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Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen #2
My Perfect Life
In the sequel to Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Ella has no interest in running for class president at her suburban New Jersey high school, but her offbeat friend Lola tricks her into challenging the rich and overbearing Carla Santini in a less-than-friendly race. Reprint.
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 6, 2002
33 people are currently reading
631 people want to read
About the author
Dyan Sheldon
93 books197 followersDyan Sheldon is the author of many novels for young adult readers, including the #1 New York Times bestseller CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN, which was made into a major motion picture. American by birth, she lives in North London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
October 25, 2007
This book is about a girl named Ella Gerard. Her life seems so perfect, but of course nothing is perfect. Ella wakes up to harsh reality. Her mom is a drunk, her dad moved to england just to get away from her mom, and now her best friend Lola is making her run for school president! Talk about hectic!!
April 23, 2017
This book was honestly so dull. Going into it, I didn't expect much at all because I have read a book by Dyan Sheldon before: My Worst Best Friend and although at the time, I enjoyed it, I was only about 13 so that's expected. I think the main problem was how bloody irrelevant it was. There wasn't really a message, there was the clear mean girl and her minions, the quiet and reserved MC and then her crazy friend who was way too big for her boots. It was just so clichéd. The MC and the 'mean' girl - ex best friends - were battling it out to see how could be the President of their school.
I enjoyed the fact that there wasn't any romance in it - it's a rarity to find a book with zero romance and I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the family dynamic that Ella's family had... well, lack of family, really. Her parents - masked by perfection and cleanliness - were having problems and Ella's mother was an alcoholic. And I liked that about this story because it seemed like a realistic thing. The only problem was the lack of spotlight put on it.
Ella did change slightly throughout the novel, but none of the other characters did. I absolutely detested Lola, Ella's new friend, because she was just so... arrogant. And Carla - eww. There was zero background on the supporting characters. And I have a great question: Why in hell did Ella's mother want to help Carla with her campaign? Her daughter was against her and she chose to help? That's just.... wrong. And why did Ella not say anything?
Urgh, it was just an infuriating book with infuriating characters.
I enjoyed the fact that there wasn't any romance in it - it's a rarity to find a book with zero romance and I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the family dynamic that Ella's family had... well, lack of family, really. Her parents - masked by perfection and cleanliness - were having problems and Ella's mother was an alcoholic. And I liked that about this story because it seemed like a realistic thing. The only problem was the lack of spotlight put on it.
Ella did change slightly throughout the novel, but none of the other characters did. I absolutely detested Lola, Ella's new friend, because she was just so... arrogant. And Carla - eww. There was zero background on the supporting characters. And I have a great question: Why in hell did Ella's mother want to help Carla with her campaign? Her daughter was against her and she chose to help? That's just.... wrong. And why did Ella not say anything?
Urgh, it was just an infuriating book with infuriating characters.
January 12, 2011
in the beginning of the book,the author writes it like ella has the perfect life. she comes home, has a big home, and has an awesome mom. ella also has a friend named lola who always comes over. then one day the election for school president comes and lola wants to run against carla santini but cannot because of requirements. therefore she makes a sneaky move and puts ella and sam in without them saying yes. then the race starts and ella and carla start battling each other. everything goes wrong. ella find out that she doesnt have a perfect life because her mom is constantly getting drunk and her dad is never home. at the end, neither carla or ella won. morton slinger won
first of all i would never what my life to be perfect. i need challenges in my life because then it wouldnt really be a life. it would just be so boring. i woujld feel bad if someone just made decisions for me like how lola made for ella. so for that, i would slap her. then i would be so depressed when my mom is a drunk and i would try to help her by throwing out all the drinks and then prevent her form buying more. i would call dad and tell him how much i miss him.
first of all i would never what my life to be perfect. i need challenges in my life because then it wouldnt really be a life. it would just be so boring. i woujld feel bad if someone just made decisions for me like how lola made for ella. so for that, i would slap her. then i would be so depressed when my mom is a drunk and i would try to help her by throwing out all the drinks and then prevent her form buying more. i would call dad and tell him how much i miss him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2008
This book was decent. Ella seems to have a perfect life, that is until her new best friend, Lola, signs her up for the school's presidental elections. Ella starts to see new things in her no longer perfect family. Her ex-best friend, Carla, is Ella's opponent and will use anything especially Ella's personal life to win. Ella is a very shy character and learns to stand up for herself and about everyone elses not so perfect lives.
July 22, 2009
Wow, Carla made me so angry I wanted to tear the book apart! I know she's only a fictional character but I will never understand how anyone could be so spiteful and dishonest and not show any remorse. What a disgusting creature. *shudders*
June 7, 2021
A great follow up to teenage drama queen
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2012
Hey Everyone! I've been holding onto this review for a while but I actually read and enjoyed this book in November!
