Secrets of My Hollywood Life (Secrets of My Hollywood Life, #1)

Secrets of My Hollywood Life (Secrets of My Hollywood Life #1)

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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77  ·  rating details  ·  7,268 ratings  ·  432 reviews
What if... Your picture was taped inside teenage boys' lockers across America, your closets were bursting with never-worn designer clothing, and the tabloids constantly asked whether you were losing your "good girl" status?

It's a glamorous life, but sixteen-year-old Kaitlin Burke, costar of one of the hottest shows on TV, is exhausted from the pressures of fame. Then she h...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published May 1st 2007 by Poppy
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Nicole
242pp. Park Avenue, New York.
Little,Brown and Company. $7.99
ISBN: 978-0-316-15443-7

“What if? Your picture was taped inside teenage boys' lockers across America, your closets were bursting with never-worn designer clothing, and the tabloids constantly asked whether you were losing your "good girl" status?”

The quote above was how this book, Secrets of the Hollywood by Jen Calonita grabbed my attention, I' m pretty sure it pulled yours too. You will really gobble this one up. The narrator is Kaitli...more
Jennifer Wardrip
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Sixteen-year-old Kaitlin Burke has been on the same nighttime soap, Family Affair, for the past twelve years. In between interviews, press junkets, trips abroad, and other smaller parts, she's had to deal with a demanding publicist, a mother who seems to be living her own life through that of her daughters, and a growing feud with her co-star, Sky Mackenzie. Ever since the two girls were cast, at age four, as fraternal twins on the show, Sky has been the bad gi...more
Annies
I read ‘Secrets oh my Hollywood Life’ by Jen Calonita. This book is about a teenage girl, Kaitlin Burke, who is a famous soap-opera star on the show, Family Affair. When Kaitlin’s hiatus rolls around she realizes she needs a long break from the Hollywood life. Kaitlin’s best friend, Liz, who is a normal teenager, and Kaitlin hatch a plan that Kaitlin will enroll in Liz’s high school, Clark Hall. Kaitlin knows that her manager (her mother) and her publicist will not go for this idea. But, to her...more
Reading Vacation's Mom
REVIEW

So, you think the life of a famous teen actress is a dream come true? Think again. For Kaitlin Burke, living that dream is great, but all she really wants is to try out life as a typical teen.

Kaitlin is one sneaky girl. She manages to fool an entire school when she enrolls as Rachel Rogers – a British transfer student. Seeing that she could pull this off, it was no wonder that she was a famous actress. She could win an Academy Award for the party scene!

One of the things that I really love...more
Cece Jay
Kaitlin Burke, the main protagonist, has to worry about a lot of things. First, there's her career. She's an actress, and constantly has to deal with a lot of publicity (busy sched, tabloid attacks, blog buzz concerning her, backstabbing costars, etc.). Second, her family (what with her overprotective mom who's oh-so-annoying and pushy to dangerous limits, to her I'm-just-not-that-into-the-Hollywood-fame-game-which-is-why-I'm-wearing-a-wrinkled-Ralph-Lauren-shirt dad, to her little bro who's con...more
Caitlin Anne
Hollywood. A place full of glitz and glamour and other details that I (and probably most of the world’s population) am not privy to, but author Jen Calonita (a former entertainment journalist who has interviewed everyone from Reese Witherspoon to Zac Efron) successfully showed us what is must be like to be a famous actress in a hit TV show, thrust into Tinseltown’s crude world filled with backstabbing co-stars, offensive tabloid articles, and rivalry.

Award-winning teenaged actress Kaitlin Burke...more
Adeline Pangilinan
When I had finally gotten bored of science fiction, I started looking for other books to read. One day at the library I found the perfect book called, “The Secrets of My Hollywood Life.” It is a fictional novel about a popular Hollywood teenager, Kaitlin Burke who is a famous for her role on a hit soap opera “Family Affairs.” As the plot thickens, Kaitlin wants to feel like an ordinary teenager and takes her chances as a student in a nearby high school. Now Kaitlin is living a double life and mu...more
Nnenna Ngene
BEFORE YOU READ: This review will contain spoilers!

In this book we meet Kaitlin Burke, an actress on the hit soap-opera series Family Affair. Kaitlin has been in the limelight before she could even read, featuring in commercials and later on hired as an actress for a soap opera which became very successful. Now that the show is coming to a close, Kaitlin has to decide what the next step is to prolong her acting career. She meets new friends along the way, re-discovered who she was and modeled...more
Rebecca
Backtracking to read this series from the start. This book had the same set up as the previous (yet future) book I've read already. A simple YA story with simple characters and plot. That I actually kind of enjoyed, despite how juvenile it was. What does that say about me? Don't answer that. Anyway, during some time off from her TV Show, Girl wants to experience normal high school life. So she enrolls at her besties school under fake everything. The principal knows and acts super lame about it b...more
Diane  Morasco
Secrets of My Hollywood Life is a cute, breezy read that is all about fun! Fun! It is really refreshing to just curl up w/ a kicky read that is just darn enjoyable! No vamps or zombies running around ~ Yay! Jen is like a glass of lemonade when the sun is blaring on your skin... revitalizing!

