All Jamie Gordon wants to do is to take pictures of celebrities...and maybe to become famous herself. She's only fourteen, but already her work is ...
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reviews
Jun 03, 2011
Barbara
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New York teen Jamie Gordon loves taking photographs, and when she happens to snap a shot of a famous actress behaving badly in public, her career seems to take off and leads to her being invited for an exclusive weeklong shoot with Willow Twine, a singer and actress who is trying to revamp her tarnished image. Told through text messages, emails, newspaper clippings, and straight narrative from Jamie and others secondary to the main story, this title is a cautionary tale about the illusory qualit
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May 10, 2011
C.
rated it:
FAMOUS BY TODD STRASSER
As the author of several issue-reflecting teenage novels, Todd Strasser targeted the word “fame” in his new novel Famous. Protagonist Jamie Gordon lived in New York, where streets are filled with the rich and famous. Jamie had worked her way to become famous by taking photographs of celebrities like a paparazzo. She got herself a personal article in the New York Times, sold her photo to People magazine and owned the cover, and then she got to spend a week with bi More...
As the author of several issue-reflecting teenage novels, Todd Strasser targeted the word “fame” in his new novel Famous. Protagonist Jamie Gordon lived in New York, where streets are filled with the rich and famous. Jamie had worked her way to become famous by taking photographs of celebrities like a paparazzo. She got herself a personal article in the New York Times, sold her photo to People magazine and owned the cover, and then she got to spend a week with bi More...
May 01, 2011
Mrs. ReaderPants
rated it:
See more of my reviews/book trailers at http://readerpants.blogspot.com.
What I liked: What I like about this book are the very things I do not like about it. With a unique format of emails, interviews, and news clippings, Famous begs the question, "How far does one go to pursue fame?" Each piece of the plot puzzle provides the reader clues to mysteries presented in the story. Even though it can be confusing, telling the story out of chronological order keeps readers g More...
Oct 11, 2011
Julie
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Jamie Gordon is famous for being the youngest paparazzi. She has a knack for getting just the right pictures of the stars. Her fellow paparazzi think that she is just a one-hit wonder. Her mother refuses to call her photography skills a career. And her boyfriend seems to be distancing himself from her.
When superstar Willow Twine requests Jamie come to LA and do an exclusive photo shoot for a week, Jamie is thrilled. Willow is trying to boost her career. After coming out of rehab she h More...
When superstar Willow Twine requests Jamie come to LA and do an exclusive photo shoot for a week, Jamie is thrilled. Willow is trying to boost her career. After coming out of rehab she h More...
Jul 19, 2011
Magan
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This was one of my least favorite books I've ever read. I was intrigued by the story of a teenage photographer, as I am a professional photographer. I expected there to be a lot of story that unfolded after we found out what the main character (whose name I DO NOT KNOW - and that bothers me a lot) found the extra six frames on her camera. Don't expect to find out what she found until the *very* end of the book. I think the book's summary is pretty pathetic as the book mostly is NOT about those f
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May 30, 2011
Emma
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having high hopes for this book, i was kind of let down. i am a big Strasser fan and a bit of an ameture photographer myself. although i enjoyed this book, it has a very rough start. the different chapters jump around between different characters, time periods, and even news paper articles. it took me half way through the book to fully understand what was going on. had it not been by one of my favorite authors, i know i would have put it down long before halfway. thank goodness i didn't. once yo
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Mar 23, 2011
BAYA
rated it:
Jamie Gordon is called the Baby Paparazzo, and with good reason. Through skill and luck she has shot three celebrity pictures that have gained her fame and money. She chases celebrities during her off-school hours, and then is offered a week with the hottest teen girl star in the country to shoot her “real life”.
Strasser made this premise work pretty well- it’s believable that Jamie, at 16, has a level of ability and luck that allow her to catch celebrities to take those embarrassing p More...
Strasser made this premise work pretty well- it’s believable that Jamie, at 16, has a level of ability and luck that allow her to catch celebrities to take those embarrassing p More...
May 10, 2011
Blackraven
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It's about fame, being famous and the side effects of it.
There's a whole industry based on it.
This Book follows Jamie. She's becoming acidentally famous and she likes to be famous.Her boyfriend and her parents don't like her celebrity and they aren't excited as Jamie herself. One of her classmates wants to be an actor and he's getting surgeries for his beauty.They don't like her celebrity existence, too.Jamie enjoys her new world until she sees the dark side of the business. This Boo More...
There's a whole industry based on it.
This Book follows Jamie. She's becoming acidentally famous and she likes to be famous.Her boyfriend and her parents don't like her celebrity and they aren't excited as Jamie herself. One of her classmates wants to be an actor and he's getting surgeries for his beauty.They don't like her celebrity existence, too.Jamie enjoys her new world until she sees the dark side of the business. This Boo More...
Feb 06, 2012
Sarah
rated it:
Famous was somewhere between okay and good.
The beginning was very dry and boring. The concept and theme of the book is a good one. How we have an obsession over fame and famous people. How we all secretly yearn to lead the "ideal" life, the celebrity life. From the first chapter though, it was just all so cliche and I felt like I had read it all before. The protagonist, Jamie was very dull and almost as annoying as Avy. I know as the reader you're suppose to feel sorry for hi More...
The beginning was very dry and boring. The concept and theme of the book is a good one. How we have an obsession over fame and famous people. How we all secretly yearn to lead the "ideal" life, the celebrity life. From the first chapter though, it was just all so cliche and I felt like I had read it all before. The protagonist, Jamie was very dull and almost as annoying as Avy. I know as the reader you're suppose to feel sorry for hi More...
Apr 10, 2011
Jennifer
rated it: 
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
We are fascinated with the rich and famous. We buy magazines and tune in to shows like the Insider to get glimpses of our favorite celebrities in both their high moments and their even juicier low moments. Our appetite for celebrity gossip is satisfied by gutsy, risk-taking paparazzi and their ability to be in the right place at just the right time.
Jamie Gordon has become the darling of the paparazz More...
We are fascinated with the rich and famous. We buy magazines and tune in to shows like the Insider to get glimpses of our favorite celebrities in both their high moments and their even juicier low moments. Our appetite for celebrity gossip is satisfied by gutsy, risk-taking paparazzi and their ability to be in the right place at just the right time.
Jamie Gordon has become the darling of the paparazz More...
Sep 18, 2011
P.E. at Tantalizing Illusions
rated it:
This book didn't work for me.
The format made no sense and was unnecessarily confusing instead of the cool it was trying to be.
The characters were annoying and I couldn't care about them.
The author didn't do research- Nasim is a Persian girl's name! It would be very very very rare for Nasim to ever be a boy's name.
Nasim and Jamie's relationship made no sense.
Jamie's family life was confusing.
Overall I'm disappointed. There's nothing rea
The format made no sense and was unnecessarily confusing instead of the cool it was trying to be.
The characters were annoying and I couldn't care about them.
The author didn't do research- Nasim is a Persian girl's name! It would be very very very rare for Nasim to ever be a boy's name.
Nasim and Jamie's relationship made no sense.
Jamie's family life was confusing.
Overall I'm disappointed. There's nothing rea
May 11, 2011
Heather
rated it:
For teenage fans of Entourage, the dark side of fame is explored through the adventures of a 16 year old celebrity photographer. Told through different points of view, flashbacks, newspaper articles, testimony, and e-mails, it is a bit hard to piece together the story and how it all connects. Overall it makes an intriguing story if you don't mind putting together the pieces.
May 31, 2011
Pam
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As usual, Strasser gives us something to think about. This one, while entertaining, was too confusing as it jumped back and forth in time in a very nonsequential way. You really had to be careful to watch the chapter titles to know which year, month and date you were flipped to. I thought the message was a touch heavy handed, too.
Mar 05, 2011
Lindsay
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How did this book get published? The writing is atrocious, the plot is ridiculous, and the character is completely unrealistic. I don't give a lot of one star ratings, but this is honestly one of the dumbest books I have ever tried to read. I gave up on page fifty. I couldn't take it anymore.
Jan 05, 2012
Tara
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He made the book really confusing by using different narrating styles. The book dragged on and on and didn't really catch my attention. I only like the end which still wasn't even very good. It sounded very amateur like it was his first book.
Dec 06, 2011
Heather
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I do so like Todd Strasser. The different/constantly shifting points of view in this were a little hard to handle at times, but overall, it was a very quick and good read. Not as powerful as some of his works, but still worth a read.
Jul 05, 2011
Laura
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The constant shifting timeline was irritating. While the author's message seemed to be that fame is fleeting and not worth the consequences, I'm not sure kids will come away with that conclusion.
Sep 04, 2011
Meredith
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At first the timeline jumps were confusing, but this was a page-turner...it's just about teenagers obsessed with celebrity, but it kept me in it. The character of Avi broke my heart.
Jul 12, 2011
heyyyy this book was like reallyy reaaallllyyy awsome! i loved the book it was in a different genre so it was cool and i liked how the girl Jamie was like our age so we can relate tooo! :)
May 18, 2011
Chloe
rated it:
This book is about a girl named Jamie and she gets a job in Los angels.
She is the person who critiques people posing. I started reading this book because the title seemed interesting. I like how Jamie tells people to live up to your dreams!
So I would recommend this book if u like non-fiction. She goes to stay at willow smiths house. They become best friends.
Love,
Chloe Yelkin
She is the person who critiques people posing. I started reading this book because the title seemed interesting. I like how Jamie tells people to live up to your dreams!
So I would recommend this book if u like non-fiction. She goes to stay at willow smiths house. They become best friends.
Love,
Chloe Yelkin
Aug 14, 2011
Deyara
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Interesting, lots of viewpoint and chronological changes so you dont really see the whole story until the end. Really "enjoyed" Avys story, steep price.
Sep 13, 2011
Sophia
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I thought is was okay.. It was a little confusing because it keeps swicting between 4 differnt character and four different time period... so.....
Jun 09, 2011
Bradley
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This is one of those books that I got sucked into that turned into something not disappointing but not what I really expected.
May 26, 2011
Jamison
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The jumps in time and point of view were a bit too much for me. Those elements detracted from an otherwise solid plot
Feb 23, 2011
Megan
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Kind of interesting how the author shows a take on young adults and the want to famous and rich. Make you think. Easy read and still enjoyable.
Nov 25, 2011
sandra :D
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Apr 09, 2011
Smog1997
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it could have been written better, but it was very thought provoking, which i really liked.
Jan 15, 2012
Mrs.Hall
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See my review on my blog at http://kristinehallways.blogspot.com/201...
Jan 15, 2012
Kristine
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