Review: Reel Life Starring Us by Lisa Greenwald

Reel Life Starring Us by Lisa Greenwald
Published: September 1st, 2011 (Harry N. Abrams)
Pages: 304
Source: NetGalley
Series: NA
Buy the book: Bookdepository
Rating: ★★☆☆☆


Rockwood Hills Junior High is known for the close-knit cliques that rule the school. When arty new girl Dina gets the opportunity to do a video project with queen bee Chelsea, she thinks this is her ticket to a great new social life. But Chelsea has bigger problems than Dina can imagine: her father has lost his job, and her family is teetering on the brink. Without knowing it, Dina might just get caught in Chelsea’s free fall.

This is a difficult review for me to write. I read the entire book, but that's all there is to say about that. I was frustrated with the two main characters from the beginning but somehow managed to read on, but I didn't really enjoy it. I don't know what made me continue reading; maybe the idea of finding out if it would get any better towards the end. But alas, that wasn't the case either.

Dina is the new girl at her school and seems to be hyperconscious of herself and everyone around her, especially Chelsea, who is the girl who has it all. However, Chelsea has a 'secret' and is constantly trying to prove herself to her friends.

The main girls are pretty much the same from the beginning; insecure, obsessing over a boy and whining. Oh man, the whining in this book is terrible. It almost had me trying to tear my hair out. Because both Dina and Chelsea are so insecure, their thoughts are filled with everything they are insecure about. It goes on and on and every alternating chapter just switches the person who whines. For me as a reader, it was really annoying to read about. For me, it felt like the project they were working on was only thrown in to make sure the girls would have to interact with each other.

The characters were flat, both the main characters and the main character's friend and I failed to be able to relate to any of them, even a little bit. The so-called secret that Chelsea was trying to keep was obvious from the start and the way everything turned out at the end wasn't exactly a surprise either.

I know that I'm being horribly negative in this review, but I was just so frustrated while reading it and I need to vent. There are a couple of things I really don't like in books and two of them happened to be the centerpieces in this one so I guess I should just say this wasn't for me, at all. I gave this one two stars because I managed to finish it, but I wouldn't recommend reading it.