Girl Stays In The Picture: A Girl Novel by Melissa De La Cruz

Summary:

If you can’t be a mega-selling teen pop star, maybe you can join her entourage…

Devon—one name only, please—is the latest and jail-bait-est pop star to hit #1 on the Billboard chart and she’s making her big screen debut in Juicy. But after a stint in rehab, the studio isn’t so sure she’s their girl anymore. If they cut any more of her lines, she’ll be a silent film actress! Can Devon regain her star status? She needs to watch her back and make sure that flash doesn’t catch her causing a scene, and we don’t mean the kind you can yell "Cut!" after.

Livia has lost the weight and gained a reputation for attitude in the Hollywood party scene. Her dad’s an Oscar-winning producer, and with a hot Beverly Hills boyfriend on her arm as well as her photos all over the pages of Gossizzle.com, Livia looks like she has a perfect life. But looks can be perfectly deceiving…

And there’s fresh-faced Casey, who left a job bagging groceries at the Piggly Wiggly to play personal assistant to her best friend...and Devon’s biggest rival. She’s got the biggest crush on the biggest star of the film—a hot Brit known for loving and leaving them. Will Casey stay true to herself while trying to find a place in his universe?

Stars. They’re just like us. But what does that mean for the rest of us? Stay tuned, people.

Review:

At first glance, Girl Stays In The Picture looked like a classic "rich girl" novel. You know what I'm talking about, right? The type of novel that is like a Gossip Girl or The A- List copy cat since it mainly focus on fashion, money, and boys. Though, don't get me wrong I love those type of novels, but unfortunately they seem to lack in two things: reality and substance. Luckily, Girl In The Picture had those type of drama issues but with substance and girls that you could relate to in one way or another.

The characters were one of my favorite parts of this novel. I loved how they all came from different backgrounds and had different problems they had to face each and every day. For example, Devon is the it girl pop star turned almost movie star turned rehab star turned movie star once again. Throughout this novel you got to see her fight to be recognized as a girl who can do anything and succeed, not a trashy star who went to rehab. Another one of the girls' was Cassey whose plan was to act like "assistant" to her best friend, Summer, while Summer worked on her new movie. I really liked how Melissa added the typical girl next door in Cassey because I loved how Cassey would do anything for anyone no matter what they did to her. Lastly, there was Livia who is the daughter of the world famous producer Sol Romero. Though, unlike her famous family, Livia was never one for the stoplight. Well, until she got surgery to make her skinny and as she thinks more "likable." Because of this, I was constantly rooting for Cassey to realize that she had something special going for her, her love of writing, and wasn't just anther former over weight girl who would fade into the background.

The plot was another high point. Since, it constantly had twists and turns that dragged you into Girl Stays In The Picture from the start and kept you there. Melissa De La Cruz's writing was also pretty darn good. Plus, I loved how fast it moved even though it had 400+ pages.

The only thing that got me a wee bit angry at this book was the cliffhanger ending because it leaves you on a note that you really didn't expect would happen. Sadly enough, by the looks of Ms. De La Cruz's website, it looks like she hasn't even began work on the next Girl Novel because there is no mention of it at all. Though, no matter how long it takes to get the next one out, I know one thing for sure: I'll definitely be racing out to get it.

Grade: A+

Girl Stays In The Picture: A Girl Novel is now out!