A Revised Review on The A-List Series

I've continued reading the A-List series by Zoey Dean and I have to admit that the last two I've read, Back in Black and Some Like It Hot have made me rethink my review. These are the fifth and sixth books in the series, and it seems as though Dean has gotten something kind of Francine Pascal-like ghostwriter (see: Sweet Valley High). Which would have been fine if she had started the series that way, atleast readers would know what to expect. Instead, almost the entire first half of each book is spent catching the reader up on the previous happenings in the series. When Dean (or Dean-like writer) finally gets to the plot, I almost don't care. Keyword: almost. I am one of those readers who like to know what happens to characters, and I particularly like the protagonist, Anna. Unfortunately, Anna is starting to take the back seat to her Beverly Hills companions Sam, Cammie and Dee. Dean tries to make these characters more likeable, but they still come up short.

In Back in Black, the A-List heads to Las Vegas, skipping their senior trip to Washington, D.C. The most scandalous event is the crew going to a hypnotist. Snore. Some Like It Hot centers around the senior prom, and Sam making a film about the B-List at Beverly Hills High. Laughably, the most annoying thing about this book was that I couldn't get that awful 80's song by the same name out of my head.
Listen to it here at Amazon if you dare.

Dean has also omitted several characters introduced in the first four without an explanation, which is also annoying. And makes me believe there is definitely a ghost writer who didn't even read the first four thoroughly! I'm going to read the rest of the series, since at this point I only have four more left . . . I'll let you know if the A-List series makes an upward climb back into my favor or not!

[Photos: amazon.com & fantasticfiction.uk]

The A-List Series by Zoey Dean

I first discovered Zoey Dean with How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, a delightful novel that the CW show Privileged was based on. I'm still mourning the loss of that show! Anyway, for those of you who have fond memories of the Sweet Valley High or Sunset Island series, you will certainly enjoy this modern version. The first in The A-List series is appropriately titled The A-List. The protagonist, Anna Percy, is an old money rich girl from NYC with impeccable looks, taste, charm and intelligence. She moves to L.A. to live with her father for a change of scenery . . . but also a lifestyle change. Anna is sick of living her mother's life by way of "this is how we do things big book, east coast wasp edition." She meets gorgeous Ben Birnbaum on the flight to L.A., and immediately gets thrown into the A-List world of Beverly Hills High after she attends the wedding of Jackson Sharpe, an actor akin to Brad Pitt in star status, whose daughter Sam just happens to be at the top of said A-List. And in love with Ben Birnbaum. Add in her best friends Cammie, a saucy knockout once scorned by Ben vowing revenge, and Dee, a new-age Kabbalah yogi who thinks she's pregnant by Ben, and you can see why these books are hard to put down. The best part is you finish them in no time laying by the pool . . . the worst part is you might not have the next one on hand. After reading the first four in the series, The A-List, Girls on Film, Blonde Ambition and Tall Cool One, I'm officially hooked. Dean has created a great series of beach reads that anyone who loves great soaps will absolutely adore.

[Photo: www.treebeardbooks.com]