Finding Hollywood Nobody (Hollywood Nobody Series, Book 2) [Paperback]

Lisa Samson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2008

Scotty Fitzgerald and her father search for Scotty’s mother, who Scotty always thought was dead. Along the way they encounter new friendships, life-and-death situations, and God's amazing love.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Scotty and Charley are headed for Marshall, Texas, with Biker Guy once more close on their trail. As Scotty tries to come to terms with the reality of her parents’ deaths, she grows friendly with the locals. That makes staying hidden challenging.

But there’s got to be more to life than fear, and through new friendships, Scotty learns that this prayer thing might work after all. Will prayer be enough when the situation is life and death? What happens when Biker Guy finally catches up to her?

About the Author

Lisa Samson is a speaker and an award winning author. She also hosts the popular blog, “Author Intrusion.” Find out more at http://lisasamson.typepad.com/.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (February 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600062016
• ISBN-13: 978-1600062018
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,378,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lisa Samson was born in Baltimore, MD. She lives in intentional Christian community in urban Kentucky with her husband, three children, three other household members and three cats, changing the old adage to "Good things come in threes." While she has always been interested in issues of grace, she is now interested in issues of mercy, peace and justice as well. She is her sister's biggest fan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finding Hollywood Nobody, May 31, 2011

By 

C. Janes "southernsassygirl" (TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finding Hollywood Nobody (Hollywood Nobody Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

**I'm going to be mentioning things from this book as well as the previous book in the series, Hollywood Nobody, so be aware that you may come upon a spoiler or two.**

To be perfectly honest, I was a little hesitant to read the next book in the Hollywood Nobody Series. I read book one, and while I loved the opening and Scotty's fun sense of humor, I just wasn't crazy about the religious portions of the book (more on that later). But I'm a firm believer in giving an author a second chance, so I plunged ahead and read book 2, Finding Hollywood Nobody.

The opening of this book...awesome! I couldn't believe it started out in Memphis, TN which, for one, was great for this local native, and for two, simply because it was set in the South. Happy smiles all around. :o) I loved reading about Scotty's trip to Graceland, as well as trip to a local food joint, Pirtle's. For some, seeing local places mentioned in a book may not be a big deal, but when you're familiar with an area, you like to see and hear about the *actual local places*. So...for those of you that don't know, Pirtle's has GREAT fried chicken, and it was indeed a pleasure to see it get some love in this book. ;o)

Scotty was her typical self in this book--pretty opinionated, maybe a little bit ADD, and frankly, more mature than most 16-year-olds that I know. Sometimes, it was soooo hard to follow her train of thought because she kept jumping from one topic to the next. It was more prevalent in the first book than in this book, so I was pleased that her character had a little more focus here. I also missed the frequency of her "blog posts" in this book compared to the first, but as this book reached the end, it made perfect sense why they had slacked off.

The biggest thing I was happy about was her spiritual journey advanced a great deal in this book. When I read book one, I won't lie....I was not crazy about how church/Christianity/denominations were portrayed. I'm probably very much in the minority on that, but still...just my opinion. See, I was raised in a Pentecostal church, complete with people speaking in tongues and everything else that goes with it. As I've grown older, I've come to my own conclusions about their particular teachings, and it was just best that we parted ways. So, when I started reading about Scotty's visits to a local tent meeting in book one, I was very surprised that a Pentecostal preacher was the one conducting the services....complete with the speaking in tongues and healing services. You name it, it was there. The reason it bothered me was that, for someone not familiar with all the many denominations there are (and yes, we all have some reason why we believe the way we do, or go to this church or that church), that particular denomination is so universally misunderstood. I just think that the author didn't need to make it that complicated because even Scotty's character questioned whether or not they were legit. I don't thing a YA book should be tackling those kinds of issues that early. It can be overload. Believe me, I know...I had the same questions when I was growing up and seeing it at church every week. It wasn't that I was offended by the content...just very, very surprised. Maybe I'm way off base here to some, and if I am, I apologize (especially if I've offended anyone...that is not my intention at all). Maybe Scotty was more mature and discerning at that point in life than I was at her age...I don't know.

