Back in Black

A-List #5

by Zoey Dean

Back in Black is the 5th guilty pleasure in this witty series that takes readers behind the scenes of the intoxicating world of Hollywood glitterati.

It's time for the Beverly Hills High senior class trip to Washington, D.C. But every year the reigning A-List call in sick and do their own trip to Vegas, baby, Vegas. Anna joins Cammie, Adam, Sam, Dee, and Parker on the Vegas trip to the uber-hip Palms Hotel and Casino. During a hypnosis show on The Trip, the group is hypnotized into telling the truth. Dee is confronted with just how whack-o she's become and Adam and Cammie are forced to confess their forbidden lusty secrets. When Anna's oldest and best friend from NYC, Cyn, and Anna's long-time adolescent crush, Scott, show up in Vegas too, Anna finds out just how dangerous telling the truth can be.

Genres: Young Adult, Chick Lit, Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Teen, High School

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

The author of The A-List series and How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, which has been renamed and turned into a TV show known as Privileged on the CW in September 2008. Zoey Dean's books are produced by the media packager Alloy Entertainment, which created Gossip Girl, The Clique Series, and The A-List and sold them to Little, Brown and Company.
Zoey is currently working on The Talent series. She is also working on The A-List: Hollywood Royalty.
Zoey Dean divides her time between Beverly Hills, California, and her favorite small islands in the Caribbean.

See also: Cherie Bennett

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ooooh! this book was just horrible as the last one. There is too much descriptions of each building and clothes(I though I was reading a travel's guide) and nothing happens. I didn't expect much from this book, and I wish I didn't buy it. But I'm continuing to the series, I'm wanting to see Anna/Ben. But now I don't have a favorite character in the book, Sam is just bitchy and horrible, Cammie is worse, Dee is loony and boring, Adam is okay, Parker is okay, and Anna is really boring. I have to say the dialogue is boring and boring.

[Adam Buongiovanni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read a book that elaborated more on the exact details of the clothes someone is wearing, or the accessories they carry. It was a book that revolves around a very high end, mostly stuck-up group of friends, who have what I like to refer to as "rich people problems". The main character gives us some redeeming qualities, but besides that most characters are a tad annoying. However, I actually enjoyed this frenzy of annoyance. It took me 3 days to read this book and I was thoroughly involved in the story. It truly felt like a very descriptive version of an episode of Gossip Girl.

[Smileylover · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series was okay, but get's tiresome after, like, the 2nd or 3rd book.... eventually it's all about name-dropping, mentioning hip clubs, talking about how much money people earn and how to be mean to people who aren't earning 60 million every minute. Plus the constant chatter about the clothing (who designed it, how much it costs what kind of cut and the fabric it's made from and when and where the characters got it) AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it gets soooooooooooooo annoying, as well as the mentions every 15 seconds about various plastic surgeries certain characters have gotten.... and the characters have sex like 98 times a day!! You think it would get boring!

[Patrí · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed with Ben. :| He's a loooooooooooooooooooooooooser!
This book was full of SEX and TEENAGE DRAMA. Though the two words together is okay with me, the story was awful.
I mean, fuck. K. Never mind.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely what I expected for a middle book in the series. Not too much happens and some of the stuff that does happen (hypnotism??) is ridiculous. I was annoyed with Cammie/Adam and Anna's continued thirst over Ben. Sam is still pretty great though.

[Malarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Took me forever to read this book. So boring.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure this series is getting any better. I admit the Oscars was a cool touch, and I liked Cyn coming back. But other than that kinda meh. I still like the series and want to see this play out but I’m not sure I’d recommend it unless you know you like the author.

[Ava Loughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book not only takes you behind the scenes of Hollywood, but allows you to feel like you are actually in the book. The description and detail is extravagant but throughout the book it gets boring. This book revolves around the Hollywood life of rich people and how their life. That part is interesting but not interesting enough.

[Brooke · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book described clothes and buildings way too much. WOW not good!

[Ireland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of expected this to be another book similar to “The Clique” series. And I was right in that sense. I wasn’t a total fan of this book. I’ll be continuing this series because I want to see what happens between Ben and Anna. I didn’t think there was a whole lot of redeeming qualities of the people in this book. I would say this book was way too descriptive of the clothes and buildings.

[♡Strawberead⁠♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I put only 1 stars because I really didn't like the plot of the story the others books were way better this one in my opinion is slow and boring and Idk something about this book really disappointed me compared with my expectations.

[A. T. Theiler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. Drama, love, and the details of expensive brands. What else could you need?

[Grace Lawrence]

Cindy

[Courtney]

See my review of The A-List for my take on revisiting this series and omitting ratings: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Haley | Routed Nomad · Rating 2 out of 5]

like pulling teeth

[Payton 🌻 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of a group of friends with intertwined lives who escape reality and take a trip to Las Vegas. But can reality really be escaped? Does what happens in Vegas really stay in Vegas?

