Title: Will the
Real Abi Saunders Please Stand Up?
Author: Sara
Hantz
Publisher: Entangled
Teen
Publication Date: May
6, 2014
Genre: YA
Reviewed by: Angie
Edwards
Source: Publisher
via NetGalley
My rating: 2/5
SUMMARY
Abi Saunders might be a kickboxing champion,
but when it comes to being the center of attention, she’d rather take a
roundhouse kick to the solar plexus any day. So when her trainer convinces her
to audition to be the stunt double for hot teen starlet Tilly Watson, Abi is
shocked—and a little freaked out—when she gets the job.
Being a stunt double is overwhelming, but once the wig and makeup are on, Abi feels like a different person. Tilly Watson, to be exact. And when Tilly’s gorgeous boyfriend, Jon, mistakes Abi for the real star, Abi's completely smitten. In fact, she’s so in love with her new life, it isn’t long before she doesn’t have time for her old one.
But when the cameras are turned off, will she discover running with the Hollywood A-list isn’t quite the glamorous existence she thought it was?
Being a stunt double is overwhelming, but once the wig and makeup are on, Abi feels like a different person. Tilly Watson, to be exact. And when Tilly’s gorgeous boyfriend, Jon, mistakes Abi for the real star, Abi's completely smitten. In fact, she’s so in love with her new life, it isn’t long before she doesn’t have time for her old one.
But when the cameras are turned off, will she discover running with the Hollywood A-list isn’t quite the glamorous existence she thought it was?
REVIEW
I’m
giving this book a two-star rating because it’s not the worst story I’ve ever read,
and the cover and title won a lot of points with me.
From
the book summary, I was expecting a no-nonsense, butt-kicking heroine who
performs stunts, gets a taste of the Hollywood A-list high life while still
retaining her butt-kicking, no-nonsense attitude, gets carried away by all the
attention, learns a hard lesson or two, shrugs it off and moves on. I was also
expecting glitz and glamour, and what it must be like for a stunt double on a
movie set. Clearly, I set my expectations too high. Maybe I should’ve read the
book summary three times or more, and not let myself be misleaded by the
awesome cover. What did I get instead? An annoyingly and incredibly insecure,
shallow Abi Saunders who always second-guesses herself, needs constant
reassurance and praise, and who carries on and on and on about how handsome her
best friend Matt is; the same Matt on whom she has a huge crush.
Honestly
peeps, I had a hard time with this novel. I find it disheartening that a
publisher who generally publishes above average books would publish something
like this. This sort of YA protagonist has been written to death, and her crush,
whom we are told over and over again is so handsome and has incredibly good
looks, has similarly been written to death. I found Abi’s character
frustratingly tiresome. Apart from her passive, whiny, insecure behavior, I
found it even more irritating to be told the entire time how much she adores
Matt. I simply couldn’t understand why! Was there anything more to Matt than
his good looks? Apparently not. His character was so monotonous, it bored me to
tears. Don’t even get me started on Tilly Watson. She was just a plot device to
make Abi’s character look like a saint. It didn’t work for me.
My
problem with this novel is that it doesn’t offer anything exciting or
different. It’s just the same old story with a great cover, an interesting
title, but the same typical YA characters with different names, and the same
typical YA plot with mediocre romance for a backbone. I wouldn’t recommend this
book to anyone, unless they’re new to this genre and haven’t read any such
books yet. They’ll find this plot formula new and exciting, but for the rest of
us who have been reading YA for quite some time, this book offers nothing new.
Insecure protagonist with one flaw? Check. Hot bestie friend on whom she has a
crush? Check. Stinted, unrealistic dialogue? Check. Predictable plot with a
weak ending? Check, check, and check.
I’m
still waiting for the real Abi Saunders to please stand up.
Give
this one a miss.
My
thanks go to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for this free eARC in exchange for an
honest review.
ABOUT the AUTHOR
Sara Hantz
originally comes from the UK and now lives on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in
Australia (via 10 years in New Zealand). She writes young adult fiction and her
debut book The Second Virginity of Suzy Green made the prestigious list 'New
York Public Library Books for the Teen Age'. Sara lectured for many years
before deciding to devote more time to her writing and working in the family
hospitality business. She has two grown-up children and when not writing,
working, or online with her friends, she spends more time than most people she
knows watching TV - in fact if TV watching was an Olympic sport she'd win gold.
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