Back Talk

by Alex Richards

  Goodbye small town hell . . . hello Big Apple! Sixteen-year-old Gemma Winters couldn’t be more ecstatic―and terrified―about scoring a summer internship at one of the hippest daytime TV talk shows, Back Talk with Kate Morgan. To top it off, she’s staying in a palatial brownstone in Manhattan with celebutante Dana Cox (a virtual E! True Hollywood Story in the making) and world-weary millionheiress America Vanderbilt. Gemma’s corn-fed naiveté melts away as she gets a taste of designer clothes, underage clubbing . . . and a cute Johnny Depp look-a-like. The glamour fades by nine a.m. when Gemma becomes slave labor for harried producers. Not even her borrowed Manolo Blahniks can shield her from an office romance turned ugly and backstabbing fellow interns. When someone is unfairly fired and a show is at risk, Gemma goes out of her way to prove this small-town girl is more than just a “photocopy bitch.”

Genres: Young Adult

257 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

Alex Richards has been writing young adult fiction since the age of ten, with stacks of spiral notebooks to prove it. Also a freelance magazine contributor, Alex enjoys making no-budget horror movies, taking photographs, and crafting. Raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Alex lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two very silly kids.

Reviews

[Mari Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very love this book a lot!! :D

[Atomicgirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Hills, Cosmo, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Melrose Place, Charmed, Sir Mix-A-Lot, The O.C., MFEO, IM, Alias, Mary J. Bilge.....

What do these things have in common? They are just some of the things mentioned in Back Talk . If you are one of those people who hate hearing when people drop names, you will abhore this book. Brand names, celebrity names, and tv show names are all being used as adjectives.

If you do manage to get past the language choice, it's difficult to believe in the protagonist. The heroine is described as being a naive girl from the country. She is suprisingly at home flinging slurs at her enemies and swigging down shots. There is no growth from a timid, unsophisticated young girl to an independent urban teen. Rather it's just a teenager becoming more vocal with her barbs and less careful with what she says.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story of a naive 16 year old from Idaho who's in New York City for a summer internship working at a TV talk show. She's staying with some rich, glamorous friends who take her under their wing for a taste of night life and what seems to be the beginning of a great friendship too. The sarcastic humor and well rounded characters kept me entertained to the last chapter.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The problem with most YA fiction is that it tends to be sappy condescending and/or badly written. Richards manages to defeat the paradigm by being clever, funny, and innovative. The plot never lulls and the characters are true to their age--not quite teens and not yet stodgy adults--without being stereotypes. I can't wait for more!