What do you think?
Rate this book
A-List #7
American Beauty
It's graduation time for the A-List crew. That means lavish yacht parties, designer caps and gowns, and saying bye-bye to high school for good. Despite the festivities, Anna isn't in a partying mood. Ben's been acting distant and she is worried. Maybe her father's hot tattooed intern, Caine Manning, will help cheer Anna up! Ever since her illicit kiss with Parker, Sam has been Eduardo-less and heartbroken. But hopefully Sam will use her brains and considerable means to get creative about winning Eduardo back. And infamous Cammie? She couldn't care less about graduation, not when she's so close to unraveling the mystery of her mother's death. She'll stop at nothing to find out the truth.
278 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2006
33 people are currently reading
1552 people want to read
About the author
Zoey Dean
56 books408 followersThe author of The A-List series and How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, which has been renamed and turned into a TV show known as Privileged on the CW in September 2008. Zoey Dean's books are produced by the media packager Alloy Entertainment, which created Gossip Girl, The Clique Series, and The A-List and sold them to Little, Brown and Company.
Zoey is currently working on The Talent series. She is also working on The A-List: Hollywood Royalty.
Zoey Dean divides her time between Beverly Hills, California, and her favorite small islands in the Caribbean.
See also: Cherie Bennett
Zoey is currently working on The Talent series. She is also working on The A-List: Hollywood Royalty.
Zoey Dean divides her time between Beverly Hills, California, and her favorite small islands in the Caribbean.
See also: Cherie Bennett
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
August 24, 2017
This series definitely weighs on you after a while lol. Anna is so exhausting and annoying. The constant brand names and recaps about characters/past books is just not necessary. I like books involving the end of high school but it's not easy to relate to that premise with characters like these. I'm eager to finish off the series and still generally enjoy it.
September 3, 2018
I really want Caine and Anna to get together although I think her problems with Ben aren’t as dramatic as they could be to warrant her to be with Caine like I want her to be. I’m glad the HS part of this series is over, I’m eager to see if Anna actually does go to Yale or the next 3 books will all be about the summer. I think this book was a little better than the others but I’m still not totally loving the Series.
January 6, 2012
American Beauty is a delicious treat for anyone who loves drama, romance, and betrayal of the young and rich if you love the Gossip Girl and The It Girl series you will love the A-list novels. There is just as much drama as there are top name designers. However the A-list is set in good old Los Angeles, California, which works well for the series.
In American Beauty we are once again following Anna in her quest to be more outgoing since her initial move from New York to LA in the first novel The A-list in this seventh fascicle we follow Anna and her new friends Sam, Dee, and Cammie (who is actually her enemy but they are in the same circle) as they prepare to graduate from high school and move on to the next stage of their lives.
We have Anna who seems to be the main character of the book that is privileged and has come from old money originally from Manhattan she is modest and well-mannered. She was raised much differently from the girls in California which is what gives this series such a nice contrast because it really is about her coming to California to change herself.
Then we have Sam who is the first to befriend Anna. She is the total opposite of Anna she comes from new money her father is a very famous movie star and she is spoiled, popular, and dramatic but she is also very loyal and has a big heart. Although she only lets her friends see it because in Hollywood, it is very important to show people you have the power.
Then there’s Cammie who has been Sam's best friend since they were little. She is the ultimate bad girl her father is a talent agent and he is known for being one of the toughest men in the business. She is the one with the most power in high school. She is most definitely selfish and spoiled and she's compared to a Python a lot.
Last but not least we have Dee. She is friends with everybody. She can be a little out there in her ways of thinking and strange at times but she's loyal and a very sweet, sweet girl.
Those are the main characters that the book focuses on as well as their significant others just like the rest of the series. Some new relationships are formed and others are left hanging by a thread. This book was a great volume in the set and was one of the best in the series yet. It tied up a lot of loose ends that had been forming in some of the previous books. However the one thing I do not like about all of the books in this series is that every time you finish a book and start a new one, you lose a few weeks. There are always a few weeks skipped in between there which disappoints me because with the way that the last one ended I wanted to read about a certain confrontation. That's all I'll say. So I don't give anything away in case you haven't read the one before this.
I have always loved the portrayal of the characters in the series and this book is no different. The characters were three-dimensional their character delineation was direct and with new characters there were developments that occurred slowly. I really do love how the characters are portrayed with so much detail and so much background there is always a little mystery left of the characters so there's always more to come but you know enough to get attached to them and that is really brilliant. It really pulls you in and you begin to relate to the character. At least that's what I did.
