THIS book is frothy and fun, and I was amused to find it had a sequel in the make. Introducing Vivian Leigh Reid, Daughter of the Diva is definitely a ‘tween teen beach read.
Vivian – who prefers to be called Leigh – has lived with her father since her mother took off for stardom and Hollywood when she was three. Leigh’s almost fifteen. She’s not much of a Mom, but Leigh isn’t much of a daughter. She’d rather spend a summer in hell than with her mother, who is shooting on location in Ireland, a country where it never ceases to rain, and she’ll be stuck face to face with her fame-starved mother, Annika, for six whole weeks. She and her Dad aren’t getting along, though, and this summer, he’s calling the shots. “It’s your turn,” he tells her mother, and Leigh is sent along like a sullen package. The mother/daughter bonding time begins inauspiciously, as her mother asks her to pretend they’re sisters! Annika smokes all the time, even indoors, and they have to share a room in the single bedroom cottage where they’re staying. Then Annika decides Leigh should become her personal assistant. It’s kind of a drag, except when Leigh – who is going to be a vet – scores a part in the movie. As her mother tries everything to keep the camera on herself, things start to look up. Sean, the co-star , is a hottie, and everyone would prefer Leigh to her old Mom, right? Even though Sean’s twenty-one, he’s fair game, right? Or maybe not.
