Unrivaled

February 22, 2016
Noël (the Immortals series) sets this first book in her Beautiful Idols series in the glitzy, elitist, and seamy Los Angeles nightclub scene. Eighteen-year-olds Layla, Tommy, and Aster are thrown together after signing up for a contest competing to promote clubs owned by a powerful Hollywood mogul. The girl they all desperately want in their clubs: starlet Madison Brooks, a former small-town girl with a mysterious past. Layla has journalistic dreams, Tommy hopes to make it as a musician, and Aster is Persian royalty who wants to be a Hollywood starlet herself. Noël cycles among the stories of Layla, Tommy, Aster, and Madison in a gossipy, third-person narrative that makes for addictive reading yet does little to endear these characters to readers. Noël gives a bit of sincerity and naïveté to each, most of all Tommy, but competitive, money-hungry superficiality and backstabbing dominate. Noël seems to be interested in exploring the lengths to which people will go to get ahead, but the novel has little to say about it beyond the splashy, lurid repercussions of her characters’ actions. Ages 14–up. Agent: Bill Contardi, Brandt & Hochman.

March 15, 2016
Three fame-hungry teens vie for a prize they can win by running nightclubs for an unprincipled mogul, while a young A-list star tries to avoid them. Layla dreams of going to journalism school, Tommy wants to be a famous musician, and Aster intends to become a famous actress. All three join a competition run by Ira, who wants to promote his string of nightclubs in Los Angeles. The three will try to increase traffic in their assigned clubs especially by attracting celebrities. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Madison, a real celebrity, wants to get out of her relationship with her official boyfriend, Ryan, whose TV series is on the verge of cancellation. Machinations and romantic entanglements ensue. When things blow up and Madison disappears, the teens must scramble to find out what's going on. Noel aims for the celebrity-hungry chick-lit crowd and scores. Given that her characters tend to be struggling (unsuccessfully) with their already-thin morals, they are interesting if not always likable. With the exception of Iranian Aster, all the principals are white. While the plotting and intrigue keep things moving, the story's basic premise--of adolescents promoting nightclubs--seems absurd. The cliffhanger ending sets up Volume 2 of this easy-reading and almost defiantly shallow series. Chick-lit gold. (Chick lit. 12-18)

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May 1, 2016

Gr 10 Up-What do you get when you mix highly attractive teenagers, dreams of fame, secrets, lies, and a nightclub promotions contest? You get a page-turner reminiscent of reality TV: an addictive combination of Survivor and The Apprentice, set in L.A. This series opener intersects the stories of three teens, each in hot pursuit of fame in a chosen industry and willing to test the limits of morality to get it. Aster (an aspiring actress), Layla (an aspiring journalist), and Tommy (an aspiring musician) are determined to win the nightclub promotions contest orchestrated by Ira Redmon, a calculating businessman whose bottom line is amassing profits. The nightclub that generates the most wealth wins, and in L.A., celebrity appearances are a sure path to profits. When one of Hollywood's hottest couples, RyMad (Ryan and Madison) begin visiting Ira's nightclubs, Layla, Aster, and Tommy are thrust into a cutthroat competition that hinges on getting Madison Brooks to visit their nightclub. When Madison suddenly goes missing, Layla, Aster, and Tommy become suspects in the case. This is a suspenseful, scandalous, and consumable novel that is sure to gain instant fandom and leave readers eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 Madison Brooks, a Hollywood starlet topping the A-list, goes missing outside of a nightclub in the opening to the latest from best-seller Noel (Evermore, 2009). The narrative then plays back the months before Madison's disappearance, following three fame-hungry teenagers: Layla, who longs to be a journalist but lacks the funds for school; Aster, the bored wannabe actress chafing under her strict parents; and Tommy, who dreams of being a rock star while he works in a guitar store. The three find themselves thrown together in a contest hosted by the infamous Ira Redman, working to promote his nightclubs. Each is desperate to achieve their goals, and each becomes somehow entangled with Madison. Glitzy, often cutthroat L.A. is the backdrop for this first in a series featuring a group of teenagers who become more unlikable the longer they are exposedHollywood's known to ruin people, after all. Noel stays fairly surface level with her characters, but for readers looking for a breezy, glamorous look into L.A.'s underworld, this is the page-turner for the job.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)