So Super Starry [Paperback]

Rose Wilkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2006

At Darlinham House, the chic private school, everyone’s parents are super-famous, feng shui is part of the curriculum, and all of the girls have names like India, Asia, and Twinkle. The girls there don’t just read celebrity magazines, they’re in them. Except for Octavia Clairbrook-Cleeve. Sure she’s got the posh name, and the semi-celeb parents, but there’s nothing that Octavia hates more than the "Darlings" and their super glam ways. Then she meets Alex Withers, the gorgeous son of a famous rock star. Suddenly Octavia’s staying out all night, shopping for trendy clothes, and even doing favors for her arch enemy! How’s a regular girl to keep her head when she’s hanging with the A-list?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8–When 15-year-old Octavia is invited to India's party, she knows it's only so that India can meet Drake, the superstar in her filmmaker father's movie. Both girls attend London's Darlingham House, a school for celebrity offspring. However, while India is the typical "Darling" blonde and the daughter of a rock star, Octavia is six feet tall, doesn't care about status, and sees herself as C-list at best. At the party, India's brother falls for Octavia and she soon finds that she enjoys dressing up, flirting, and going to bars and clubs with him. Her mother, a star in an American sitcom, is thrilled they are dating and appearing in celebrity magazines. Her father, who divorced her mother when he realized he was gay, is amused and cautioning. Eventually, Alex reveals himself to be just as shallow as his sister and her friends. In the end, Octavia, who always disliked her mother's enthusiasm for the superficial, develops a new respect for her. The plot is predictable and time-worn, but Octavia has a fresh and funny voice, and kids will love her attitude about her school: "…most of the people here exhibit the very best that genetic inheritance, cosmetic enhancement, and designer labels can offer." Her two unaffected friends provide a nice counterpoint to all the "Darlings." Chapters are short, making the story a good choice for reluctant readers. Not as lively as Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries (HarperCollins, 2000), this anti-celebrity book will appeal most to kids who are, ironically, starstruck themselves.–Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. Fifteen-year-old Octavia Clairbrook-Cleeve is definitely an upper crust Brit. Her grandfather is a peer of the Realm, her father is a director, and her mother acts in an "American sitcom about an English aristocrat who's accidentally ended up in L. A." Six-foot-tall Octavia, aka "The Obelisk," attends Darlinham House school, where she has a few good friends and tries hard to avoid "A-list" girls like India Withers. Then India decides she wants to be an actress, and she invites Octavia to her birthday party so she can meet Octavia's father. It's at the celebration that Octavia encounters India's brother, Alex, and a few dates later, smitten Octavia finds herself on the A-list. Is Alex as shallow as his gorgon sister? Are down-to-earth Octavia's feelings just part of a pretty (wacky) dream? Fans of Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries series will enjoy this regular-girl-in-privileged-circumstances story, which also provides some solid insight into teen feelings as Octavia gradually manages to find more to like about herself. Cindy Welch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Speak (April 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142405817
• ISBN-13: 978-0142405819
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,379,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stumbled on it by accident and glad I did, December 17, 2004

By 

A reader (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Super Starry (Hardcover)

I was offered some Advanced Review Copies by a bookseller friend. I picked SO SUPER STARRY without reading the age level for the book. From the cover, I thought it was standard Chick-Lit. What a surprise! I'm almost embarrassed to say how much I liked it, as I'm far from a teenager, but it was a fab read.
Rose Wilkins, you can be proud to have written such a lovely novel. I wish you the best.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of My Favorite Books, May 18, 2006

By 

Prism Light "Prism" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Super Starry (Paperback)

Octavia Clairbrook-Cleeve is the daughter of an actress and a director, which gives her "celebrity potential". She attends a fancy school for the children of celebrities, but has always felt like an outcast. Then she reluctantly goes to the birthday party of one of her least favorite people at the whole school, India Withers. But when she winds up kissing India's brother, she begins to second-guess her whole approach on life. Is she really destined for a life of fame and fortune?

I loved this book! It was cute, funny, romantic, and it kept me in suspense. The ending left a bit to be desired, but I was actually surprised because I picked up the book again and re-read the first few pages out of pure boredom, and it was actually almost as interesting as when I had first started reading it!

There were some curse words and a few references to adult content, but I recomned it to any girl looking for a cute story about a girl in love.

I can't wait to read the sequel!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad but Not So Super, December 27, 2007

By 

Brittany Rose (Winnipeg, MB) - See all my reviews

This review is from: So Super Starry (Hardcover)

My entire POV on this book was skewed the moment I read the author's bio. Why you ask? Well according to the bio, Rose Wilkins wrote the book as a dare/bet that she could do a better job than a lot of the authors submitting manuscripts to the publishing house she worked out. So of course, if you're going to draw a comparison like that, people are going to compare you to a lot of the popular authors (teen or otherwise) out there.

For the most part I liked this book - the story follows a British teenage girl who attends a private school designed for the offspring of the rich and famous. While trying to deal with living a 'normal' life, Octavia also struggles with blossoming in the spotlight and dabbles in the celebrity world with mixed results. The writing was relatively solid if not particularly distinct, the main character was likable, realistic and relatable, and the plot kept you guessing - perhaps if only because Wilkins story structure is loose at best.

There were a few annoying/weak points, namely the lack of character development beyond Octavia, the relative predictability of the ending, and the ridiculously bite-sized chapters were almost insulting to the reader. Although it was nice sometimes to read a chapter (usually no longer than 3-5 pages) in the spare moments of a day, it also made for abrupt story flow.

Overall I'd probably recommend this book to young girls who are really into reading this type of genre but are sick of the main series like A-List and Gossip Girl. The British setting of the book isn't too overwhelming/confusing for the average North American reader but differentiates the book ever so slightly. I believe there is a sequel to the book out now as well!