Today, I am posting my review of My Perfect Life by Dyan Sheldon!
I have to say thanks to Walker Publishing for sending this to me all the way from the UK after I requested it.
Now, many of you have probably read a Dyan Sheldon book and might not have realized just how popular her books are. I happen to love them. My Perfect Life was no exception. Many of you have probably see the move "The Confessions of A Teenage Drama Queen" so many times. It's become a classic for this generation's teens and young adults, much like movies such as A Cinderella Story, She's The Man and Mean Girls. Many of you may not know that the movie was actually a rendition of Dyan's book of the same title. When I requested this book, I didn't originally realize that. But it became so obvious as I looked at the book more closely. Even without having read the first book, anyone who watched the movie can see how the books and movie went together. The characters personalities were exactly the same. The book was a fun and easy read, with funny characters and scenarios that made me laugh. This book was written not in the view point of Lola, who we all know as the character Lindsay Lohan portrayed in her early teens, but in the perspective of her best friend, Ella. I would highly recommend this hilarious book to all of you that fit into the lower YA spectrum or even to those of you who still prefer middle grade books. I am considered Upper YA and I loved the book. It was a great read for a dreary day.
Something funny about the day I read the book:
It was November so it was fall of course. And the day I read it was quite dreary. It was windy out and a little drizzle was falling on and off. I was actually with my grandmother at work, which consists of me sitting either in the car or outside since she's a traffic officer, so I finished this book sitting out on a ledge downtown in my city, reading in the car when the drizzle came down, and stopping to belt out songs by Katy Perry and Adele as I kicked through the over whelming piles of leaves with my average voice. Needless to say, I got plenty stares and amassed a huge lot of chuckles but who cares right. It was fun. And a fun day called for a fun book, which is exactly what My Perfect Life was. It made me feel young again for a few hours. I did what I wanted and didn't worry about being judged. I obviously had to stop my shenanigans when the time for my grandmother to drop me off on campus for my classes came, but by then I had already finished the book and had an inkling of my review stored.
Great Lower YA book!
I'd recommend it to all of you, my readers, and to all of the kids and young teens reading this on my page, blog, or on Goodreads.
4/5
I also want to share my favorite Dyan Sheldon book with you all since I'm on the topic of her:
Sophie Pitts Turnball Takes On America
I bought this book quite a while ago and loved it! It's a fun and great read, awesome for Mid - Upper YA! :)
Happy Reading!
You can check out my reviews and daily book convos on Mera's YA Book List on Blogger or Facebook!
Today, I am posting my review of My Perfect Life by Dyan Sheldon!
I have to say thanks to Walker Publishing for sending this to me all the way from the UK after I requested it.
Now, many of you have probably read a Dyan Sheldon book and might not have realized just how popular her books are. I happen to love them. My Perfect Life was no exception. Many of you have probably see the move "The Confessions of A Teenage Drama Queen" so many times. It's become a classic for this generation's teens and young adults, much like movies such as A Cinderella Story, She's The Man and Mean Girls. Many of you may not know that the movie was actually a rendition of Dyan's book of the same title. When I requested this book, I didn't originally realize that. But it became so obvious as I looked at the book more closely. Even without having read the first book, anyone who watched the movie can see how the books and movie went together. The characters personalities were exactly the same. The book was a fun and easy read, with funny characters and scenarios that made me laugh. This book was written not in the view point of Lola, who we all know as the character Lindsay Lohan portrayed in her early teens, but in the perspective of her best friend, Ella. I would highly recommend this hilarious book to all of you that fit into the lower YA spectrum or even to those of you who still prefer middle grade books. I am considered Upper YA and I loved the book. It was a great read for a dreary day.
Something funny about the day I read the book:
It was November so it was fall of course. And the day I read it was quite dreary. It was windy out and a little drizzle was falling on and off. I was actually with my grandmother at work, which consists of me sitting either in the car or outside since she's a traffic officer, so I finished this book sitting out on a ledge downtown in my city, reading in the car when the drizzle came down, and stopping to belt out songs by Katy Perry and Adele as I kicked through the over whelming piles of leaves with my average voice. Needless to say, I got plenty stares and amassed a huge lot of chuckles but who cares right. It was fun. And a fun day called for a fun book, which is exactly what My Perfect Life was. It made me feel young again for a few hours. I did what I wanted and didn't worry about being judged. I obviously had to stop my shenanigans when the time for my grandmother to drop me off on campus for my classes came, but by then I had already finished the book and had an inkling of my review stored.
Great Lower YA book!
I'd recommend it to all of you, my readers, and to all of the kids and young teens reading this on my page, blog, or on Goodreads.
