Review: Starring Me by Krista McGee

Kara McKormick and Addy Davidson were roommates on The Book of Love, a reality TV show searching for a prom date for the son of the President of the United States. Neither girl won the date, but Addy won the boy. Now Kara has been asked to audition for the female co-host of a new teen TV show. She gets through the first round of auditions and finds herself in Florida for a month with nine other girls, all competing for the same role.

Chad Beacon, winner of a nationwide TV talent show, teenage pop sensation and friend to Jonathon Jackson (hero of First Date, Addy’s story). He has been offered the chance to co-host a new teen TV show, but his parents insist that they get to decide who the female co-host will be, because they want her to be a Christian. The station agrees to allow the family the choice by having Flora, their housekeeper, live with the girls and make the decision.

I thought the initial introduction to Flora was a little weird – it made her out to be a bit of a flake, when we later see her as a long-serving, trusted and responsible member of the Beacon household. And the behaviour of some of the teen girls in the house seemed a little over the top—until I thought of the last reality TV show I watched, which left me shaking my head at the shallowness of both the male and female contestants.

But this was more than made up for by the positive aspects of Starring Me, including Kara’s spiritual journey, the scenes with Addy and Jonathon (it’s always nice when the characters in the first book are still part of the second), and the clear gospel message. I’d recommend Starring Me to any tween or teen girl with an interest in celebrities (isn’t that all of them?).

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze for providing a free ebook for review.