Review: I DIDN'T LIKE THE PROTAGONIST
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 5, 2013
I was delighted when this book was free for download and promptly loaded it on my kindle to read at a later stage. I’ve seen so many glowing reviews of “Flat Out Love” by Jessica Park, and though I haven’t read it yet, I was excited to start with “Relatively Famous”. Ten percent into the kindle version of “Relatively Famous” I was already disappointed and rolling my eyes like crazy.In short, this book was honestly and one hundred percent not for me. I can hardly muster up any praise for it. I think the idea for the story is great and in the hands of a good editor can turn into a rather fantastic read. But in its current form, the plot, main character, and editing is atrocious. It is a clean read, though, and younger readers (age ten to twelve) might enjoy this read immensely. I had too many issues with it. Mainly with Dani, who is pretentious, obnoxious, and flat out moody, miserable and ungrateful. She’s a classic Mary Sue example with all the added nasty bits.The plot moved at an easy pace, but was full of holes and unjustified motives that didn’t make sense. Don’t even get me started on the dull and stilted dialogue which was completely unnatural.The reason for my three-star rating is that this is not the worst book ever. Not at all. I’ve read much, much worse. I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from reading “Relatively Famous”, but I won’t recommend it as a priority on your to-read list either. Because I liked the idea of the story, I enjoyed it enough to keep reading till the end. I also think the world-building was done very well, and the author introduces the reader to an insider view of the Hollywood A-list lifestyle. A lot of it was quite fascinating.All in all, if I have to decide by this novel whether I would be reading anything else written by Jessica Park, the answer would be a resounding “no”. But, I’ve heard a lot of good things about her other books and therefore would be willing to give those ones a try. She has all the right ideas, but need a little professional guidance to make them shine.