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

""

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back In Black, an A-List Novel
Zoe Dean
Seventeen year old Upper East-Side girl Anna Percy is tired of playing by her wealthy mother’s strict rules. So, to follow her heart, she moves from uptight New York to the sunny (and wild) shores of Los Angeles. Anna wants to break out of her perfectly boring personality and step into something new. Thanks to Sam Sharpe, Cammie Shepherd, and Dee Young, Anna just might get what she came for.
Sam, Dee, and Cammie rule Beverly Hills High school, but when Anna Percy and her annoying preppy get-up enter the scene, drama is just around the corner. They are the A-List, and Anna just doesn’t have what it takes to be a part of their exclusive group. Or does she? Anna is desperate to make friends, so she tries to talk to them. At first, the girls refuse to even look at her, but after awhile, they change their minds, and agree to make amends. Over time, Sam, Cammie, and Dee teach Anna so many things, and Anna realizes everything she’s missed out on. They show her how to be wild and care-free. When the senior class had plans to go to Washington D.C. on a class trip, Anna’s friends tell her that they would be going to Las Vegas instead! Anna hesitates and has doubts on the crazy idea, but isn’t that why she came here? To step out of her small box and try new things? She finally agrees to the trip, and the four friends leave everything behind (except drama), and check into the luxurious Palms Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. There, Anna finds out her friends’ deepest, darkest secrets and learns why Vegas is called Sin City!

I believe that there are many themes in this book, some of them being curiosity, trust, and friendship. Most of us are always curious, too. We all want to try new things and do something different once in awhile. The whole book is about Anna being curious about trying new things- whether it’s eating a different food or flying across the country! I also think that trust is an important theme in this book. Anna learns to trust her new friends and everyone else she meets. Before in New York, Anna felt like she couldn’t trust anybody, but L.A. transformed her into a trusting person. The last theme in this book is friendship. Anna meets new friends and she learns what it means to be a true friend, even if it took some time and cost her a lot of things.

I really enjoyed this book and I know I learned important values from it. It tells us to be yourself no matter what, and learn to trust others around you. It also made me realize that we can change so much when we enter new environments. I would give this book four out of five stars because I know everyone can learn a thing or two from it, and the plot was very realistic, something that was easy to relate to. This book is part of a series, and I cannot wait to pick up the next book and read what Anna and her friends will encounter next!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back In Black, by Zoey Dean is about a group of friends that go to Las Vegas for a school trip. They were actually supposed to go to Washington D.C., but they ditched their school and flew to Las Vegas. Adam, Cammie, Sam, Anna and Parker are all friends and they are all 18. They're seniors and it's like a tradition for the "cool kids" to rebel and go somewhere else besides the place they're actually supposed to go to. In Vegas, everybody goes through a rough time. Anna misses Ben. He's in Princeton and they recently just broke up. She can't stop thinking about him and how they could've worked out. Cammie and Adam are having hard times because Cammie thinks Adam is just too good. She wants him to loosen up a bit and be bad, but Adam refuses to. Sam just misses her boyfriend who's in Paris. She thinks that shes the ugliest girl compared to her friends and she's imperfect as imperfect could be. Parker is just dealing with his money issues. People think he's rich, but he's actually insanely poor. He has to keep up the act, but it's getting harder and harder as he uses more money.
I love Anna. She's probably my favorite character. She's really reserved and conservative. She knows how to have fun, but she knows when fun stops and when to be serious. She's insanely gorgeous and she's really nice. She reminds me of myself because I'm more of the quiet one in my group of friends. I don't like to be loud, but I know when to have fun.
I like this book and the A-List series in general. I love Zoey Dean's writing. It just makes you want to keep reading and reading. She's one of the writers that you know is good. Every book that she writes will capture you and make you want to keep on reading. She's like Lisi Harrison except she writes books about more mature teenagers.

[Dana A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Back in Black written by Zoey Dean gives you an insight on what the high life of Beverly Hills is like. This might seem interesting for a story but I will have to disagree. Even though getting to see the rich upscale life of Anna Percy and her friends, nothing had happened that led to a good story line. Seeing Anna Percy's Las Vegas experience was a little crazy but I still felt this book was lacking. One example is that you have to read over half of the book in order for the main setting to come into scene. I like when I can get straight into the story. Everything before the trip to Vegas provided little information or connection to the storyline. Sam and Anna had gone to an award show for Sam's father and to show Anna what an award show is like. I found this part had little to nothing to do with what the main plot was. A second part of the book that I disliked was how Anna's old friend Cyn who she had moved away from, and Cyn's boyfriend just appeared and entered the story. They had just surprisingly been at the same dinner as Anna. It didn't seem to flow all that well. I had read the previous books in the series the A- List that this book is part of and found those books were much better than this one, Back in Black. I recommend starting with those first. Although i did not consider this book to be a must read, if you're still wondering what happened to Anna in Vegas go ahead and read Back in Black by Zoey Dean.

