Something, Maybe

January 26, 2009
Following the bleak Living Dead Girl
, Scott returns to teen romance, populating this one with a pair of unusually noteworthy parents. It’s been five years since 17-year-old Hannah has had any contact with her father, a Hugh Hefner manqué in his 70s who has a reality TV show and Web site that chronicles his comings and goings with his “special girls.” Hannah’s mother, one of those “girls” before Hannah’s birth, now runs a Web site that features her in live chat wearing only lingerie. Although Hannah strives for invisibility, she finds herself attracting attention from two male classmates and co-workers at her afterschool job: Josh, who seems to be politically aware and sensitive, and Finn, who seems to be a football-playing clod. Readers will quickly clue into the truth, that Josh is a jerk and Finn is a gem, but Scott’s spot-on dialogue and deft feel for teen angst will keep them entertained. The unusual family dynamics allow the author to explore familiar themes from a fresh angle. This is a satisfying, romantic coming-of-age story. Ages 14–up.

May 1, 2009
Gr 9 Up-In this often astute, occasionally awkward take on family and unwanted fame, Hannah Jackson James tries not to live in her parents' dubious shadow. Her father is an aging reality TV star with a Hugh Hefner-esque castle full of girlfriends. Her mother, a minor actress and former girlfriend of Jackson's, now makes her money hosting a webcam show in skimpy underwear. When Hannah moved with her mom to a small town at age 12, she tried her hardest to blend in. Five years later, her concerns include staying unnoticed at school, making sure her mom can pay the bills, and deciding how to approach the object of her affection, a fellow student named Josh who works next to Hannah at the drive-through call center for a fast-food chain. Then her father calls for the first time in five years to invite her to visit him in New York. Hannah is torn between her desire for his love and her suspicion that the gesture is nothing more than a cynical ratings ploy. Scott's portrayal of Hannah's family situation is subtle and convincing. Readers will understand without being told that Hannah and her mother love one another, but that Hannah is as much a parent as a child. Her relationships with her peers are less believable. Her interest in Josh never quite seems genuine, and readers realize long before she does that Finn, a kind but irreverent goofball, is a better match. Though this story treads familiar ground, many teen girls will enjoy it."Megan Honig, New York Public Library"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2009
Grades 8-11 Perhaps recovering from the harrowing Living Dead Girl (2008), Scott retreats to cozy romantic shenanigans with this predictable but good-natured entry in the which-boy-will-she-choose canon. Seventeen-year-old Hannah is known for exactly one thing: her mother, current erotic Web-chat hostess and former girlfriend of a Hugh Hefnerlike celebrity named Jackson. Hannah is Jacksons estranged daughter, and her tentative forays into the elderly sex magnates bizarre life form the most unique segments of the plot. For someone whose parents were so famously connected to sex, Hannah sure isnt getting anyinstead she plugs away taking drive-through burger orders next to the dreamy Josh and the annoying Finn. It doesnt take a genius to know immediately that Finn is the one shell end up with; in fact, Hannahs obliviousness to her own feelings is somewhat trying. Given the current popularity of the Hefner-centered reality-TV show, this light offering will undoubtedly find readers, and might even dampen the allure of living a Playboy lifestyle.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)