Customer Reviews

Talent (Talent Novels)

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

 

 

Mackenzie may only be an eighth-grader, but she's lived in L.A. for her entire life, and she knows the entertainment scene like the back of her perfectly moisturized hand. With no special abilities or hobbies of her own other than being the leader of her group of popular friends, Mac thinks perhaps her talent is finding that in other people, allowing her to follow in the footsteps of her mother, the famous talent agent.

When Emily, her mother, and her best friend visit Los Angeles to go sight-seeing (and hopefully celebrity-spotting), they have no idea that Emily might be the next big thing. Mackenzie does, though. After Emily acts her way into a Hollywood party, her path crosses with Mac's, and the rest is history. The week that follows features shopping sprees, auditions, and lies that could strengthen or threaten friendships and careers.

Talent will appeal to fans of The Clique by Lisi Harrison and The Ashleys by Melissa de la Cruz. Each character has her own storyline (Mac's three best friends also have famous parents and are trying to make their own strides in or out of the industry; Emily's best friend was the one with real acting aspirations) and the plots overlap evenly. These girls have money (and bridges) to burn.

I wish that Mac and company were a little less materialistic and a little more aware of the real world. I hope that Emily stays true to herself as the series continues. I was glad that this book was far tamer, content-wise, than Dean's series The A-List, more appropriate for a younger but similar audience.

Los Angeles. Hollywood. The place is crawling with talent. Everywhere you look there's some stick-thin girl trying her hand at modeling; hard-bodied hottie striving to become the next Brad Pitt; geeky waiter spending his lunch breaks penning the next big film script. Chances are, if you're in Hollywood, you're looking for fame. And to achieve fame, you'd better have a ton of talent. Like Mackenzie Little-Armstrong's family.

Twelve-year-old Mackenzie "Mac" Little-Armstrong may be the toast of the town at Bel-Air Middle School, aka BAMS, but at home, she's just another face in the crowd. While her older brother, Jenner, is a talented surfer who's constantly snagging prizes at competitions; her younger sister, Maude, is a certified genius; her father is an amazing screenwriter; and her mother is the first-ever woman to become an agent for Initiative, one of the biggest agencies in the country, repping some of the latest and greatest stars to hit Hollywood; Mac is simply a nobody. Sure, she has great fashion sense, wields an AmEx like nobody's business, and has friends galore. But what she really wants is a talent; and she's determined to find one.

Cordelia "Coco" Kingsley has been living in her mother, Cardammon's, shadow since she inhaled her first breath. Cardammon is a huge name in the music industry, and one of the most talented vocalists. Luckily, Coco managed to inherit both Cardammon's amazing looks, and her vocal capacity. Between her singing and her dancing, Coco just knows that she could be the next big thing. Unfortunately, solo stars are out; duos are in. To have a shot at stardom, Coco will have to pair up with a partner. But when Cardammon introduces the girl to Coco, fists fly. Coco's new partner is Mac's enemy. Aka, Coco's enemy.

Evangelina Becks is tan, tall, and gorgeous. While her best friends, Coco and Mac spend hours primping and getting ready, Becks is more of an effortless beauty, simply stepping out with a swipe of lipgloss on her mouth, and her sun-kissed hair hanging loosely down her back. As an amazing female surfer, being out on the water is just another day at the beach. But conversing with her suddenly-hot neighbor, Austin Holloway, has become the challenge of a lifetime. She wants to share kisses with him, and hold hands; but if she doesn't confess her true feelings, someone else just may snatch him up first.

Emily Mungler is anything but LA cool. An Iowa native, Emily and her best friend Paige Harrington are visiting LA for a little rest and relaxation; but the one thing they're determined to do is get a glimpse of their favorite movie star, Davey Woodward. With Emily's mom in tow, the two besties are planning on getting into true diva mode this week. But when Emily surprises everyone by displaying her secret talent, acting, even Mac is impressed. Mac is determined to make Emily a star during her Hollywood stay. And maybe, just maybe, by helping Emily to reach her true potential, Mac will be able to find her talent, as well.

Zoey Dean has penned tons of novels, but TALENT is the first one I have ever read. I only wish that I would have paid her efforts more mind in the past, as TALENT was a true blast. Dean takes the GOSSIP GIRL set and basically shrinks them down in size, creating middle school characters who have amazing taste in fashion, and a determination to take over the world; or, at least, Bel Air Middle School. Mackenzie is the girl about town. Great clothes, amazing family, and the Queen of her clique. Coco and Becks, on the other hand, seem a little insecure at times; and rely on Mackenzie to speak for them, pick out their outfits, and basically, make their decisions; yet they each have qualities about them that you can't help but savor. Emily is the one character who seems relatable. She's endearing, tough, and sweet, with a Midwestern charm that can't be beat. Emily's bumbling ways of trying to fit in with the Hollywood set are charming; and her character truly makes the reader excited to find out what will happen next. Breezy, lighthearted, fun...I can't wait for the sequel!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

Twelve year old Mackenzie (a.k.a. "Mac"), daughter of Hollywood's best agent, is one of those girls who has everything she could ever want. But she has one problem: she bet Ruby Goldman, the daughter of Hollywood's best producer and her arch enemy, that she could turn any random girl into a movie star in less than one week. Now the start of the week is coming up and Mac needs to come up with a plan...and fast!

I bought Zoey Dean's talent because I thought it looked good based on the cover. Unfortunatly the cover was better than the book. It was boring, unrealistic, and the title showed that the author was desperate to sell herself. Rather than calling the book Talent, she just had to call it Zoey Dean's Talent. Sounds awefully like she had been rejected a lot before getting published. Which makes sense because Zoey Dean's Talent was a waste of my time and I didn't finish the first chapter before I got bored. My message to people thinking to buy this book is to drop the book and leave the scene. It is not worth your time, and money.

WHY THE HELL IS THIS BOOK SET IN MIDDLE SCHOOL!?!

Every problem I could possible have with this book is stemmed from that one thing. You see, the characters in this book act like high schoolers, they dress like high schoolers, and they talk like high schoolers. The problem? They're in MIDDLE SCHOOL. This might be a problem, had the plan the whole novel revolved around not taken place. It did though, which made everything seem a little off in the novel because of their age. I can't really say I know what the publisher or author were thinking when they made them that young. Maybe they thought it would help sale. Gossip Girl for tweens or something. Okay, but if you're going to do that, you need to make sure the plot fits their age or it just doesn't work. What's even sadder is that this book would have been nearly wonderful if the girls had just been two or three years older.

Now, you're probably thinking that I hated this book but that's not really true. I did, obviously, have some problems with it, but in the end, it was a good book. The characters, despite the above problem, were actually quite well-developed and the plot was enjoyable, though slightly predictable. More importantly, however, was the fact that everything came together in the end to make a novel clean enough for younger readers and enjoyable enough that even the older readers will quite enjoy it. I do plan on reading and reviewing the upcoming sequels, in hope that they may get better as they go on.

Want to read it? I suggest getting either a cheap, used copy or finding someone to borrow it from.

(BTW, what do you think of the new review style? Let me know what you think!)

Mac Little-Armstrong has the ideal life: she's pretty, popular, rich, has a great and loving family and wonderful friends. But she's missing only one thing--a talent. She's surrounded by many talented friends and people, but yet can't seem to find one thing she's gifted at. Until one night she sees Midwesterner Emily Mungler cajoling security into letting her into one of the most exclusive after parties in Hollywood, and realizes that this small town girl has It. She's got the talent to make it as the new big actress, and only Mac recognizes it. Now she'll have to do the nearly impossible: teach Emily the Hollywood ropes and land her the most sought after role in the surefire blockbuster movie along side the hunky Davey Woodward. She'll have her work cut out for her...

Zoey Dean's Talent takes a fresh new spin on the boring privileged teen genre. The plot is one that is fast paced, awesome, and one that is easily believable. The characters have a tendency to be a little vain and quite materialistic, but their attitudes and personalities are a clear representation of young teens today. But Talent isn't all about the fabulous clothes and jobs--staying true to your friends, honesty, and loyalty are very present throughout the story, and add just the right touch of reality to the plot, making Talent a wholesome, yet deliciously fun and summery read.

You have to have TALENT to make it in this world.

Meet Bel-Air Middle School's social queens: Mackenzie, Evangelina, and Cordelia.

Mackenzie Little-Armstrong has everything, except for one major important thing... talent. It's pretty obvious to Mackenzie that she has no talent, especially when she is compared to her mother, an agent; her father, a screenwriter; her older brother, Jenner, a surfer; and her younger sister, Maude, a genius. It's even obvious to People magazine. So now Mackenzie has to find her talent fast before anyone has the chance to knock her off her high horse.

