I'm not dying to get the next book in my hands right now. I'm good leaving the characters alone for a bit so they can have some privacy.
Overall I give If This Was a Movie 4.5 out of 5 stars. - Katie
This was an interesting change of pace from the paranormal I'm accustomed to reading from Ginna Moran. I almost expected some of the paparazzi to turn into demons or something. (That doesn't happen.) Now because I'm a gossip rag junkie and occasionally enjoy indulging in a little reality television, I found myself completely sucked in to this story. I thought it was an interesting look at what life might be like in front of the cameras, particularly for someone who never really wanted to be there in the first place. Because while it's true that celebrities deserve privacy too, they did also make the choice to put themselves in the spotlight for their career. They could've all chosen to pursue boring jobs, like being accountants, and then no one would care what they do in their free time. And I do really think they deserve some privacy, but I also really want to know where Justin Timberlake buys his toilet paper. Now you know my secret shame, and I feel even more shame for enjoying it after reading this book.
Now because I've been on a celebrity memoir kick lately, I know that there are some details about this story that just don't quite jive with what being a child celebrity in Hollywood is really like. In the story they are basically the idealized one-in-a-million type experiences that is just really probably not existent in the age of reality tv. That being said, without my recent memoir kick, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about those things, and ultimately, making them more complicated wouldn't serve any purpose in the story beyond adding an extra layer of reality. I hereby give you (and myself) permission to suspend reality for this. In fact, forget I even said anything.
In the end, this was an almost lighthearted read. There were a few things that brought me down a bit, but there was a supremely satisfying conclusion and while I'm interested to see how Ms. Moran continues this series, I'm not dying to get the next book in my hands right now. I'm good leaving the characters alone for a bit so they can have some privacy.
Overall I give If This Was a Movie 4.5 out of 5 stars. - Katie
Buy the Book
About the Author
Ginna Moran is a writer living in Austin, Texas but originally from Southern California. She started writing poetry as a teenager in a spiral notebook that she still has tucked away on her desk today. Her love of writing grew after she graduated high school and she completed her first unpublished manuscript at age eighteen.
When she realized her love of writing was her life's passion, she studied literature at Mira Costa College in Northern San Diego. Besides writing novels, she was senior editor, content manager, and image coordinator for Crescent House Publishing Inc. for four years.
Aside from Ginna's professional life, she enjoys binge watching television shows, playing pretend with her daughter, and cuddling with her dogs. Some of her favorite things include chocolate, anything that glitters, cheesy jokes, and organizing her bookshelf.
Ginna Moran loves to hear from readers so visit her online at www.GinnaMoran.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest.
Ginna Moran is currently hard at work on her next novel.
When she realized her love of writing was her life's passion, she studied literature at Mira Costa College in Northern San Diego. Besides writing novels, she was senior editor, content manager, and image coordinator for Crescent House Publishing Inc. for four years.
Aside from Ginna's professional life, she enjoys binge watching television shows, playing pretend with her daughter, and cuddling with her dogs. Some of her favorite things include chocolate, anything that glitters, cheesy jokes, and organizing her bookshelf.
Ginna Moran loves to hear from readers so visit her online at www.GinnaMoran.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest.
Ginna Moran is currently hard at work on her next novel.
This may or may not be spoilery, but it's a companion series so Nora's story is complete.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably why I feel fine letting the characters have their privacy then :) - Katie
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