I found American Beauty to be one of the more realistic books and relatable in the series. I could easily see myself doing the same thing in most of the scenes as the girls did or reacting the same way, such as Sam going after Eduardo and Anna not willing to just forgive and forget with Ben towards the end.
The setting of Los Angeles works fantastically with American Beauty as well as with the rest of the series. It shows the glamour and difference in Anna's life back then and Anna's life now. The setting helps to show the contrast between Manhattan and LA they really are total opposites and the A-list novels show in detail how that is. That is what Anna is trying to do with herself show a whole new Anna to the world and to herself. It also shows a little inside peek into the lives of the rich and famous teenagers that we wonder so much about.
I did notice a few typos throughout the book such as calling Cammie, Anna, which to me was very humorous considering their enemies and Cammie would be very angry by being mistaken for Anna.
These girls are an unlikely group that became friends, sans Anna and Cammie, they had gone through so many things together throughout this series and they have grown a lot and it shows in this book. I love that Anna is constantly at war with herself. It's like breaking old habits I can really relate to that. It's really refreshing when she can break out of her old, “This is How We Do Things Big Book (East Coast WASP Edition)” shell and let loose. I find myself rooting for her throughout all of it.
I did find myself getting tired of the Ben and Anna drama in this one. I feel like it's becoming a toxic love story like it hasn’t worked already because it's not going to work. I think Anna needs to be paired with somebody else and we need to move on from that and I hope that's where the direction of the next book is going because I'm really feel like there is no way the Ben and Anna story can be continued and it can still be enjoyable.
Overall American Beauty is a must read for teenagers and young adults that love to see how the other half lives. They will gravitate toward the series because it has all the drama, romance, betrayal, and family problems that they all go through themselves only these people are privileged rich kids and they will get to see how they handle it differently and/or similarly to them and makes for a delectable series that teens will not be able to resist.
In American Beauty we are once again following Anna in her quest to be more outgoing since her initial move from New York to LA in the first novel The A-list in this seventh fascicle we follow Anna and her new friends Sam, Dee, and Cammie (who is actually her enemy but they are in the same circle) as they prepare to graduate from high school and move on to the next stage of their lives.
We have Anna who seems to be the main character of the book that is privileged and has come from old money originally from Manhattan she is modest and well-mannered. She was raised much differently from the girls in California which is what gives this series such a nice contrast because it really is about her coming to California to change herself.
Then we have Sam who is the first to befriend Anna. She is the total opposite of Anna she comes from new money her father is a very famous movie star and she is spoiled, popular, and dramatic but she is also very loyal and has a big heart. Although she only lets her friends see it because in Hollywood, it is very important to show people you have the power.
Then there’s Cammie who has been Sam's best friend since they were little. She is the ultimate bad girl her father is a talent agent and he is known for being one of the toughest men in the business. She is the one with the most power in high school. She is most definitely selfish and spoiled and she's compared to a Python a lot.
Last but not least we have Dee. She is friends with everybody. She can be a little out there in her ways of thinking and strange at times but she's loyal and a very sweet, sweet girl.
Those are the main characters that the book focuses on as well as their significant others just like the rest of the series. Some new relationships are formed and others are left hanging by a thread. This book was a great volume in the set and was one of the best in the series yet. It tied up a lot of loose ends that had been forming in some of the previous books. However the one thing I do not like about all of the books in this series is that every time you finish a book and start a new one, you lose a few weeks. There are always a few weeks skipped in between there which disappoints me because with the way that the last one ended I wanted to read about a certain confrontation. That's all I'll say. So I don't give anything away in case you haven't read the one before this.
I have always loved the portrayal of the characters in the series and this book is no different. The characters were three-dimensional their character delineation was direct and with new characters there were developments that occurred slowly. I really do love how the characters are portrayed with so much detail and so much background there is always a little mystery left of the characters so there's always more to come but you know enough to get attached to them and that is really brilliant. It really pulls you in and you begin to relate to the character. At least that's what I did.
I found American Beauty to be one of the more realistic books and relatable in the series. I could easily see myself doing the same thing in most of the scenes as the girls did or reacting the same way, such as Sam going after Eduardo and Anna not willing to just forgive and forget with Ben towards the end.
