Hollywood Bliss: My Life Starring Mum [Paperback]

Chloe Rayban (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Series: Hollywood Bliss

Hollywood Bliss Winterman leads a fairly uneventful life at the Convent of the Sisters of the Resurrection boarding school. But everything changes when her mega-famous, rock star mother Khandi yanks Holly out of boarding school, plunks her into a private, secure suite at a posh hotel in London, and promptly forgets that her daughter is even there. With only a mobile phone and pet rabbit to keep her company, Holly's diary of her life (starring her mum) will resonate with any teenage girl who's ever been embarrassed by her mother.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Thirteen-year-old Hollywood (Holly) Bliss Wintermann is unfazed when her mother yanks her out of boarding school after a kidnapping scare: "I've kind of got used to threats. Like you do, when your mum is like the tenth richest woman in the world." Holly's mum is Kandhi, a mega pop star who resettles her daughter in a separate, posh London hotel suite and then ignores her. With her safety still in question, Holly is confined to her "maximum security luxury cell," and she describes the hours of boredom, daydreaming, and mother-daughter conflict in her diary-format narrative. The characters, particularly Kandhi, aren't very nuanced, and the thin plot's meandering pace may lose some readers. Still, the view of the glamorous life as lonely and tedious may attract an audience, as will the wry, funny observations: after overeating, for example, Holly says she feels like an inflatable "bouncy castle." Young people, especially those with distracted, highly driven parents, may see themselves in Holly, who struggles against her mother's ambitions and her own healthy cynicism to discover herself. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Chloë Rayban is the author of a dozen contemporary novels for teens, including the Carnegie Medal-winning Love in Cyberia. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Chloë worked in advertising and product development. She divides her time between London and a home in the French countryside.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (June 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599900971
• ISBN-13: 978-1599900971
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,035,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The trials and tribulations of having a rock star mom., June 8, 2008

By 

Deborah Sandford "Marian the Librarian" (Madison, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Life Starring Mum (Hardcover)

Hollywood Bliss Winterman is the 13-year-old daughter of Khandi, the fabulously rich pop megastar. Her friends call her Holly, and she likes it that no one at her parochial boarding school knows who her mother is. 'Mum' yanks Holly out of school to live with her because she is afraid for Holly's safety. This attitude is just as effected as the rest of Khandi's life: it's all about Khandi (whose motto is 'if you're not Number One, you're nothing'). Holly is brought to live (really, sequestered) in a suite at a posh hotel in London, floors below the penthouse suite her mother occupies. She basically has to make an appointment to see her mother through Mum's PA, Vix, who orchestrates Khandi's entire schedule. Holly is a good kid, and when typical snarky interactions between mother and adolescent daughter occur, Holly chastises herself for her own shortcomings --such as not being the best daughter a mother could have. But this superstar Mum is truly selfish and aloof, and not interested in being a mom at all, unless it can be found to substantiate her image. Yep, Mum finds a way to capitalize on that! The story is written as a diary, and likeable Holly is funny and sincere, trying to find her own voice with a mom who treats her daughter as an appendage. Hey, not all characters need to be likeable in a good book! You'll want to read to the end--will Mum come around to accept her role as a responsibel mom? Will Holly find her own way to be herself?