Review: Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Title: Spoiled
Author: Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release date: June 1st 2011
Pages: 368
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Won from MaryAnn from Chapter by Chapter - thanks!
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16-year-old Molly Dix loves her ordinary life in suburban Indiana, so when her single mother passes away, she is shocked to discover that her biological father is Brick Berlin, world famous movie star and red carpet regular.
Equally intrigued and terrified by her Hollywood lineage, Molly moves to Southern California and plunges head-first into the deep end of Beverly Hills celebrity life. Just as Molly thinks her new life and family couldn't get any stranger, she meets Brooke Berlin, her gorgeous and spoiled half-sister whom welcomes Molly to la-la land with a healthy dose of passive-aggressive "sisterly love."

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars


I have a confession to make. I used to read a lot of these kinds of books. Gossip Girl, It Girl, The A-List, The Clique, Poseur, Secrets of My Hollywood Life - you name it, I've read it. I was obsessed with superficial books about the rich and semi-famous when I was maybe 13 - that was basically all I read. I loved them then, but honestly? I wouldn't want to read them again today. But Spoiled is obviously pretty much the same thing, and I ended up having fun reading it, so I guess that 13-year-old is still in me somewhere...


No, Spoiled is not deep and meaningful. It's not the kind of book that will stick with you or make you think, and its one attempt at depth (the storyline of Molly losing her mother) is underdeveloped and definitely couldn't have made me get emotional. Nor is the plot original - it's basically the same thing as The A-List: Hollywood Royalty. (Yes, sadly, I am an expert on books about ridiculously bratty rich girls.) And the story has 'predictable' written all over it.


But, you know what? I didn't care. I didn't care because Spoiled is so. Much. Fun. The writing style and the way these authors present the whole Hollywood lifestyle is hilarious. The characters aren't likeable most of the time, but they're so much fun to read about. These people are crazy, in the best way possible. I love how the authors balanced presenting the story and lovingly ridiculing the characters. 


And that's all I have to say about Spoiled. It's not great literature - really, who would expect that from a book with that cover? - but it is snarky, humorous, and plain fun. It's not the best of rich girl drama books (like I said, expert here...), but it was fun - exactly what I needed.