4/5
I also want to share my favorite Dyan Sheldon book with you all since I'm on the topic of her:
Sophie Pitts Turnball Takes On America
I bought this book quite a while ago and loved it! It's a fun and great read, awesome for Mid - Upper YA! :)
Happy Reading!
You can check out my reviews and daily book convos on Mera's YA Book List on Blogger or Facebook!
January 2, 2011
This was an okay book. It is based on a high school girl named Ella and she think she has the perfect life along with perfect parents.But her friend Lola nominates her to run for school president against the most popular girl of the school whos name is Carla.From this point everything starts to fall apart in Ella's life.She soon realizes that she is too shy to be the president of the school.She also comes to realize that her mom is an alcoholic and her dad is never there.It alls turns into a big ugly mess when Carla asks Ella's mom for help with catering for her party...
I enjoyed reading this book because it made me realize how big of a process it is to become the school president.Also I can relate to Ella's feelings, if my competition were to ask my mom for help the right thing to do would to say no in a kindly manner so it doesnt create more problems. The debate would probably be the toughest part not only beacuse you are talking in front of the whole school but your haters would criticize what you say and do.
I enjoyed reading this book because it made me realize how big of a process it is to become the school president.Also I can relate to Ella's feelings, if my competition were to ask my mom for help the right thing to do would to say no in a kindly manner so it doesnt create more problems. The debate would probably be the toughest part not only beacuse you are talking in front of the whole school but your haters would criticize what you say and do.
August 18, 2017
I found out this was a sequel many years after I read Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and I thought it would focus once more on Lola, maybe during senior year or first year acting class. But it surprised me. Ella St. Gerard was the main protagonist who is running for class president at the behest of Lola (Lola is unable to run due to a school policy) and her main opponent is none other than the infamous Carla Santini. Ella's ideal life with perfect parents from the first novel turn out to be but a distant memory, as her mother reveals to Ella that not only are her parents getting a divorce, but that her mother is terrified of a life on her own, not simply a life without her father. This novel was a bit deeper than its predecessor, in that it delves into the notion (though lightly) on the dangers of personal dependency, as well as the reality that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
August 25, 2008
I am use to paying 25 to 33 cents for my books, so when I purchased this from a charity shop for 1.25 I was really looking forward to a good read and indeed it was. I am secretly in a contest with my sis-in-law for the amount of books we have read for the year. Recently I purchased two children’s books with 150 and 200 pages, heh, heh. I consider this fair as I am also reading 3 books with 500 pages or more and she listens to audio books instead of reading them.
I just loved this tale of a 16 year old trying to survive adolescents, she runs for student body president with the help of her zany friend Lola. Her opponent is her onetime best friend Carla who is unscrupulous, dishonest and a truly despicable character. The author has only written 4 books and I will eagerly seek them out in the future, I’m even willing to pay the buck and a quarter for them lol.
I just loved this tale of a 16 year old trying to survive adolescents, she runs for student body president with the help of her zany friend Lola. Her opponent is her onetime best friend Carla who is unscrupulous, dishonest and a truly despicable character. The author has only written 4 books and I will eagerly seek them out in the future, I’m even willing to pay the buck and a quarter for them lol.
February 7, 2011
My Perfect Life by Dyan Sheldon is a ok book. are main charater is Emma and two others that are her best friend lola and carla the mean girl.first, emma thinks her life is perfect and then her best friend lola enters her in the electons for class president and her compition is carla and thing go bad.Carla is making a fool of emma and emma starts to fight back and next electon day comes the girls are eager to hear who wins but none of them win someone esle does and after school that day on drama is all between them and one day they got in to a fight a lunch an dgot sent to the princepals andafter that something clined and the next year they were the best of friends and that is my review on my perfecr life by dyan sheldon.
October 22, 2012
Right now, Lola and Ella are trying to destroy Carla Santini, because Lola is running for student body president along with Carla. Also because on page 79 Lola said "We are going to confront the loin in her den. Or in this case, the weasel." This shows me that Carla is the antagonist in the story. Ella is just helping Lola with her campaign, and is also helping Lola with her plan to destroy Carla. I know that Lola is very demanding. "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets.". Ella said about Lola: "She was being deliberately stubborn" on page 4. That is why I could tell from the very beginning of the book that Lola was going to cause problems for Ella. And I have a feeling she is about to... Lets just see what she does next.
December 16, 2009
This book was fantastic. It's like a sequel to the book TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN, but this time it's about a girl named Ella. Ella's life is pretty much perfect until she meets her best friend Lola. Lola have Ella doing things that she has never done before, such has sneaking pictures of a girl who is puttin on make-up to help Ella win the school's presidential election, which Ella wasn't even going to participate in until Lola persuaded her to. This is one of the amusing books that I've ever read.
