Teenreads.com -- GIRL OF THE MOMENT by Lizabeth Zindel

GIRL OF THE MOMENT
Lizabeth Zindel
Puffin/Penguin Young Readers Group
Fiction
Hardcover: 0670062103
Paperback: 9780142411049
288 pages

Lily is determined to become an intern for the summer, but her first job is cancelled --- which works out to her advantage when 16-year-old Hollywood movie star sensation Sabrina Snow needs someone to work for her. Lily is ecstatic to interview, even though getting the job would mean missing out on going to camp with her best friend and not seeing her crush, Max.

The interview goes well, although Lily ends up selling her nude drawing of Max (created from imagination) to Sabrina at the star's insistence. Before committing to hiring her, Sabrina invites Lily to attend Sabrina's movie premiere, where she manages to fall down on the red carpet. Lily is in charge of dog-sitting Sabrina's little pooch, Mercedes --- who gets away from her and urinates on Sabrina's director.

Sabrina is furious with Lily, but she's even angrier when she notices that Lily is dancing with Sabrina's hunky, funny and nice boyfriend, Bronson. Happily for Lily, Sabrina still hires her, although the star warns her in no uncertain terms to stay away from Bronson.

One of Lily's jobs is sending form letter answers to those who write mail to Sabrina. One letter, in which the fan pleads for Sabrina's help dealing with cruel school bullies, haunts her. However, when Lily tries to get Sabrina involved, the young star simply scoffs. Meanwhile, Lily jeopardizes her job by letting someone not on the list into a press gathering, and the person makes trouble.

Sabrina goes all out to make Lily look ridiculous in front of Bronson, who continues to befriend her. Meanwhile, Lily can't get the desperate fan letter writer out of her mind. What can she do? Lily realizes she's headed for trouble but can't seem to stop her life from careening out of control.

GIRL OF THE MOMENT is an interesting, amusing peek at the rewards and challenges of working for a famous movie starlet. Although a few of the plot twists seem slightly far-fetched, and Sabrina and her friends are predictable stock characters, this was an enjoyable read with a surprising amount of substance beneath the froth.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

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