The setting of Los Angeles works fantastically with American Beauty as well as with the rest of the series. It shows the glamour and difference in Anna's life back then and Anna's life now. The setting helps to show the contrast between Manhattan and LA they really are total opposites and the A-list novels show in detail how that is. That is what Anna is trying to do with herself show a whole new Anna to the world and to herself. It also shows a little inside peek into the lives of the rich and famous teenagers that we wonder so much about.
I did notice a few typos throughout the book such as calling Cammie, Anna, which to me was very humorous considering their enemies and Cammie would be very angry by being mistaken for Anna.
These girls are an unlikely group that became friends, sans Anna and Cammie, they had gone through so many things together throughout this series and they have grown a lot and it shows in this book. I love that Anna is constantly at war with herself. It's like breaking old habits I can really relate to that. It's really refreshing when she can break out of her old, “This is How We Do Things Big Book (East Coast WASP Edition)” shell and let loose. I find myself rooting for her throughout all of it.
I did find myself getting tired of the Ben and Anna drama in this one. I feel like it's becoming a toxic love story like it hasn’t worked already because it's not going to work. I think Anna needs to be paired with somebody else and we need to move on from that and I hope that's where the direction of the next book is going because I'm really feel like there is no way the Ben and Anna story can be continued and it can still be enjoyable.
Overall American Beauty is a must read for teenagers and young adults that love to see how the other half lives. They will gravitate toward the series because it has all the drama, romance, betrayal, and family problems that they all go through themselves only these people are privileged rich kids and they will get to see how they handle it differently and/or similarly to them and makes for a delectable series that teens will not be able to resist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2008
This book is about a group of rich girls living in a full of drama world. When i was reading this book, i felt that i was watching one of those reality T.V shows. There were people fighting over a guy, someone trying to get her boyfriend back, daughter to father problems, and many more.
I like reading these kinds of books because it's really realistic and i can relate some of these problems to my life. For example, one of the girls in the book lost her mother. This can relate to my life because i lost my father when i was 8 years old. It's a hard time to go through and i know how the girl is feeling in the book. I would recommend this book to teens who likes to read about girl problems and how they deal with them.
I like reading these kinds of books because it's really realistic and i can relate some of these problems to my life. For example, one of the girls in the book lost her mother. This can relate to my life because i lost my father when i was 8 years old. It's a hard time to go through and i know how the girl is feeling in the book. I would recommend this book to teens who likes to read about girl problems and how they deal with them.
Read
May 27, 2020Ok, I'll be honest -- this entire series is hot garbage, but I love it anyway. I have no idea what to rate this, because these are books I occasionally just pick up when I want my fix of trashy teens talking about designer clothing and having boyfriend drama. I will say along with the general trashiness, there are some objectively problematic things in this, so be aware that there's casual transphobia and classism (probably among others, these are just the two I noticed) peppered in.
December 29, 2009
the editing on these books is so BAD (literally, massive continuity mistakes) but it's still a fun read.
March 3, 2021
series re-read continues, someone please stop me before i go re-read the it girl or pretty little liars or even GOD HELP ME the clique
July 19, 2017
Well this book is not one of my favourites out of the series. Anna totally disrupts the series for me. She went to California to reinvent her life but she didn't actually reinvent her life, the only thing she reinvented was her relationships with guys. Her "reinvention" revolves around male counterparts. & it's always the same, something's off with her and Ben; Read: flirt with a new guy and lead him on. Not only that all her fights with Ben is in my opinion nothing to fight about. Yes he slept with Blythe from Princeton but they weren't together, he was not obligated to tell her. Or the mild overreaction when they didn't sleep together and he was acting distant, that wasn't as big a deal as she made it. Or when Sam said to be an "active heroine" the approach she took to being an active heroine was not being an active heroine at all that was just another justifiable excuse to have another little fling with yet another guy. She sits on a high horse dictating how other people should act and if it doesn't match up to her standards she dismisses them despite her own actions which more often than not are not that high up on her chain of perfection as she likes to think. She is a very entitled character who thinks everything should go her way and fit up to her standards which makes it hard for me to enjoy this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2023
See the reviews from YA readers.
The richest girls at Bev Hills High School. Truth about the riches. No reference to the guy's thoughts - i.e. no male protagonists - if any of the readers know what that is. When do the girls get any studying done? Are any of them serious? Some of them talk about college, but . . .
Much research by Ms. Dean on the most expensive things to wear, the most expensive places to go, and the most expensive places to eat. I'm not sure most BH girls will eat those things. . . She missed my favorite, the little Stone Creek hotel -- it may not be there anymore. Nostalgia for me.
