When You Wish

February 25, 2008
Harmel is a reporter for People
magazine—and it shows. In her first novel for teens, she displays her knowledge of pop culture by salting her writing with references to everything from Kelly Clarkson to bling. For readers who crave that sort of thing, her book won't disappoint. Its main character, a 16-year-old pop diva appropriately named Star, has it all—a great body, tons of money, fame and two Grammys to prove it. Never mind that her “relationship” with the equally famous bad-boy Jesse Bishop is staged by their publicists, or that her controlling stage mother has been lying for years about her absentee father. But when a reporter tells Star that her father's in Florida, and looking for her, she travels in disguise to find him. What follows is semientertaining yet predictable. Star experiences what it's like to feel “normal” and how it feels to be with a boy who likes her for herself, not her fame. As Star learns about life beyond the glitz and glamour, Hannah Montana
fans will be nodding in recognition. Ages 12-up.

May 1, 2008
Gr 7-10-In the spirit of Rachel Cohn's "Pop Princess" (S & S, 2004), Harmel's first YA novel details 16-year-old sensation Star Beck's search for her estranged father following her mother's betrayal by turning a mother-daughter bonding trip in New York City into just another publicity event. So famous that she is instantly recognizable, the teen gives herself a home haircut and dye job and, thus disguised, travels to Florida by bus and used car in hopes of meeting her father, who left the family when she was three. On her own for the first time, Star takes up residence in a cheap motel, finds a job as a waitress, and develops a relationship with the son of the restaurant's owners. Her mother/manager is a mercenary figure, while her father, whom Star believes is the only parent really interested in her as a person, turns out to be just as corrupt. The author mines familiar territory, providing readers with indulgent details of the protagonist's life as a sought-after pop singer and tempering them with the drawbacks of fame."Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2008
Star Beck looks like a bad-girl pop queen (think pre-breakdown Britney). But her image has been completely concocted for the press. Her wild living and romance with a boy band singer are a facade created by Stars manager-mom to boost sales and popularity. In reality, Star craves cheeseburgers, a real kiss, and her estranged father, who didnt really abandon the family like her mother had always told her. Fed up, Star skips out on her overly scripted life with a wad of cash and hits the road to find her dad. Living under the radar, she sets up camp in the small Florida town where her father lives, gets a job serving pizza, and meets a quiet college guy who has no idea who she is. But when events dont unfold as shed expected, Star is faced with some hard truths about trust and lies. This enjoyable, perky rich-girl-goes-incognito adventure concludes with an epilogue that ties up all possible loose ends in a perfectly tidy package.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)