Evangelina Becks is proud to be one of the best female surfers out there. Being out on the waves isn't the least bit scary, but having a crush on her best guy friend, Austin Holloway, is. Can she ignore the feeling she gets whenever he's around, or will she speak up before it's too late?

Cordelia Kingsley is a wonderful singer, which makes sense since her mother, Cardammon, is one of the biggest names in the music industry. And since duo groups are in, Cardammon made sure that her daughter was paired up with the perfect person. The only thing is, the other half of this up-and-coming group just so happens to be Mackenzie's enemy.

Then there is Emily Mungler who, with her mom and best friend, Paige Harrington, is visiting Hollywood. All the glitz and glamour was just how she expected it to be. Like everyone else, Emily has a talent, a secret talent. So secret that she doesn't even know about it either: she can act.

Mackenzie notices Emily's talent and wants to make sure that it doesn't go unnoticed. While trying to help Emily, Mackenzie just might be able to finder her own talent along the way.

TALENT is the newest guilty pleasure that will have you hooked. Fans of THE A-LIST and THE CLIQUE now have another series they need to get their hands on.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

Why
is
this
book
set
in
the
middle
school
scene?

Seriously, that's what all of this book's problems boil down to. The characters are unbelievable for twelve-year-olds. You have to be kidding me that so many adults would take preteens as seriously as they're taken here. People don't even take ME this seriously and I'm considerably older and less spoiled than these girls.

Problematic points:

Mac (center of this book) somehow manages to fool a handful of adults while she's playing Emily Mungler's agent. A twelve-year-old playing another twelve-year-old's agent. (Sarcasm.)

Coco and Ruby have an audition with a major record company because "some duo has got to become the year's hottest performers". What was the last twelve-year-old duo we've seen make it big? JoJo was thirteen when she took off a zillion years ago and Miley Cirus is everywhere nowadays, but those are the only two examples I can think of in the last five or six years. Most new artists are what, seventeen pushing eighteen?

Becks loses the boy she has her eye on to some nondescript chick with a big chest. Again, totally happened when I was in middle school, but really? I mean, is this really what you're trying to feed the readers?

I could go on, but it all goes back to what I said in the beginning: Why is this set in middle school? It just kills the series completely. It's pushing not only the limits of the known world, but also the limits of impossibility set forth by other Alloy Entertainment series such as A-List, Gossip Girl and It Girl.

The world as we know it has been reduced to a zombie universe where twelve-year-olds are figures of responsibility and authority. I'll probably pick up future books cos I suck like that, but be warned that you'll need major suspension of belief to get over some of the plot twists. This coming from someone who enjoys aforementioned A-List, Gossip Girl and It Girl.

If you're looking for a good fashion-centric middle grade novel, try Frenemies by Alexa Young.

I thought the cover of this book was pretty creative, and since it touched my own quiet longing to break into fame and be an actress, I decided to chance this book.

It started out alright, but soon became a dry and too-fast novel with breezy characters, confusing plot twists, and a used-way-too-many-times plot.

I found myself startled by the glaringly obvious similarities between this book and an earlier successful series dealing with the same broad topics- "The Clique" by Lisi Harrison. The characters are all too familiar, and the plot has been used, not only by Lisi, but by so many other desperate teen's writers.

So overall, I barely finished the book, with no feeling for it afterward. It was a good idea that was overwhelmed by a new author's thirst for empty characters, an old plot line of the struggling teenager breaking into fame, and an undeniably boring ending. In other words, this book severely lacked, well... talent.

Like any young girl, Mackenzie "Mac" Little-Armstrong wants to find her talent--that one thing that she does better than any of the other students at Bel Air Middle School. Her friends already found their talents: Becks surfs like none other, and Cordelia is such a good singer that she's already working with a major record company. So why can't Mac figure out what it is that she's good at?

Mac finds more than she bargained for when she meets Emily Mungler, a Midwestern girl with a flair for the dramatic. Mac sees what Emily doesn't--that Emily is a great actress. That's when Mac realizes: What if her talent is discovering the talent in others? What if she's the only one who can get Emily the recognition she deserves?

Cute, fun, and impossible to put down, Zoey Dean's TALENT will definitely appeal to fans of her A-LIST series.