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Sunday, November 25, 2007

Teen Idol, by Meg Cabot






I hardly believe that there is a real Meg Cabot. I think, instead, there might be a factory filled with desperate writers chained to desks churning these puppies out. Maybe the 'real' Meg Cabot walks through every now and then to whip them and to make sure everything is saccharine, light, oh so very 'clean', whiter than wonder bread, and that the heroines (to really stretch a word) are just charmingly awkward enough to be non-threatening.



Seriously. Have you seen pictures of Meg Cabot? I don't want to sound catty, but the woman seems to be experiencing some kind of bizarre prolonged adolescence complete with the kind of fashion faux-pas that made Drew Barrymore's annoying character in Never Been Kissed (a story of a woman who can't let go of high school) so easily mockable. Check this out.



On the left, in the pink, a photo from La Cabot's own web site. Note the tiara, note the fuzzy thing. On the right, please note Ms. Barrymore's similar fuzzy thing. I need say no more.

Anyway, Teen Idol is the story of regular everyday girl Jenny Greenley, who gets along with everyone but who has no boyfriend (awww) who is asked by her principal to help guide an under cover teen movie star through a few weeks of regular high school life as preparation for a movie he is working on. Already we have stretched credibility to the snapping point. The premise is absurd- does Cabot really suggest that readers believe that teen movie stars infiltrate high schools and that no one would notice (unless, of course, at the fundraising car wash, said teen idol takes off his shirt to reveal his distinctive tattoo, blowing his cover?)? Arrrrgh. This kind of makes my head explode.

You can guess the rest. Bleh. I kind of want to wash my brain now. And don't even get me started on The Princess Diaries.

Teen Idol

Quality: 2 Popularity: 6 Overall: 8 YA

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