Teen Idol [Paperback]

Meg Cabot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 26, 2005

High school junior Jenny Greenley is so good at keeping secrets that she's the school newspaper's anonymous advice columnist. She's so good at it that, when hotter-than-hot Hollywood star Luke Striker comes to her small town to research a role, Jenny is the one in charge of keeping his identity under wraps. But Luke doesn't make it easy, and soon everyone -- the town, the paparazzi, and the tabloids alike -- know his secret ... and Jenny is caught right in the middle of all the chaos.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 10–Nothing much happens in the small town of Clayton, IN. At least not until major teen heartthrob, 19-year-old Luke Striker, comes to town to research a part for a new film project. Jen Greenley, a junior at the local high school and all-around friend to everyone, is assigned to show him around. The only problem is that no one besides Jen is supposed to know who he really is. Between keeping his identity a secret, lying to her best friend who's Luke's biggest fan, writing the advice column for the school paper, and developing a crush on her friend Scott who happens to already have a girlfriend, Jen is feeling a little overwhelmed. The characters are funny and engaging and the dialogue is just right; both elements redeem the somewhat predictable plot.–Ginny Collier, Dekalb County Public Library, Chamblee, GA
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. 7-11. To research an upcoming movie role, teen actor and heartthrob Luke Striker goes undercover as a new student at a small Indiana high school. Junior Jenny Greenley (the archetypal girl-next-door) is assigned to be his student guide, and she must swear to help keep his identity a secret. Jenny is great at keeping secrets: no one has guessed that she is the face behind the school newspaper's agony column, "Ask Annie." This predictable but wholly satisfying combination of three love stories reads like a cross between a teen sitcom and Much Ado about Nothing. Cabot has an uncanny ear for both teen dialogue and interior monologue, and she punctuates the plot with aptly selected excerpts from "Ask Annie" and instant messages. The text is peppered with pop-culture references that may date the story eventually, but which, for the moment, give it an extra jolt of immediacy. Debbie Carton
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 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (July 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060096187
• ISBN-13: 978-0060096182
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #623,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Cabot, Meg

More About the Author

I write! Books for you, your sister, your best friend, your mother . . . . even for men with good taste!

Most of my time is spent over at my website, http://megcabot.com, so be sure to stop by!

UK, New Zealand, and Australia fans, visit http://www.megcabot.co.uk.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Amazing Effort By Cabot, July 30, 2004

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teen Idol (Teen's Top 10 (Awards)) (Hardcover)

Seventeen-year-old high school junior, Jenny (Jen) Greenley has always been great at solving everyone's problems. Friendships, relationships, parents, work, anything you have a problem with, she'll help you. Which is why she is Clayton High School's Ask Annie advice columnist. However, no one in school knows that. Not even Jen's best friend, Trina. But when nineteen-year-old screen heartthrob, Luke Striker, comes to Clayton High School posing as a transfer student named Lucas Smith, to research a new role, and Jen is forced to be his guide, she realizes that maybe she's not as good at figuring people out as she thought she was, as there's something about Luke that she can't quite put her finger on. I mean, who knew that a guy as famous as Luke Striker could actually have feelings, and care about people? But all bets are completely off when Luke asks Jen to Clayton High School's Spring Fling dance. And not as a friend, but as an actual...date.

Meg Cabot, being Meg Cabot, is able to create a mountain out of a molehill, and that's what she's accomplished with TEEN IDOL. Jen is a fun character, who so many girls will be able to relate to, as she is the All-American, girl-next-door who wants to help everyone, and cares more about everyone else in the world, and all of their problems, more than she cares about herself and her own problems. Luke Striker is a character who all female readers will fall in love with, as he is so not like what you'd expect from a teen celebrity. He's caring, intelligent, kind, not to mention very easy on the eyes. Cabot has created another book that will capture the hearts of readers the world over. Don't miss TEEN IDOL!!

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important teen issues presented in a delightful read, September 7, 2004

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teen Idol (Teen's Top 10 (Awards)) (Hardcover)

Jen Greenley is the "It" girl in all the magazines. Reporters want to know what color she's wearing to the Clayton High School Spring Fling, and whether she's going to wear her hair up or down. Despite what you may think, though, Jen Greenley is not the title's "teen idol" --- she's just going to the Spring Fling with one.

It all started when reliable, thoughtful Jen, advice columnist for the school paper and "everybody's best friend," was asked by the school administration to guide a new student, Lucas Smith, through his first days at Clayton. Jen and the administration are the only ones who know that Lucas Smith is really Luke Striker, the hottest movie star in Hollywood. All the girls at Clayton think the new boy is cute, but when he accidentally reveals his true identity, Jen finds herself thrown headfirst into her fifteen minutes of fame, and a lot of turmoil with her friends and classmates.

Meg Cabot's trademark charming wit and ability to capture Jen's multitude of emotions make this book a delightful read for everyone. Jen's transformation from laid-back listener to instigator of social change, with inspiration from Luke Striker, will have you cheering for everyone touched by Jen's bravery. TEEN IDOL is a story with messages concerning self-image, confidence and friendships, but Cabot always keeps it lighthearted and funny. A perfect read for summer --- or fall, or winter, or spring.

--- Reviewed by Carlie Webber

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teen Idol, August 9, 2004

By 

kmr (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teen Idol (Teen's Top 10 (Awards)) (Hardcover)

The main character in this book seems quite different than the ones in Meg's other books- but definitley had a great personality.
Jenny has always been the 'mayonaisse' of the social sandwich- she keeps everything together and everybody, yes EVERYBODY, in her school loves her. Little do they know that she is the secret author in the Advice Columnist of the school newspaper, Ask Annie.
When a teen hearthrob actor comes to their small Indiana school to "study" for a part he will soon be playing, Jenny is the one trusted with his real identity. As more people figure out who he is, he causes Jenny to question her role in the school. Will Jenny be able to help save a few of the school or will she falter under the pressure of being the girl everybody loves?

I personally thought that this story was incredibly well-written. Cabot grasped the way schools usually work and twisted it into a manner that can't help but be loved! AKA: IT ROCKED!!!!