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You are here: Home / Favorites / Editor's Pick / Love and Fame: Open Road Summer and Something Real

Love and Fame: Open Road Summer and Something Real

April 24, 2014 by Sandie 4 Comments

Open Road Summer and Something Real
In the past month I’ve read two contemporaries — “Open Road Summer” and “Something Real” — that really struck a chord, because they were romances, yes, but they were also commentaries on celebrity, fame, friendship, and family. “Open Road Summer” by Emery Lord and “Something Real” by Heather Demetrios are not fluffy bubble-gum reads; they’re both substantial and thought-provoking, and OK, of course, there are swoon-worthy boys, but there’s more to these novels, so much more. They make you think about the artifice of fame, the necessity of having one person unconditionally in your corner  (a best friend, a brother, a boyfriend who can go the distance), and  how celebrity (whether earned in the case of “Open Road Summer” musicians) or thrust upon you (the kids in “Something Real”) can make you jaded and distrustful.

Although the protagonists have different connections to fame — Reagan (“Open Road Summer”) is a country/pop crossover-star’s (think Taylor Swift when she first hit it big) best friend, whereas Bonnie aka Chloe (“Something Real”) is the daughter in an a mega-family reality show  — they both struggle with how fame and our 24/7 celebrity culture can warp reality into something, well, unreal, plastic, as Botoxed as Chloe’s mom’s face.

Reagan sees the price of fame in how her best friend Dee (known to her fans as Lilah Montgomery) has to hide the pain over the break-up with her one true love. Having made bad choices in her own relationships, Reagan is so jaded about fame she doesn’t really know what to make of Matt Finch, the boy band-turned-singer/songwriter who’s enlisted to fake-date Lilah. Who is Matt Finch, really? Can he be as clever, kind, and interested as he seems? Is it just an act, or is he actually deep and burying his own emotional scars? You might think you have everything figured out. That the story is going to be predictable about the romance, but it isn’t. Of course we know the “who” — it’s Reagan and Matt — but this is definitely not a case of insta-love. There are actual conversations and an extended period of flirting, getting to know each other, and eventually even the sharing of secrets and grief and favorite Bob Dylan lyrics. Matt might be hot, charming and famous, but he’s learned how to keep parts of himself hidden, just like Reagan does.

“Open Road Summer” by Emery Lord

Publisher: Walker, 352 pages | Release Date: April 15, 2014 | Source: ARC | Buy it: Amazon or IndieBound

After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.

As for “Something Real” protagonist Chloe, she’s really Bonnie Baker, 1/13th of the famous “Baker’s Dozen” kids, who grew up on a reality series ala “Jon & Kate Plus 8.” After her parents’ divorce, the show got cancelled, but now that her mom is remarried, the show is going back on the air — just as Chloe was settling into her senior year of high school with good friends and an interested guy, Patrick, who, as Danielle pointed out, is one of the best “book boyfriends” in YA. Chloe HATES the idea of being back on the air, having cameras intrude on her life again, and of making the paparazzi descend like vultures to carrion. Everyone around her seems to think the fame has its perks. Her gorgeous sister Lexie doesn’t mind being branded the “sexy one,” her Barbie doll of a mother is fit and 40 and ready to be camera ready at all times if it means a comfortable life of luxury. But Chloe, and to a lesser extent her brother Benton (who’s not-so-secretly gay and dating his best friend), aren’t interested in anything but a future that involves a home — not a set — and a family not a cast.

“Something Real”  by Heather Demetrios

Publisher: Macmillan, 416 pages | Release Date: Feb. 04, 2014 | Source: ARC | Buy it: Amazon or IndieBound

Seventeen-year-old Bonnie™ Baker has grown up on TV—she and her twelve siblings are the stars of one-time hit reality show Baker’s Dozen. Since the show’s cancellation and the scandal surrounding it, Bonnie™ has tried to live a normal life, under the radar and out of the spotlight. But it’s about to fall apart…because Baker’s Dozen is going back on the air. Bonnie™’s mom and the show’s producers won’t let her quit and soon the life she has so carefully built for herself, with real friends (and maybe even a real boyfriend), is in danger of being destroyed by the show. Bonnie™ needs to do something drastic if her life is ever going to be her own—even if it means being more exposed than ever before.

I could go on and on about each book (both, coincidentally, are debut novels), but I just wanted to share how I impressed I was with these two contemps, their takes on celebrity, and their authentic, heart-warming romances.

Also, listen to  the “Something Real” playlist!

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Filed Under: Editor's Pick, Favorites, Top Features Tagged With: books we love, debut authors, romance

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Comments

  1. loveatfirstpage says

    April 24, 2014 at 7:36 am

    Great reviews, Sandie! It makes me SO happy that you ended up loving Something Real, too. Patrick is as swoony as it gets, and Benny is such a great character to. Very great relationship dynamics. I actually hope we get her sister’s book in the future – I think she definitely has a story to tell.

    I didn’t love ORS – all due to Reagan’s incessant girl on girl hate – but Matt, the friendship, the discussion of fame, and the road trip were all great. I wanted to so bad to give this book 5 stars, but Reagan made the impossible. :/

    Reply
  2. Dahlia Adler says

    April 24, 2014 at 1:55 pm

    YES – both of these books are so freaking good and such fabulous takes on both relationships and celebrity. So glad to see them get love, always <3

    Reply
  3. Brittany says

    May 1, 2014 at 8:54 am

    I was really not as interested in Something Real just because I’m not big on the whole “reality” side of it (which is funny because I like watching it but not reading about it?) but if you’re comparing it to Open Road Summer, well…. That already has me interested! I didn’t think I would like the fame and celebrity aspects of ORS either but Emery Lord totally nailed it and I actually REALLY loved it. I guess I need to give SR a chance!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Literary Crush: Matt Finch from Open Road Summer by Emery Lord - Teen Lit Rocks says:
    December 9, 2014 at 8:01 am

    […] worth reading right away. It turned out to be a cute, fun, and surprisingly substantial read about friendship, fame, and love. Yes, in some ways it was predictable (it was obvious the first time we meet Matt that he and […]

    Reply

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Hello fellow book lovers! Teen Lit Rocks is run by Sandie Chen, a professional book reviewer and film critic. Our contributors are all adult women (librarians, educators, mothers) hailing from across the U.S. and Canada who love to read YA. We support diversity in teen literature and can't wait to discuss our recommendations with you.

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