Okay, folks for those of you who read "Get To Know The Staff" on The Reader's Central joint account, you already know that my name is Santana DeBoa and that I am a foul-mouthed, sassy, sarcastic and somewhat cynical reader. You also know that this is one of two columns I write. This one will be my review of various teen fictions and fan fictions on Wattpad. My other column is the our Spanish-language article here at The Reader's Central.
So basically this is how things are going to work on my column. Each month I will review four stories: two teen fictions and two fan fictions. I'll do one teen fiction and one fan fiction that I would recommend and the two others are stories (and authors) you may want to steer clear of.
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Teen Fiction
Book Title: Scarlet Starlet by AlexandraKarlsson
Summary: Troya Wright is the name on everyone's lips; stalked by teen magazines, cast into numerous romantic comedies and ranked highly in the lists of hot celebrity singles. The film industry is tough and the struggle not fall into the category of B-list celebrities is energy consuming, leaving Troya wondering if her best is good enough. How do you find yourself in a profession where you constantly act like you're someone else?
Review: Scarlet Starlet is an interesting, beautifully written book by Alexandra Karlsson. The description is amazing and Ms. Karlsson conveys Troya's inner emotions very well. For instance (SPOILER ALERT), the first scene is like the climax to a romance movie. She describes it in a beautifully vivid manner. Then at the end of the scene we find out it is the climax to a romance movie that Troya is filming! She really gives a perspective of the constant in-character, fake, smile-for-the-camera feeling that actors and actresses have to deal with everyday.
Unfortunately, though Ms. Karlsson had not updated in a while. I think she needs a little motivation to keep going on with her work because it really is a book worth reading. If you want a well-written, descriptive, emotionally accurate, well-told story look no further than Scarlet Starlet.
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Book Title: One Summer & A Bucket List
Summary: Haylee Harrons and her best friend Jason Long have the summer to do something big. So they decide to complete things off of their bucket lists. They have 30 days to do 30 things(15 things each). Money is no problem because their parents are rich so nothing will stop them. What crazy things do they end up doing? Well i guess you will have to read to find out!
Review: My problem with this book starts with the summary. Unfortunately, this is on my reading list because when I saw the title of this book. I disregarded the summary and went straight to reading it. Things went down hill from there.
The first thing I notice in the title is: "Money is no problem because their parents are rich so nothing will stop them." You never want to remove such big obstacles for your characters. It just makes things boring. Anyway, so the first day of summer, Haylee and her friend Jason draft their bucket list. The first one they decide to cross off is eating French toast in France. Of course, their parents are richer than God and they let their children just go alone on a spontaneous trip to France. Seriously, the idea isn't to make readers jealous of your character, it's to make readers relate and sympathize with them. Few teenagers have parents rich enough to pay for last minute tickets on a plane to France. And no matter how rich you are NOBODY has parents that will just let them go to a foreign country with a day's notice and no supervision. It just simply isn't realistic or relatable. Also at one point, Haylee says "I'm not one of those rich girls who waves their money in everyone's faces". Really, sweetheart? So what exactly are you doing when you tell us your daddy can pay for you and your bestie to travel the world without and inhibitions?
