Twenty-four-year old Taylor Henning has just landed her dream job as an assistant at a major movie studio. But when her catty coworkers trick her into almost getting fired, she realizes that the old saying "Hollywood is like school with money" just may be true. The thing is, Taylor wasn't exactly a social butterfly in high school-how is she supposed to do any better the second time around?Review:
That's when she meets her boss's popular sixteen-year-old daughter Quinn, and has an epiphany: maybe this teenager can teach her how to use her queen bee tactics to succeed in the Hollywood popularity contest. Quinn comes up with a plan to teach Taylor one lesson a week-everything from "Fake it 'til you make it" to "It's *never* your fault"--and soon Taylor finds herself winning the war against rival assistant Kylie. Until, that is, she's directed to steal Kylie's boyfriend, and something happens that's not in the game plan: Taylor falls for the guy. Now she must do the impossible-- harness her inner mean girl while staying true to herself.
To be honest I have a soft spot for Zoey Dean's books. I mean the A List series? Not at all complex and intricate reads, but lots of fun! And Privileged, her first adult debut? The same way! So, why I haven't read Hollywood is Like High School with Money sooner? I have no clue, but regardless I recently did and really enjoyed it- I actually think it may be her best book yet!
Hollywood is Like High School with Money begins the story of story of Taylor Henning, a young woman trying to name a name for herself within the world of movie studios. She's got the job lined up and she's got the drive and ambition, which makes her all set to go, in her opinion. However, that's not all she'll need, as after her first few weeks of playing nice, she ends up almost getting fired because of Kylie, one of her coworkers. Knowing she needs to steep it up and play the game, Taylor recruits Quinn, her bosses teenage daughter, to teach her the rules of Hollywood, and it works! She begins to give Kylie a run for a money. However, there's one problem she begins to fall for Kylie's boyfriend under some odd circumstances, and because of it, everything starts to unravel once again. Will Taylor be able to pick up the pieces before it's too late? Or will Hollywood turn it's back on her? Only time and more pages can tell in this read perfect for reading by the beach or pool!
Taylor is a character I had mix feelings about, because while I found her easy to root for, I didn't always love her decisions, especially when it came to Kylie's boyfriend. At the start of the book, Taylor is in most cases lost in the world of Hollywood. She's ambitious and she lacks the fakeness involved with Hollywood, but as the novel continues this begins to swift, as she looses her nice girl persona and begins to become the complete opposite. However, all in all, she did learn a lot of life lessons because of it, and it played an important part in her character development, so I can't really be all that disappointed. The character I liked the most, though, was Kylie boyfriend, Luke. He was so sweet and adorable, and I constantly rooted for him and Taylor.
The plot in this was lots of fun! I enjoyed the inside scoop of what occurs in the world of movie studios and agencies. Better yet, it was always fun to see what advice Quinn gave Taylor, because it constantly caused lots of drama that in effect had me flipping the pages even faster!
While Dean's writing wasn't anything magnificent, it did severe it's purpose well in the way it created scandalous and fun characters and storylines. I especially loved the ending, even though it was a little too cookie-cutter clean in some ways.
Hollywood is Like High School with Money is the perfect beach read. I can only Zoey Dean will have another book that's just as fun out soon!
Grade: B+
Hollywood is Like High School with Money is now out!
Source: Publicist at Grand Central Publishing- thanks Miriam!
Hollywood is Like High School with Money was also turned into a web series a while ago. It's a little different than the book, but you can still find the episodes here if you would like. Ian Harding (who plays Erza in Pretty Little Liars) actually played one of the characters in it.
