Famous

sdlkfjlkjsdlvninfvoljfnb! Okay. Now that I've got that out of my system, let's move on from the crazy week I'm having to the actual review. I picked this out randomly last week because it looked like a good lighthearted teen book (kinda like Audrey, Wait). Well, it wasn't, but it was still really good in a different way. I had one of those moments where right after you finish the book, you're just in a daze and you don't do anything for a minute. That probably doesn't describe it very well, but I hope you know the feeling. The "I'm kind of in shock that that's over" kind of feeling. Anyway, enough with my profoundness (ha. yeah right). The book is Famous by Todd Strasser.
Jamie is a prodigy of sorts, or at least that's what the articles say about her. At fifteen, she's the youngest paparazzo in New York City (though she prefers the term "celebrity photographer") and very well known because of a few lucky photos she has gotten. Suddenly, right as her career is fading, she gets an opportunity to go to LA and spend a week photographing Willow Twine. Willow is still in the "sweet girl who appeals to the younger audience" category of stars, though that's been jeopardized by a stint in rehab that was quickly shoved into a corner. When Jamie wakes up one morning in LA, she finds her camera in a different place and, more importantly, carrying photos that she never took. These photos could catapult her career and ruin Willow's. 
Then Jamie starts to think about what led up to this, and the story -from the beginning- is slowly pieced together with some help from her best friend Avy. Between this unravels Avy's own story of his experiences with fame and fortune. Suddenly nothing is clear, and the darker side of Hollywood is exposed.
Yeah. It's kind of sad sometimes and makes you think other times, and it's a really great book. Not lighthearted, though, and I would suggest this to high schoolers only. I still really liked it. One disclaimer, however: pay attention to the time caption at the beginning of each chapter! I spent the first couple chapters being oblivious to them and got severely confused. You've been warned! Anyway, get Famous at SHS.