The richest girls at Bev Hills High School. Truth about the riches. No reference to the guy's thoughts - i.e. no male protagonists - if any of the readers know what that is. When do the girls get any studying done? Are any of them serious? Some of them talk about college, but . . .
Much research by Ms. Dean on the most expensive things to wear, the most expensive places to go, and the most expensive places to eat. I'm not sure most BH girls will eat those things. . . She missed my favorite, the little Stone Creek hotel -- it may not be there anymore. Nostalgia for me.
January 18, 2021
Kinda disappointed with where this series has gone. Really I enjoyed Anna and Ben's relationship in the beginning but I think the added drama felt like too much, and this whole thing with Sam and Cammies parents was so not needed for a Hollywood drama book. All together it was not that bad, definitely a slow read though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2019
Fun trashy YA
what more can you ask for
what more can you ask for
April 1, 2020
A fun read but the editing and continuity mistakes are really getting to me!
January 19, 2021
This was a terrible, mindless story with no true action or plot. So glad it is finished.
Read
May 12, 2022See my review of The A-List for my take on revisiting this series and omitting ratings:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
July 19, 2023
(3.5) this book was good! a little slow but the friendships were really sweet :) a fun quick read!
December 24, 2024
Why did that ending make me low key emotional
Read
January 30, 2017American Beauty is the seventh book in the A List series by Zoey Dean. I'm not sure how I keep allowing myself to get through these nauseating books, but they are a little bit addicting. The A List refers to a group of four girls who attend Beverly Hills High, all of whom are extremely wealthy, extremely attractive, or both. And the incessant descriptions of the characters' outfits and surroundings constantly remind the reader of this fact. Of course this is the appeal of the books. They go hand in hand with the current media obsession with celebrity and the high life.
Besides catering to the reader's desire for a peek into the life of young Hollywood heiresses and their boy candy, the books do attempt a plot. As usual, the narration shifts between each of the four girls and occasionally, one of the boyfriends, though Anna Percy, the recent New York to LA transplant, is the central protagonist.
This novel starts with Anna heading to a party on Sam Sharpe's yacht (her father is THE movie star of the moment), but getting into a car accident. Oddly, her seemingly perfect boyfriend can't come to rescue her, so her dad sends his intern. He's a little bit wild (tattoos!), but genuine and perceptive and, most importantly, he's there in her time of need. So Anna's main conflict: why is her boyfriend being distant and can she be just friends with the dreamy intern?
Sam, who's filthy rich, but unfortunately looks a bit like Kelly Clarkson, throws fabulous parties (see yacht above). Despite the fact that she can buy almost anything, she can't get her Peruvian boyfriend to call her back after he saw her kissing someone else at prom. And she's trying to track down her mother who abandoned her when she was eight.
Cammie is trying to find out what really happened the night her mom died. Apparently her dad was banging Sam's mom — could her dad have murdered her mother? And more importantly, can she humiliate her nemesis at the big graduation party?
Dee just got out of rehab and found the perfect guy. She has no significant plot line (as usual), except for trying to sleep with her new boy in as many places around town as she can.
On top of all this, the girls have to graduate and think about what fabulous things they are going to do over the summer! Woe is them.
Besides catering to the reader's desire for a peek into the life of young Hollywood heiresses and their boy candy, the books do attempt a plot. As usual, the narration shifts between each of the four girls and occasionally, one of the boyfriends, though Anna Percy, the recent New York to LA transplant, is the central protagonist.
This novel starts with Anna heading to a party on Sam Sharpe's yacht (her father is THE movie star of the moment), but getting into a car accident. Oddly, her seemingly perfect boyfriend can't come to rescue her, so her dad sends his intern. He's a little bit wild (tattoos!), but genuine and perceptive and, most importantly, he's there in her time of need. So Anna's main conflict: why is her boyfriend being distant and can she be just friends with the dreamy intern?
Sam, who's filthy rich, but unfortunately looks a bit like Kelly Clarkson, throws fabulous parties (see yacht above). Despite the fact that she can buy almost anything, she can't get her Peruvian boyfriend to call her back after he saw her kissing someone else at prom. And she's trying to track down her mother who abandoned her when she was eight.
Cammie is trying to find out what really happened the night her mom died. Apparently her dad was banging Sam's mom — could her dad have murdered her mother? And more importantly, can she humiliate her nemesis at the big graduation party?