Jen writes as if she was born w/ a Bic™ attached to her hand. I was just pulled in to Kaitlin's world which is more than Hollywood fluff. Love it! Liz is the friend we all want in our world. Liz is a delightf...more
Minli
Secrets of My Hollywood Life is breezy, light, fun, age-appropriate and occasionally even insightful. And unexpected! With a title like this, I'm thinking, this is another superficial novel about the glamour of living in Hollywood. Unlike what we hear about actual teen stars, Calonita writes about Kaitlin's tensions with her co-star instead of partying, drinking, drugs, underage sex. Either Kaitlin is an amazingly grounded starlet and her entourage does a great job of protecting her and her inte...more
Kiundrea75
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Lauren
I have to admit that going into this I as expecting a whole lot. Maybe an okay read, but nothing close to what I got. Since, surprisingly enough, Secrets of My Hollywood Life was a fabulous read and is officially one of my newest guilty pleasures.

Kaitlin, the main character, is a Hollywood starlet who shows you that while Tinsel Town can be amazing, it comes with it's prices including the fact that a normal life is something that you almost never get. I found Kaitilin to be likeable from start...more
Anniec
Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita is a girly, drama-filled novel packed with intriguing secrets of Hollywood life. This entertaining fiction-based novel is introduced through the eyes of a sixteen year old rising star, Kaitlin. Kaitlin, wanting to lead a “normal” teenage life, decides to take a vacation from her hectic Hollywood lifestyle by disguising herself as the unexpected. Rachel Rogers, a mousy British girl, becomes Kaitlin’s alter ego so that she can attend high school the way...more
Sri
Kaitlin Burke adalah seorang bintang muda Hollywood yang sedang bersinar. Dia ingin sekali merasakan kehidupan sebagai remaja normal yang bersekolah di sekolah publik. Maka disusunlah rencana agar keinginan Kaitlin tercapai. Kaitlin masuk ke sekolah sahabatnya dan untuk menghindari keributan dia memakai penyamaran. Di sekolah itu dia bertemu pemuda (ciyeh pemudaa kekeke) tampan rupawan, baik hati, tidak sombong dan populer. Mereka saling naksir. KEBETULAN Austin, nama pemuda itu, menggemari Kait...more
Holly Lee (Bellas Novella)
I could totally see this book being made into a movie. It has a bit of a "Mean Girls" edge to it that is irresistible. Author Jen Calonita worked at Teen People before starting her life as an author. She obviously got the inside scoop while she was there. She seems to know all about Hollywood politics.

The story is a breeze to read, I finished the book in a days time no problem. Reading it so quickly was partly due to the fact that I was really sucked into the story!

Kaitlin Burke is one of Hollyw...more
Shonali
Nov 11, 2009 Shonali rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: YA book fans
I love reading YA books , a habit I picked up after I started blogging ,even though I am well past the age for YA .Its a pleasant change as a spacer when I am reading classics or some heavy-duty textual stuff . I had this book with me for quite some time now but it was never picked up but when I finally got to it last month ,I finished it straight in one reading.

Secrets Of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita revolves around teen actress Kaitlin who feels that she deserves a chance to see how a nor...more
Tiffany
This book was very good. It showed how every superstar sometimes need a break. And no matter what you should always try. but i think that kaitilin got out of hand. with the school thing. it was a nice thing to mess around with but she anted to stay there for the rest of the year. that is impossible. also she let sky get to her. You can't let people like that get to you because you are giving them exactly what they want. You can't do that. I think that kaitlin stood up with sky for too long worri...more
Stephanie
Kaitlin Burke, a famous actress on a hit television soap opera, wants a normal teenage life. She wants to go to school and have friends and potentially date a normal guy who doesn't like her just to get publicity.

Her best friend, Liz, is the daughter of a famous entertainment lawyer and goes to a normal high school. When they concoct a plan to get Kaitlin to attend the school as Rachel, a student from London with the ultimate disguise, Kaitlin is ready to experience life as a normal teen.

But i...more
Brittni
Who'da thunk a book about a Hollywood starlet could be so boring?

I picked this book out because I'd heard all the accolades it was receiving, and normally I enjoy books of a similar vein. I was sorely disappointed with this one.

It didn't help that the plot's been done before, and BETTER (True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet, to name a personal favorite). Hollywood actress decides to go undercover and be a normal girl for once. Of course, she meets a guy there who ends up liking her for hersel...more
Izzy
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Anna Rumer
Secrets of My Hollywood Life
By Jen Calonita
Little, Brown
256 pages
Ages 10+
$7.99
ISBN: 978-0-316-154437
Rating: 10/10
© 2006

Sixteen-year-old Kaitlin Burke has been star of the popular soap opera Family Affair since she was four, and she’s tired of her Hollywood lifestyle. She longs for the experience of a regular teenager at a regular high school.
Kaitlin and her best friend, Liz, concoct a plan for her to attend an LA high school during hiatus. She will wear a disguise for two months and play the p...more
Nicole
For a YA book I really liked it.. Most of the time ya annoys me because its tooooooo everything.. Too lame drama filled too over dramatic too insecure and too immature. I only like the ones with believable amounts of drama, believable interactions between characters, and having the main character not be a wishy washy drama queen with No backbone.. Even tho you had to stretch your imagination a little bit, all the characters were likable enough (besides Sky, Lori, and lets face it-Trevor.. Sure h...more
Danielle
Feb 23, 2009 Danielle rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teen Girls
Recommended to Danielle by: Anilee
Shelves: young-adult
What I really loved and appreciated about this book was how it had no swearing, no inappropriate subject matter, and was completely fun to read! The plot was actually interesting enough that I read it one day because I wanted to know what would happen next. I also appreciated the dialogue and sense of honesty with the characters (particularly Kaitlan). Overall a very satisfying read.
Christian
Buku pertama di seri Secrets of My Hollywood Life. Dengan bangga gue bilang, ini salah satu seri yang gue ikutin dari buku satu. Cara berceritanya enak, karakternya memiliki values yang berimbang (i hate innocent beyotch character), dan bagian paling juicy tuh terletak di...

RAHASIA HOLLYWOOD-NYA!

Salah satu yang gue inget banget, dan selalu gue pake sebagai gimmick buat mempromosikan buku ini ke temen-temen, adalah: fakta yang nggak pernah gue tau tentang pekerjaan 'seat filler'. Ternyata ya, di...more
Moira
I picked up this book for the reason that all that Hollywood glitz and glamour kind of thing in a book interests me in a way. I would never know how things would work in that industry but this book gave me an idea how it might be like to be a Hollywood star. It gave me juicy tidbits of a celebrity life but more than that, it was an adventure. From the red carpet, our leading girl throws herself into high school and we get to witness all the drama that high school has to offer. So given those dou...more
Natalie
1.5 Stars

I felt sad for it so I marked it as 2 stars.

This book was just a big pile of meh. Everything was so average, it was boring. The story follows Kaitlin who was wants to be a real boy regular teen! Cue Hannah Montana theme song. She enrolls in a school, gets exposed and ends up happily ever after anyway. Oh, and the bad guy(her mean co-star, Sky) gets her just desserts in the end. Yay!


Alright, time to get serious. The plot was predictable, the characters were likable but forgettable. I sor...more
Arabella  Adrienne
Wow . . . I really liked this book. I admit this unashamedly.

Here's an example: I go to the library on Thursday. See a six-book series, so I pick up the first three. (HINT HINT) I finish the first one and start the second one. The next day I finish the second one and start the third one, and stop by the library to pick up the rest of the series. I finish the third one that night, then the fourth one the next day. I am still in the process of reading the fifth one, but that shouldn't be long eith...more
Kelly Hager
Kaitlyn is not your average teenager. She's on a hit TV show and spends her summers shooting movies and doing interviews. She loves her life and is grateful...but part of her wonders what it would be like to be a normal girl.

And so she has an idea. During her show's hiatus, she's going to go to a real high school. She changes her clothes, hair, eye color and name and decides to find out how everyone else lives.

It's weird at first, not being the center of attention and getting picked on by the pr...more
Claire
The first couple chapters were a bit dull, but the rest was really addicting. When Kaitlin started her double life, conflicts kept piling up, and when I had to stop reading, I coldn't stop wondering what was going to happen. Another plus, Austin is way appealing to the readers :)

A downside to this book was that it was really predictable. I hope the next book can keep up the intensity in conflicts!
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Loved this book!!! 4 31 Nov 23, 2008 11:47am  
Secrets of My Hollywood Life (Secrets of My Hollywood Life, #1)
Secrets of My Hollywood Life (Secrets of My Hollywood Life, #1)
Secrets of My Hollywood Life (Secrets of My Hollywood Life, #1)
Secrets of My Hollywood Life (Secrets of My Hollywood Life, #1)
Secrets of My Hollywood Life (Secrets of My Hollywood Life, #1)

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Hi Goodreads!
I'm Jen Calonita, a YA author who loves what I do because it lets me connect with all of you (and no, I wasn't intending for that to rhyme!).

I've been writing ever since I can remember, but it was fourth grade when I put my "three wishes" for a genie down on paper. They were:
#1. Buy all the Cabbage Patch Kids in the world and give them away for free (because apparently that was how I...more
More about Jen Calonita...
On Location (Secrets of My Hollywood Life, #2) Family Affairs (Secrets of My Hollywood Life, #3) Sleepaway Girls Paparazzi Princess (Secrets of My Hollywood Life, #4) Belles (Belles, #1)

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