Internet Famous by M.B. Guel is a teen rom com and I loved it. Take one punk rock heartthrob who is clueless and add a pretty, girl next door, an ex who wants nothing to do with her, an adorable cast of friends and family and a viral post on the internet and you have this delightful read.
But let’s backtrack just a little and meet Billie Alvarez. Billie is a high school senior who wants to play music, get back with her ex and hang out with her best friend Rex. When we first meet her Billie is trying hard to get her ex-girlfriend back. And since her ex is in the AV club and won’t let Billie join the club she decides to do the next best thing and star in the school musical, forcing her ex to spend time with her during rehearsals.
Being musically inclined and with the help of Rex, Billie nails the audition for Danny, the male lead. But the drama teacher won’t let her play the male part and she posts a social justice video on her social media account. Her post goes viral and forces the school to giving her the part of Danny opposite Lois, the shy theatre girl who is playing Sandy.
Billie is not ready for the responsibility or the fame and despite the best efforts of her friends, family and even Lois she starts to lose control of her life.
The question now is will Billie be able to come through in the end and will she see what’s right in front of her with Lois?
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Let’s start with the dedication to this book. It’s adorable – Guel wrote
For Dolly Parton. I just think she’s neat.
I concur and think it’s an adorable dedication.
Queerleaders was such a delightful read that my expectations for this one were high. Guel lived up to them and managed to create a fun romp with tons of teen drama, fun moments and the most awesome cast of characters.
Heads Up
The story can become a little unfocused at times but not to the point where I became bored or lost interest.
For fans of Queerleaders, there is a tad more drama in this one and less humour.
The Conclusion
I loved it. Life sucks and fun, ridiculous teen books are the way to go sometimes. This is definitely one of those and I highly recommend it for all ages. Who says you have to put an age limit on a love of teen angst and drama?
Go read it and read Queerleaders too while you are at it.
Excerpt from Internet Famous by M.B. Guel
The voice came out of nowhere, and Billie actually jumped. Lois was standing next to their lunch table. A shorter girl with long, dark brown hair that reached the middle of her back, contrasting with her light-freckled skin, she was dressed in a simple skirt with a billowy blouse tucked into it that accentuated her thick curves. Billie couldn’t help but look. Lois had dark eyes and always seemed to have a thousand questions. She always looked like she was about to go to court or a job interview. And apparently, she was also very good at sneaking around unnoticed.
“Where the hell did you come from?” Billie asked. Lois blinked, a light tint on her full cheeks. “Well, technically, I was born in Milwaukee but that’s not what you meant. I’m walking around giving out fliers for auditions for the school musical.”
She thrust one at Billie who let it flutter in front of her. The paper was highlighter yellow with nineties clipart of old convertibles, a boy and a girl in fifties clothes sharing a milkshake, and at least three-too-many musical notes. She frowned and looked back up at Lois. “Open auditions? Since when? I thought all you drama nerds had enough members to cast the entire show yourselves.”
Lois huffed and held her stack of fliers close to her chest. “Well, about ninety percent of the club decided they weren’t going to do the musical this year. They said Grease was too controversial.”
“Grease?” Rex asked.
“Yes. They said that with the current state of our country, they couldn’t support a musical that supported the idea that a woman should change herself for a man,” she said stiffly. “Completely forgetting that it is an American staple of musical theater.”
“I guess I see their point,” Billie mused, mostly to get a reaction out of Lois. She was delighted to see more red creep up her neck.
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9781642472462
Publisher: Bella Books
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