Dee just got out of rehab and found the perfect guy. She has no significant plot line (as usual), except for trying to sleep with her new boy in as many places around town as she can.
On top of all this, the girls have to graduate and think about what fabulous things they are going to do over the summer! Woe is them.
September 27, 2008
If you look at my "currently reading" or recently read books, yes, it's depressing -- it takes me ages to read "real" books, but I can polish off an A-List in just a couple of hours. Sigh.
In any event, this volume in the continuing A-List saga was surprisingly unhorrible. I think the biggest difference is they have finally made Anna much less of a focus for the books, so there's less about her patrician looks, whining about Ben, thinking about how her mother does things, etc. Instead, we get more of Sam, Cammie, even more of Dee, who let's face it, are all more interesting characters.
In any event, this volume in the continuing A-List saga was surprisingly unhorrible. I think the biggest difference is they have finally made Anna much less of a focus for the books, so there's less about her patrician looks, whining about Ben, thinking about how her mother does things, etc. Instead, we get more of Sam, Cammie, even more of Dee, who let's face it, are all more interesting characters.
July 26, 2009
Cammie comfronts her father about her mothers death, and Sam Comfronts her mother while trying to win Eduardo back. Anna is back with Ben but notices that something isn't right. At Stephanies party Sam gets her ultimate revenge and Anna finds whats been up with Ben. After graduation Anna becomes her own heroine and walks away from Ben and goes with Caine.
I can connect to Anna because sometimes when I feel like something isn't right I follow my insicts and try to fix it. Just like Anna did and fixed it.
I gave this book 5 it was really suspenseful and was really entertaining! ***** (5)
I can connect to Anna because sometimes when I feel like something isn't right I follow my insicts and try to fix it. Just like Anna did and fixed it.
I gave this book 5 it was really suspenseful and was really entertaining! ***** (5)
July 18, 2009
Graduation comes to BHHS and Drama comes with it. Cammie comfronts her father about her mothers death, and Sam Comfronts her mother while trying to win Eduardo back. Anna is back with Ben but notices that something isn't right. At Stephanies party Sam gets her ultimate revenge and Anna finds whats been up with Ben. After graduation Anna becomes her own heroine and walks away from Ben and goes with Caine.
September 13, 2010
It's graduation time for the class from Beverly Hills High. Anna's worried because Ben is being distant. Cammie's trying to track down her suddenly absent father so she can ask him what really happened the night her mom died. Sam embarks upon a mission to win back Eduardo, complete with 100 cell phones while Dee embarks on a mission to have sex with Jack in as many unique places as possible. Fitting fluff for those who have been following the series thus far.
January 11, 2016
well there were no editing errors here that i found but it wasnt all that great anyways. For all of its shock value promises there wasnt anything that got more emotion out of me than "hmm thats interesting." everyone is still exactly the same as the first book. anna is still wishy washy, cammie is still bitchy, sam is still insecure, and dee is still nuts (though less so than previously) so glad to be nearly done with this series
November 9, 2007
very good book so far
same characters as other ones in series.
deff. one of the better books in the A-list series
if you like the other ones you'll for sure like this one..
its one of those books you'll have a hard time putting down.
same characters as other ones in series.
deff. one of the better books in the A-list series
if you like the other ones you'll for sure like this one..
its one of those books you'll have a hard time putting down.
February 18, 2008
Obviously this is brain candy chick lit, but Dean is losing her touch - and so is her copy editor. Cammie seems to magically change shoes between two scenes, although no time has passed, and Sam wears a tiny miniskirt even though she hates her hips and thighs and fat ankles. What?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2010
to think, 7 books done and it is just 6 months of time. i liked this book, more than the last, but it is still leaving me wanting to read the next book. there might never be closure for these characters, but i wish there would be. on to the next.
June 9, 2020
2020 me is over this
------------
Why does Ben have to mess everything up like every time?? It really frustrates me because the relationship isn't really blossoming.
wow a book where men mess ash up. isn't that surprising.
------------
Why does Ben have to mess everything up like every time?? It really frustrates me because the relationship isn't really blossoming.
wow a book where men mess ash up. isn't that surprising.
August 20, 2007
Great beach reading. Very quick read!
January 17, 2008
Love the series
August 17, 2008
This book wasn't excruciatingly horrible, as some other "teen ckick lit" I've read lately. My advice: don't read it unless there is nothing else lying around to read.
October 6, 2008
I'm seriously running out of things to say…exquisite? Hey! I haven't said that yet!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews