Review--MOVIE GIRL

Review For:
Movie Girl, by Christina Hamlett
ISBN: 9781432718541, Publisher: OutskirtsPress

I found Movie Girl, by Christina Hamlett, fascinating. Christina Hamlett is a former actress and theatre director. She is an award-winning author, a ghostwriter for The Penn Group, and professional script consultant. She has 25 books, 125 plays, and 5 optioned feature films. She resides with her husband in Pasadena, California.
When high school sophomore, Laurie Preston, is picked to write a screenplay for a movie her school is producing, she finds it is the perfect opportunity to write a romance film guaranteed to gain the attention of Artie, the senior she’s pining for and the one who doesn’t even know she exists. As if the pressures of teenage-hood and screenwriting and everlasting love weren’t enough, Laurie’s friends, Kathy and Lyn, have to add drama to the mix. And what was up with her best friend, Gus? He’s been acting the strangest of all.
Every once and awhile, throughout the book, I would find a misplaced comma, causing me to have to re-read a sentence. There were a couple times that the auto-correct changed Laurie’s friend, Lyn to Lynn.
In saying that, I finished this book in one sitting due to my interest. A book for every young adult, Christina Hamlett displays a great understanding for the targeted age and I feel every girl can relate to this. The characters were witty, enchanting, and believable. I, at no time, lost interest, nor did I find any dead spots. Ah, the days of yore, bringing me back to that first crush and just how much it crushes you. Following the paths of similar movies as Sixteen Candles and She’s All That, this will engage any reader just as much. And, I might say, could and possibly should be turned into a movie, as well. I like that the characters were flawed, displaying the fact that none of us are perfect, but you love ‘em anyway. I especially loved the family dynamic in this story, as it demonstrates a closeness amongst them without going unrealistically overboard. There are diary entries at the opening of every new chapter which I found humorous and add to the story-line well. There wasn’t an overuse of the love quandary and/or scenes, which makes it perfect for all young adult readers as well as the older teenagers.
Movie Girl is a well-written, stellar read, sure to captivate any young adult audience. I hope to see more from Christina Hamlett in the near future.

Kelly Moran,
Author and Reviewer