[Alexis L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: this book is all about a group of teens supposed to be going on a school trip to Washington D.C. but they are going to Vegas on Dee’s, Dads privet jet. They get into trouble by the police but there parents don’t find out about it. Everything gets crazy at the end because they go to a hypnoses show and nobody knows what happened except Anna and she doesn’t want them to know what happened because they spoke the truth. When they watch it everyone gets mad at each other.
Main characters: Anna, Dee, Sam (girl)
Setting; Vegas
Conflict: everyone gets mad at each other
Resolution of conflict: only a few people make up about the video
Main idea: the main idea of this book to me was that teenagers think they can do whatever they want when they are rich and their parents are famous. Really the get into trouble but their parents done find out about it.
My opinion: my opinion of this book is that it was good but it wasn’t very appropriate for our age type. It was a little confusing at first but I got the hang of it.
Recommendation: I think that this book should be for older kids like high school kids because it is inappropriate for us now.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

How I Came To Read This Book: Danielle lent it to me.

The Plot: Anna Percy and her LA frenemies are heading to Las Vegas for a week of sin and debauchery. In between a showgirl striptease contest, a mysterious casino visit, and a night with a hypnotist, each of the main girls deals with the relationships with the most important people in their lives - past and present.

The Good & The Bad: Ah the A-List, back in boring form. Despite a minor upswing in plot and character development in "Tall Cool One", this book was boring. Not a lot happened, the characters felt contrived again, and their overall relationships with one another were frustrating. Honestly not tons more to say on this book other than that - I guess if you like the series, it is better than books 2 or 3, my least fave, but otherwise, I still question why I'm reading these books.

Anything Memorable? Nay

50-Book Challenge?: Book #43 in 2008.

[Ethan]

I'm currently in finished with this book and it has been pretty good. I believe that this book is interesting but it can get boring at some points in the book. This book takes place in Las Vegas and the main characters in this book are exploring the Gambling city! These kids are wise and optimistic which makes this book interesting to read. If you are willing to explore kids that are doing what they want in Vegas this book is great for you.
I believe that this book will get you on the edge of your seats or it can get you straight to sleep. Many kids don't get to explore the land of Vegas like they do. They sneak past many things which should not happen. If you think this book will compare to your life, then be my guest and read this book. Are you going to be the next to know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

[Kori Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a(n) incredible book. This book is about how Anna and her friends, Sam, Dee, Adam, Parker, and Camilla (Cammie) were supposed to go on the senior trip to Washington D.C., but, instead, they went to Las Vegas. They had a tacky Vegas contest and Camilla decided to show off. They went to a hypnotist show where their deepest, darkest secrets were revealed. They all went through ups and downs and experienced all of the crazy activities that gave Las Vegas its name: Sin City.
This book was full of lots of drama. It had some mysterious moment when the author would cut a moment off right in the middle of the drama, which created suspicion. Many people can relate to this book because it has dysfunctional families for almost every character.

[Amber Ventura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in Black, an A-List novel was an OK book....I'm thinking because I didn't read the first 4 books before was the reason it was just OK. I couldn't really connect to any of the characters, but the only character I really wanted to know more about was Anna. I wanted to know more about her and Ben and what what was the reason they split up. Of course at the end of the book they reconnect finally...and then thats what wants you to get the next book to read, to see what happens with them as a couple. I don't know if I would buy the previous or next books to read them, but I might borrow them from the library, if I couldn't find anything else that interested me.

[Hannah Childers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. I have been reading this series for awhile. After this book I realized the series isn't going anywhere good so I stopped reading them. The book its self was entertaining, but wasn't a book that I couldn't put down. It was a very easy read and didn't take a lot of thought to read it. Overall I probably would not reacommend this book to anyone because there are a lot more books out there to read that would be more worth your time. I think Zoey Dean is a talented writer. I would read other books by Zoey Dean as long as they wern't from this series.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was ok. still happy to see no discontinuities (maybe she switched editors?). The bit with the hypnotist was mildly entertaining, but the book is still a bunch of rich kids trying to find their jollies. dee finally really cracks up which was overdue. the cammie and adam relationship is so saccharine it makes me want to vomit. and despite having guys constantly falling for her anna runs back to ben forgetting the fact that they "fell in love" over the course of like a week and that he currently has a girlfriend. wah wah wah....

[Gina Torn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had no clue it was a series. The back of my copy said they accidentally get on a plane to Vegas instead of DC and one gets mistaken for a pop singer. I thought the writing was a little juvenile; there were grammatical errors, the wording was off, like it wasn't proofread. I'm all for fiction but 17 year olds going to Vegas? There was a lot of famous designer name dropping and it got old real quickly. Quick read, very easy to follow.

[Isla Chiu · Rating 3 out of 5]

These people are HIGH SCHOOL KIDS? Get freaking real. Also, Cammie is 18, right? Please tell me she is 18 because I'm already like WTF with her strip-tease as it is.

Also, Ben, AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

After going to the Oscars, Anna decides to go with the A-list crew to Vegas instead of the senior trip to Washington. Once they get there secrets unfold and Dee is put into a psych ward. Anna meets up with Cyn and Scott. Anna has always had a crush on Scott but he makes it clear that he is not interseted. Anna tries again to recindle the fire with Ben and he comes to Vegas for Anna.