Premiere

June 21, 2010
In Carlson's (the Diary of a Teenage Girl series) latest, which launches the On the Runway series, 18-year old narrator Erin, who loves being behind the camera, and her 19-year old sister, Paige, who shines in front of one, land a contract to star in a fashion-focused TV show. Erin both admires her stunning, smooth-talking, fashion-expert sister, and cringes at Paige's manipulations and thoughtlessness, which Paige has ample opportunity to exhibit when the show's producers plug them into a popular teen reality show. While trying to maintain a critical distance from the glamour, staged intrigue, and cattiness of this new world, Erin seeks a moral compass as she wrestles with her ex-boyfriend's reappearance, and wonders how to reconcile her Christian values with her work and how to be a good sister. Fast-paced action, driven by the social media of cell phones, Facebook, and Twitter, highlights both the thrills and stressors of modern teenage life, where the private becomes instantly public, and the line between reality and acting is hard to find. Available simultaneously: Catwalk. Ages 13–16.

September 1, 2010

Gr 7-10-Christian values seem to be the antithesis of high-fashion consumerism and reality-show combativeness, but Premiere mixes these worlds with believability and appeal. Paige turns a report about a theme park that her mom is producing into a style critique. A reality-show producer sees the teen and her sister and asks that they work together on a project called "On the Runway." She promises Erin that she can work with the camera crew but Erin suspects she's really there to keep her sister from getting into trouble. When Paige falls for Benjamin, the lead's boyfriend, sparks fly. Erin has her own conundrum. She's just getting over breaking up with Blake, but now he wants to get back together. Meanwhile, Paige nearly loses her job when she sneaks off with Benjamin. Her impulsiveness contrasts nicely with the slow rebuilding of her sister and Blake's relationship, which is steeped in their religious beliefs. Those beliefs can seem heavy-handed but it's also nice to see Erin live them rather than having them tacked on. This book is worth adding whether you have a demand for Christian novels or not. The fashion and reality-show fireworks are enough to keep even reluctant readers coming back for more.-Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2010
Grades 6-9 Paige and Erin Forrester have been given the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to host their own fashion reality show on television. Unfortunately, Erin would rather be behind the camera than appearing on it. Luckily, her beautiful sister is a natural, at both fashion and at hosting. This gives Erin the opportunity to work on the crew and act as a chaperon/moral compass to Paige. A guest spot on a catty teen reality series provides a chance for the sisters to launch their show, but it does not go as planned and leaves the future of the show in jeopardy. Erin has other issues to deal with, too, including an ex-boyfriend who is trying to get back in the picture as well as her own struggles with how her faith fits into a Hollywood lifestyle. Teen girls who enjoy fashion, reality television, and are looking for something less edgy than the Gossip Girl series will be rewarded with this title, which looks to be the first in a series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)