So, I said all that to say that Scotty figured out her place with God in book two, and it was written perfectly. Her character even alluded to a bit of confusion from the services mentioned in book one, but I think it was just like water off a duck's back in her mind. She figured out her own way to Christ...no denomination needed. :o)

Now that I've gotten past all that I didn't like from book one, I'm really eager to read the rest of the series and find out what happens with Scotty. Lesson for me--it just goes to show that you can never judge a book by it's cover, and just because one book experience was bad doesn't mean that all books by that same author will be bad, too. :o)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Finding Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson, March 25, 2011

By 

Catalysta (Southern CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Hollywood Nobody (Hollywood Nobody Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

For three years typical teenager, Scotty, and her Grandmother, Charley, has eluded Biker Guy, staying just one step ahead of him through the warnings from the mysterious stranger. Quietly Charley works on the film set of her friend, Jeremy in Marshall, Texas, while Scotty gets to know the locals. As Scotty stays hidden from Biker Guy and works on her homeschooling, she becomes involved in a romance and helping a troubled teen. The book ends with a showdown that changes Scotty's and Charley's lives forever.

Such is the plot of Finding Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson. The book is laced with humor and romance.

Written in the first person it was difficult to get into. By about a third of the book I finally realized how the book was laid out. The book begins with a Hollywood blog written to the Nobodies (hence the name). The story's chapter titles are dates and the chapters are kind of like journal entries, but they aren't, because you find out later that Elaine is Scotty's diary, and the chapters where she writes stuff in her diary begins, "Dear Elaine...."

In addition to Ms. Samson's writing style, I had a problem with some of the messages that were coming through the pages, loud and clear. Scotty is protrayed as a typical teenager (not sure whether she is a Christian or not) who is homeschooled. One of the clearest messages was that "defying authority has no consequences" and "you can do what you want, as long as you think it is right". Her grandmother tells her not to eat cheese nor drink cola, but she purposely eats cheese throughout the book and stashes cola to drink whenever she chooses. She even leaves for Tulsa, Oklahoma, on her scooter, and refuses to turn back, even when all the adults that she respects in her life tell her to, because 'she knows' that this is the right thing to do.

Having homeschooled my own children I am sensitive to messages that are being written about homeschooling. Many in our culture today think that homeschoolers don't get a good education, that they miss out on a lot of stuff, that they get to play all the time and sleep until past noon. They also think that homeschoolers are socially inept and nerdy. The reality is that homeschoolers work hard and as a group score above the national norms. They are well-rounded, have a good self-image and enjoy the company of all ages of people in any social setting. They are also able to pursue their own passions and interests.

Some of the myths of homeschooling were dispelled in this book, but others were reinforced. Scotty is very well-adjusted socially, but she has to teach herself (not common in the homeschooling world). She is taken to a high school football game and makes a big deal about it, because she is homeschooled and has never done such a thing before.

My biggest disappointment was the spiritual message in the book. Purportedly this book should teach teenagers about prayer and, in a way, it does, although Scotty is very confused by it. Simplistically, Scotty learns that she, herself, can talk to Jesus. I feel that Ms. Samson is selling our teens short. The spiritual message just seems to be thrown in, without any solid foothold in the story. It would be almost the same story if the entire part about prayer were taken out.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

3.0 out of 5 stars More of the Same, August 18, 2011

By 

JAScribbles "Kindle is charged and ready!" (Near Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finding Hollywood Nobody (Hollywood Nobody Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

This is book two in a four book series. I probably won't pick up the last two. I enjoyed book one and liked the voice of Scotty, the homeschooled, teenage, RVing main character. It was something different and refreshing.

In this book there was just more of the same - exactly the same type of setting, characters, and occurrences. There were also a couple of storyline items that were completely unbelievable and very distracting.

I may read the reviews for books three and four that boast spoiler alerts. That way I can find out how things end up without investing anymore money into the series. Sorry, I just don't think they'd be worth it.

I enjoyed the author's writing style and may look at her stand alone titles.