July 9, 2014
I thought it would have maybe a bit of romance,be a bit more lively.It has great characters but it could have been a lot better.I did read all of it though but next a book like that should be spontaneous and just all around fun i did not think that about this book.The ending was very abrupt that definitely could have been better but all in all it is a good book but it is just not for me.I would recommend it to maybe 10-13 year old's.It just doesn't have that punch that a good YA book or any book is meant to have.
January 29, 2016
This book is a bout a girl whose name is Ella Gerard. A lot of people has said that she is perfect. Who can not say that I mean she has perfect parents, perfect friends and a perfect poise she has it all. So she became friends with a girl named Lola Cep who has nominated Ella to run for school president when she will be going against her ex-best friend Carla Santini who is wickedly popular. Now the question is will she win or lose? The results will surprise you. I would recommend this to people who enjoy reading funny and exciting books.
November 24, 2008
My Perfect Life by Dyan Sheldon is a perfect follow-up to her wildly popular Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. Lola and Ella are still friends and evil Carla is still conniving and wildly popular among the crowd at Dellwood High. So popular, in fact, that everyone thinks she's a shoo-in for student body president. Everyone, that is except Lola, who does her best to get Ella elected. And of course, there's a third party dark horse...
August 13, 2015
I enjoyed reading this book, it was very light and fun to read. I enjoyed seeing Ella stand up for herself to Carla. I loved Confessions of a Teenaged Drama Queen in high school so when I saw there were more books in the series; I knew I had to read them. It was a good switch to show this from Ella's POV because it was great to see things from her perspective. I gave it four stars, but really mean 4.5 stars.
September 12, 2014
this book is a desent book because this girl has a perfect life and the perfect parents. but i like this book because its based on realality like sometimes at school you have elections like for presadent and stuff like that. but in the story Lolas best friend put her to be the presadent and she didnt want to do it because this other girl named carla is populare. and she thimks if shes populare she cant win the election.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2014
This girl named Ella she has the perfect life because she has the perfect parents and perfect friends. But her best friend Lola nominated her in for president and this other girl did to and she is popular.Ella thinks if you are popular you cant win so she doesn't want to go for president, so she is mad at her. I like this book because i like teenage drama books. I recommend this book to teenagers because they will know what is going on because they add least been though it.
December 16, 2015
honestly this is the best book i ever red before! i really like this book, it has a great story and the level of the book is perfect for me. So the story is about a girl that had a PERFECT life, she had perfect parents, she lived in a perfect town and did perfect things with other perfect kids! but her life changed a lot when her new friend Lola came.....i would recommend this book to anyone who is interested with this book :)
November 1, 2016
The book was about a girl named Ella.She also had a bestfriend named Lola.People basically said that Ella had the perfect parents and a perfect life.Meanwhile in school Lola signs up Ella for the presidential elections.Ella had a ex-bestfriend that was also running for that.
I didn't really like the book it was ok.I recommend this to people who like reading about elections.I also choose this book because of the cover and the title.
I didn't really like the book it was ok.I recommend this to people who like reading about elections.I also choose this book because of the cover and the title.
December 27, 2012
I'm done. And I'm giving this book five stars. I'm a big fan of Lola but having a glimpse of Ella's life makes me like Ella much much more. Maybe because I can connect with her being as shy and not-so-much-for-a-public-attention-kind-of-girl. It's all about finding the real you and what you're capable of doing, achieving it with the help of real friends. Enticing, funny and quick read. :)
September 3, 2014
This book is desent. but its bacesd on a girl named ella has a perfect life and perfect parents. Then her best friend named lola nomanated her for prensdet. And this popular girl named carla was going for presdent to. so they need more votes. And they dont think thier going to win becaues there not as popular then carla.
August 7, 2018
I read this just after the first movie came out. Right now all I can remember about it is something to do with an election. I would say the same things as I did about the first one. It was good when teenager me was reading it, but I don't know that I could reread it now being 30 years old. This is a good YA book as well though.
August 21, 2014
An okay book but not one of my favorites by Dyan Sheldon. The start was good but it took a while to really get into and when you did it wasn't long until the end of the book and it left me wanting to know more.
June 28, 2007
Dellwood High (Deadwood) on the point of view of sweet, innocent, not-a-rule-breaker Ella. Who turns out to be the opposite.
October 22, 2007
This is my first Dyan Sheldon's novel that I read. And pretty good. The plot like other teenlit, but I ilek the theme, about politics, haha!
February 5, 2009
Follow up to Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. It was okay. I didn't find the language very believable but it was a good story about high school elections and how they can get out of hand.
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February 20, 2009Its pretty good
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews