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Finding Forever

A Deadline Diaries Exclusive

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

In this YA series, Brooklyn Brant is a celebrity news blogger dying to have her big break. Her blog, Deadline Diaries, features the clickbait hook-ups, break-ups, and screw-ups of the Hollywood glitterati, but she has yet to nab the one juicy scoop that will establish her as the ultimate insider.

Actress Taylor Prince is America's sweetheart—beautiful, talented, successful, and sober. With a Golden Globe win, Oscar nom, clothing and fragrance line, and too many magazine covers to count, Taylor is ready to celebrate her sixteenth birthday with a big poolside bash. However, she is not prepared for a police raid and blacking out in the arms of a dangerously handsome stranger.

Brooklyn is called by Taylor's assistant to locate the missing starlet under the radar and on a very tight deadline. And she will need both her sleuthing and journalistic skills to solve the mystery and get the story of a lifetime.

In this suspenseful, dual narrative thriller alternating between the perspectives of Brooklyn and Taylor, author Ken Baker uses his in-depth experience with celebrity journalism and behind-the-scenes truths to explore the ugly underbelly of Hollywood's obsession with finding the ever elusive fountain of youth.


[Excerpt:]
“Sources are to a news-breaking blogger what water is to a plant: Everything but the sun."

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    • Kirkus

      July 15, 2015
      A teen starlet is kidnapped and an investigative blogger is on the case in this series opener. Taylor Prince is on top of the world. She's a huge movie star with critical clout and box office bona fides. But everything is turned upside down when her 16th birthday party is raided by kidnappers and Taylor finds herself in the clutches of a youth-obsessed cult. Brooklyn Brant lives on the outskirts of Taylor's world, reporting on all the Hollywood gossip with her popular blog, Deadline Diaries. When Brooklyn is tipped off to Taylor's abduction, the chase is on. Baker revels in all the frothy excess Hollywood has to offer, providing readers a surface-level look at the two different sides of fame's coin. Unfortunately this surface is barely penetrated, making for a book without any subtext. Characters boldly pronounce their intentions, their philosophies, and their allegiances. The dialogue is often clunky and exposition-heavy. The author also makes the curious choice of alternating the narrative point of view between the two teen girls, so readers know exactly where Taylor is at all times and are stuck patiently waiting for Brooklyn to catch up. There's no ticking clock involved with Taylor's dilemma, therefore there are no stakes to be raised at any point. Making things worse, Brooklyn doesn't solve anything; the answer is just plopped into her lap at the last minute.With poor structure and minimal stakes, this is a mystery best left alone. (Mystery. 12-16)

      COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • School Library Journal

      October 1, 2015

      Gr 8 Up- Gossip Girl goes Hollywood in Baker's first in a planned series. Brooklyn Brant spends her days investigating and writing for her blog, "Deadline Diaries." Taylor Prince, America's sweetheart, is turning 16 and just wants a party with no paparazzi or problems. But things take a turn for the grim when she's abducted from her bash and wakes up bald and branded, under the care of strange doctors who say she's in rehab. As Taylor struggles to stay sane under their dubious care, Brooklyn searches for the truth about what really happened to Taylor. This series opener rings hollow. The writing is full of brand-name dropping and cliched, one-dimensional characters. Neither Brooklyn nor Taylor feel fully fleshed out, and traits assigned to them (Brooklyn's religion and obsessive compulsive disorder, Taylor's straight-edge leanings) feel tacked on. The story reads like a 1980s made-for-TV movie or a Lois Duncan knock-off; readers seeking mystery and a little bit of danger with an empowered female protagonist would be better served with a Nancy Drew novel. Neither Taylor nor Brooklyn go through any significant character growth or actualization, and Taylor in particular spends the entire novel victimized and passive. For readers who are big fans of E! Hollywood News, this might be an easy beach read, but with a plethora of quality YA out there to choose from, most teens will have trouble finding something worth engaging with here. VERDICT Not recommended for primary purchase.-Clair Segal, LREI, New York City

      Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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