by Elizabeth Scott
March 2009 | Simon Pulse
Summary from Goodreads: Everyone thinks their parents are embarrassing, but Hannah knows she's got them all beat. Her dad made a fortune showing pretty girls--and his "party" lifestyle--all over the Internet, and her mom, who was once one of her dad's girlfriends, is now the star of her own website. After getting the wrong kind of attention for far too long, Hannah has learned how to stay out of sight...and that's how she likes it.
Of course, being unknown isn't helping her get noticed by gorgeous, confident Josh, who Hannah knows is her soul mate. Between trying to figure out a way to get him to notice her, dealing with her parents, and wondering why she can't stop thinking about another guy, Finn, Hannah feels like she's going crazy. She's determined to make things work out the way she wants....only what she wants may not be what she needs.
Review: Imagine you had Hugh Heffner and an ex-Playboy bunny for parents. Hannah knows all to well how horrible it is as she's had to deal with these two immature people for years which has forced her into a very shy existence.
She avoids almost any sort of social contact except at work where she swoons over the song-writing political activist, Josh and chats with Finn, the goofy boy next door type. She also has a loyal friend in Teagan, a college fashion drop-out who has come back to town to help care for her sick parents.
Even though the story is very basic and there isn't too much going on, I really loved reading about Hannah's life because it felt so real. Her shyness was something I could relate to and it actually made me think about situations in my own life I could've faced differently, so there is a few lessons to be learned along the way.
I was entirely empathetic for Hannah's life, her father calls her into town after five years simply to boost the ratings of his reality show and her mother spends her days in hardly any clothing filming for her website, both are people who are slightly selfish but her mum tends to prove herself near the end with her good parenting skills.
Elizabeth Scott is renowned for being the best writer in YA and it shows here with an addictive and unique look at a teenage girls life which will make you yearn for her to pick the right boy after many attempts at buying coffee for the wrong one.
FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS
