Tales of a Hollywood Gossip Queen [Paperback]

Mary Kennedy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2006

Jessie's the queen of buzz... and she's about to get stung!

Landing the star role in Reckless Summer-filmed at her high school last year-definitely had its perks for Jessie Philips. She shared romantic scenes with the superstar, Shane Rockett, and he set her heart aflame. Then he doused it when she caught him kissing a co-star. Jessie thought a summer like that could never be topped-but she was so wrong.

Now she's landed her own teen celeb column in a gossip magazine. Jessie gets to live in Hollywood and rub elbows with all the celebs she drools over (hopefully there will be more rubbing than drooling). She's seeing a lot more of Shane and he's sending out signals too...but sightings of him with a teen actress are giving her major doubts. With Shane's needed A-list contacts and his gorgeous smile, is it worth risking her heart again? It looks like this summer's hottest gossip may be about Jessie.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mary Kennedy is a clinical psychologist in a private practice on the east coast. She specializes in forensic work, and her clients have included murderers, and convicted felons. When she's not chasing down psychopaths, she writes young adult novels and middle grade fiction. She has published 30 novels, and her books have sold twelve million copies worldwide.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (June 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425209938
• ISBN-13: 978-0425209936
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,627,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

STAY TUNED FOR MURDER, the 3rd in the Talk Radio Mysteries is available now! Here's a sneak peek at the series: Maggie Walsh, the heroine, is a former clinical psychologist in Manhattan who closes up her practice to enjoy the sun and sand in south Florida. My agent pitched it and sold it on the basis of five words: Frasier Meets Murder She Wrote. Why? Well, because Maggie snares a job as a radio talk show host (think Frasier) and solves a murder in every book. (think Jessica Fletcher) STAY TUNED has a little woo-woo element because a phony psychic, Chantel Carrington, comes to town, angling for Maggie's job at WYME Radio. Can Chantel really talk to the dead? You'll have to decide for yourself. Maggie's too busy trying to solve a double murder and save her job to have a definitive answer on that question.

STAY TUNED for MURDER is my 40th novel. The best part of being a writer is the actual creation of a novel and seeing it develop from an idea to a finished product. And I love travelling all over the country, speaking at conferences, libraries, schools and military bases, meeting terrific people along the way. So that gives you a little window into my world. Hope you enjoy the book! You can find me on my website www.marykennedy.net or on Facebook.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun story!, July 6, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of a Hollywood Gossip Queen (Paperback)

When Jessi Phillips is flown to L.A. to rerecord lines for the movie
"Reckless Summer," the last thing she anticipates is staying longer than a few weeks.

Jessi and her best friend Tracy get summer internships at a new gossip
magazine about the stars called Juicy. Jessi is put in charge of the teen stars department, and her first interview is with rising star Jazz Holiday, another newcomer to "Tinsel Town."

However, Jessi is thrust into the spotlight when her earlier romance
with heartthrob Shane Rocket, who she met while co-starring with him
in Reckless Summer, flames up into something serious. Suddenly life
spirals out of control as she tries to balance life, work, and free time; and a jealous rival stealing and sabotaging Jessi's stories. She still has to break the news of her new relationship to her on again-off again boyfriend Marc, and cope with not just dishing out the gossip, but being a subject of gossip herself. Jessi is discovering that her summer is turning out nothing like she had planned.

In this sequel to Confessions of an Almost Movie Star, Mary Kennedy has crafted a fun story that is filled with excitement, romance, and a healthy dose of celebrity gossip. Tales of a Hollywood Gossip Queen reintroduces characters from Confessions of an Almost Movie Star and lets readers learn more about their lives as the story develops.

Armchair Interviews says: This is an extremely fun story that is
perfect for summertime reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, December 30, 2006

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of a Hollywood Gossip Queen (Paperback)

TALES OF A HOLLYWOOD GOSSIP QUEEN is a fun, fabulous read with a focus that's rather prevalent in current young adult literature: an inside look at Hollywood. In this book, it comes from a girl who stumbles into it all. Jessie never wanted to be a star, but she landed a part next to Hollywood hottie Shane Rockett in the movie Reckless Summer when it was filming in her hometown in Connecticut, and now her life is now inextricably tied to Hollywood--and to Shane. When she has to visit Los Angeles to redo the vocals on the movie, she hooks up with Shane again, and her picture starts appearing in the tabloids.

Soon, though, she's not just being photographed by the media; she's become one of them! Jessie's plans to return to Connecticut are postponed, to her delight, when she lands a summer internship at a hot new entertainment magazine, Juicy. Unfortunately, that might not be as awesome as it seems--not if she has to share the work with nasty Alicia, who seems to have it in for Jessie.

Can a small town girl from Connecticut handle all that goes on in Hollywood?

This is a fun, quick read with great characters and an inside look at Hollywood! It's not the first book to look behind the scenes and into life in the spotlight, but it's one of the most fun. Of course, that topic itself is usually bound to be fun! Jessie is a great main character, and what goes on during her time in Hollywood is entertaining, too. TALES OF A HOLLYWOOD GOSSIP QUEEN is funny, with writing that flows nicely and keeps the reader entertained from the first page to the last. It's definitely a feel-good sort of story, though; almost everything that happens to Jessie is resolved quickly (almost too quickly) and she almost always comes out on the good end of things. Even though the story itself is unrealistic (small town girl ends up in Hollywood dating a superstar? How often does that happen?), it wouldn't hurt to make things like that ring a bit truer. Overall, though, this is a fun, enjoyable read that made me want to read the first book about Jessie's foray into stardom, Confessions of an Almost-Movie Star (Berkley Jam Books).

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

3.0 out of 5 stars Something to pass over., July 27, 2006

By 

Little D (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of a Hollywood Gossip Queen (Paperback)

I read the first book called 'Confessions of An Almost-Movie Star' and really loved it so I was assuming this sequel would be just as great.
Needless to say I was a bit disappointed in it. I'm hoping Kennedy's next book 'Secrets of a South Beach Princess' will match the quality of 'Confessions'.