Secrets of My Hollywood Life: Family Affairs by Jen Calonita
Kaitlin Burke is back to spill more secrets about her life as one of Hollywood’s hottest young stars. Filming for Pretty Young Assassins has wrapped up and Kaitlin’s back on the set of Family Affair, the primetime soap she’s been starring in since she was four. She’s expecting some behind the scenes drama, but this time, the problem’s not Sky Mackenzie, Kaitlin’s co-star and long-time enemy. There’s a new teen cast member on Family Affair, and very quickly Alexis Holden is becoming Hollywood’s newest favorite young star. Maybe Kaitlin’s a little jealous, but then it becomes clear that Alexis out to ruin both Kaitlin and Sky’s careers. What follows…may not be pretty.
To be honest, I was just going to wait for paperback. Though I’ve enjoyed the first two Secrets of My Hollywood Life books, they’re not amazing or must reads. However, I had a thirty percent off coupon at Borders and two AP tests and decided that I needed something fun. And I’m kind of a book snob and refuse to have a Poppy book on my shelf, the imprint that’s publishing the paperback editions. Anyway, I’m really glad that I bought this one because it was just what I needed. I couldn’t stop reading it, and it’s definitely the best of the three.
First, Kaitlin is a very strong character. I greatly enjoy her voice, which is fun and friendly and sounds like a normal teen. She’s also likable. She’s not spoiled or conceited but sweet and down-to-earth. She also has real problems. In this installment, Kaitlin’s non-celebrity friends are studying for the SAT and thinking about college and driver’s ed, and Kaitlin, who has no need for such stuff, is feeling left out and starts to question her own future. Kaitlin also has her somewhat overbearing parents who don’t always see her as a person but as a star. Whereas the first two books seemed to focus more on Kaitlin dealing with Hollywood, Family Affairs shows a Kaitlin trying to figure out who she is and looking beyond Hollywood.
The other characters are not especially nuanced; however, they don’t blend together and are quite entertaining. But by far my favorite secondary character this time around was Sky Mackenzie. In the first two books, Sky was simply Kaitlin’s enemy, and this two-dimensional portrayal annoyed me. But in this book, with the addition of Alexis to the cast, Sky’s no longer Kaitlin’s biggest problem on the set and the two girls even have to band together sometimes. Such instances gave Sky greater depth, and even if she’s still not exactly likable, she’s understandable.
And what else I really love about this series? How clean the books are. Not what you’d expect in a series about a hot young star in Hollywood, but Kaitlin does have a moral standard. She doesn’t drink or swear or flirt obsessively and for the most part, is an all-around good girl, and this just makes me like the series so much more.
Read my review of Secrets of My Hollywood Life: On Location here.
