Secrets of a South Beach Princess
by Mary Kennedy
Published by Berkley Jam
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Reviewed by Jilian Vallade
Mary Kennedy kicks off a new teen series set in South Beach, Miami.
Secrets of a South Beach Princess chronicles the life of rich-girl-turned-model Amber Fielding. Her father is the owner of one of the most recognized, posh hotels in South Beach, The Fielding Hotel, and with the penthouse as her address, Amber is the princess in residence.
It's the start of the summer and Amber has grand plans for how to spend her time, but when she meets Nick Crawford, son of an actress who lives in the hotel, Amber considers rearranging her plans to include him! Unfortunately for Amber, however, Nick seems to run hot and cold, one night inviting her to dinner, the next hitting on her best friend. Furthermore, Nick has a camera that never leaves his side, but is he a budding filmmaker as he claims, or something else?
Secrets of a South Beach Princess had the potential to be a fun summer read. Unfortunately, the characters Kennedy has drawn never become anything more than two-dimensional. From the drunken rock star, to the eccentric movie star living in the hotel, the characters are caricatures of their real-life counterparts. Likewise, the dialogue didn't ring true at times. I'm ten years older than Amber and her friends and I've never used words like "yikes" and "pooch," I can't imagine that they would either.
For all of the flaws I found in the book, I still believe that readers in the intended age bracket would enjoy Secrets. The book is filled with name-dropping and fashion references that appeal to the MTV crowd. It's chick lit for teens and that seems to be a very popular genre.
Fans will have to check Kennedy's website http://">www.marykennedy.net) for information on upcoming novels in this series.
Armchair Interviews says: Fun chick lit for young adults.