Customer Reviews

Relatively Famous

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dani McKinley is your typical fifteen-year-old Midwest girl. She wants to wear make-up, get her ears pierced (with cool danglies versus the plain silver studs her mom makes her get) and have her very own cell phone. She has known her best friend Samantha since kindergarten and they do just about everything together. She lives with her mom, Leila, and her chef boyfriend of the past five years, Alan. The one thing Dani doesn't have is a dad. While she has never met him, nor does she even know his name, it hasn't been an issue for her; her mother has always been all that she needed and Dani has a wonderful father-daughter type relationship with Alan. Then her whole world is turned upside down when she arrives at school one day to an army of paparazzi taking her picture and shouting "How does it feel to know action star Mark Ocean is your father?" The secret her mother tried so desperately to keep is not so secret anymore. And now that she knows who her dad is, Dani begins to wonder just what she may have been missing all these years.

Mark Ocean isn't the big time movie star he used to be. Sure, he may still have his gorgeous looks, he may date one bimbo after another and girls may still swoon over his poster they have hanging on their bedroom walls, but his movies have gone from instant hits to instant duds. He needs to do something -and fast - to resurrect his once hot career. And after at first denying that Dani is his daughter, he soon realizes that bringing her into his life, and creating what would appear to be the perfect family, could be just what his dying career needs.

Dani heads off to Hollywood to meet her father for the first time and to see if she can fit in in the land of fame and excess. Her room in Mark's house is more like a mini condo than a bedroom; with a kitchenette, Jacuzzi tub, and a loft filled with pillows and a flat screen TV. The following day, before a carefully plotted TV interview that is to attempt to show him as the doting new father, Mark gives Dani her very own Pretty Woman moment, taking her shopping and spending money on her hand over fist. Anything she wants, she gets. Mark also hooks Dani up with the Kayla Dodd, the daughter of a film producer he's trying to impress. He figures if Dani & Kayla become good friends, he might just get that lead in Evan Dodd's new film, and begin the resurrection of his career. What starts out as a one week visit, ends up as a summer-long stay. Dani has a blast with Kayla, her sister Ava, her brother Nathan and the other new friends she's introduced to. Not to mention the easy-on-the-eyes Jason. But can Dani truly fit in with this materialistic lifestyle or can her newfound friends like her for who she truly is and not what she has? Can she find love with the player Jason or is the more down to earth surfer boy what she really needs? Can Mark put an end to his player ways and settle down with a "normal" woman? Will he begin to see his daughter as the young, beautiful, mature young woman she is instead of just a means to an end? Both Dani and Mark spend the summer trying to get to know each other, and almost as importantly, themselves. But will one overheard conversation shatter the relationship that they've just begun to build?

Jessica Park brings us right into the lives of Dani and Mark, so much so that you feel as if you're sitting poolside with them, enjoying the sun and fun of LA. She has created a wonderful and loveable character in Dani, a girl you will root for from page to page. She makes you both hate and love Mark all at the same time. Jessica Park, known for the cozy books she co-wrote with her mom Susan Conant (see the Gourmet Girls series) has found a new niche with the young adult genre. Both adults and teens will thoroughly enjoy this book. She certainly hit this one out of the park. Even though Relatively Famous has just been released, I can't wait to read what she has in store for us next.

Dani McKinley is an intriguing character--a bright, engaging 14 year old with a wicked sense of humor and a strong moral compass. She's close to her mother, Leila, and devoted to her best-friend, Samantha, but something is missing in her life: a father. As the book unfolds, the author draws a dead-on portrait of Hollywood, creates a set of believable characters and offers enough twists and turns to keep readers turning the pages. We're rooting for Dani all the way. It's a delight to meet a teen character who is thoughtful, kind and has scruples. Both adults and teens will enjoy this novel and one hopes there is a sequel in the works.

Author Jessica Park, known for the cuisine-centric cozy mysteries she penned with her mother, Susan Conant, makes two successful debuts here -- as a Young Adult author and as a self-published e-book author.

"Relatively Famous" is breezy summer fare that should tickle young teen girls with its tantalizing, authoritative and often hilarious glimpses at beach fashion, the B-film industry and, of course, hot boys. And fifteen-year-old Dani McKinley, the story's central character, makes for a pretty good role model. She can be a bit of a turn-on-a-dime diva at times, but she's goodhearted and ultimately well-grounded.

The story: Dani, living an ordinary life in suburban Michigan with her single mom, her mom's longtime boyfriend and her best friend, has her world turned upside-down when a longheld secret spills forth: Her biological father is none other than Mark Ocean, Hollywood's king of the scatterbrained B-movie thriller. After a few rounds of denials and recriminations, father invites daughter to spend a summer with him in Southern California.

Mark, a 35-year-old confirmed bachelor type, isn't thrilled about having a teen daughter and doesn't exactly know what to do with her, but he does help her hook up with a ready-made set of gorgeous, spoiled children-of-celebrities teens ... though even that move is rooted in a secret and self-aggrandizing agenda. Romances ensue for both father and daughter as they fumble their way toward a relationship stripped of artifice and defensive attacks.

Misunderstandings lead to deep complications, until at one point, Dani finds herself angry with almost everybody she knows ... most of all herself and her typical teen penchant for bad moves borne of hotheaded impulse. How she manages to dig herself, and everybody she cares about, out of that hole makes for a deeply satisfying ending.

Park knows her craft, and when combined with obvious affection for her characters, she can't help but deliver a tight, fast-paced winner that, in a just world, would be taking up chain-store space this summer alongside Stephenie Meyer's books.

This book is nowhere near as good as Flat-Out Love because it lacks the snarky and witty dialogue that was so enjoyable in that book. This one is much more juvenile suited at the 15 year old reader. It is similar to the The Princess Diaries or The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: The Complete Collection series, so if you liked those, this would appeal to you

15 year old Dani finds out that her father is the famous movie actor Mark Ocean and spends the summer with him in California. While there she learns what it is like to be in the media spot light and wealthy. Her playboy father starts off as a typical shallow people user who only wants Dani in his life because it will benefit him - according to his publicist. His character changes over the course of the story as he falls in love with his daughter and a down to earth woman he begins to date exclusively. While Dani's father is finally maturing into the man he should have already become, Dani is coming of age in a very liberal and pretentious town without the proper parental support to get her through it. Dani's famous father finally realizes the role he most wants to play, being Dani's father, and she informs him that "he got the part".

This was an informative look at the pretentious life of movie stars which does not seem appealing at all, (but the shopping and the spa treatments would be fun to try). The deceitful words and sneaky ways would not be fun to put up with. It was well written with a cute, neatly packaged happy ending.

Would I/Did I buy it? Yes

Would I read it again? Yes

Would I recommend it to friends? Yes

Not the best book, but definitely NOT the worst book! It was entertaining but I wish that something bigger happens in the plot because it got slow in some parts. Overall pretty good. I would suggest this book to a teen or pre-teen.

LOVED this book by Jessica Park. I had high hopes after reading Flat-Out Love, and I was not disappointed. This was a much different kind of love story that focused on a father falling in love with his 15 year old daughter he didn't know he had. They come from 2 very different worlds: He lives in LA, living the life of a famous actor, she lives in Michigan with her mom in a middle class town, in more of a "real life" world (as I would call it). She goes out and spends the summer with her father, living the life of luxury. While she likes it, you can see she misses her home.

I LOVED this book. The end took me by surprise with my emotion and how I felt when the story was done. I wanted more. I wanted to see how it would finish. It was a great way to end the book, and I'm glad I took the time to read this. THank you, Jessica Park...you did not disappoint.

This is my first young adult book and I enjoyed it. Dani learns that her father is a famous actor and spends the summer getting to know him. We watch as her father learns what it means to have a daughter in his life while Dani learns about friendship, love, maturity and acceptance. This was a good read.

After reading Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park, I had to pick up this book Dani is a typical teenager, one that was very similar to how I was as a teen. But, there is one big difference... she is the daughter of a well-known celebrity, Mark Ocean. Of course, she doesn't know that yet and her world is thrown into a whirlwind when she finds out. I loved how this story shows the relationship changes between Dani and her father but more how Mark embraces being a father. With a few surprises, I was kept on my toes and interested. I loved this story and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good, easy to read, fun story.

This book was so wonderful. I loved being part of Dani's world for just a little while. A great book for teens and adults :-)

Super sweet and cute book. I loved following Dani's story as she was introduced to the crazy Hollywood lifestyle. Watching Mark learn how to be a Dad was sweet. Fun read and I love Jessica Park!