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The Cheetah Girls #4
Hey, Ho, Hollywood
When singing sensation Kahlua comes to New York, the girls devise a plan to make their music heard, and when their plan works, great things happen for the Cheetah Girls as they are given a chance at a record contract and sent to a meeting in Hollywood
- GenresFictionContemporary
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First published September 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 7, 2020
The fourth book in The Cheetah Girls series comes from the perspective of Aquanette, the twin sister of Anginette. In this one, the girls perform at the Apollo Theatre. When things don't go their way, another opportunity comes knocking on their door.
This one is probably my least-favourite so far. It was very up and down, and for some of it, it was about the Cheetahs going places, but then it would fall flat and not do a whole lot. The performance at the Apollo was fantastic for the girls, but they don't win, and they cry and throw tantrums because they didn't win. I get that they're young teens, but wow, such sore losers. They do end up getting an even bigger opportunity by the end of this book (which will carry over into the next), but even by then, I was thinking of how convenient a lot of it is, and how lucky these girls are.
I also didn't like the characters as much in this one, not just because of them spitting their dummies out when they lose at Amateur Hour. Galleria keeps calling people "brown cow" as in from the nursery rhyme, and fortunately Dorothea puts her in her place and tells her to stop using it. Still, Galleria is a very sore loser. "I can't believe we didn't win mommy." Aqua also says that losing at the Amateur Hour was a worse day than when her grandmother died of cancer... I just... wow. The girls really needed to sort out their priorities in this one.
Cheesy dialogue continues ("I'm so nervous I'm sweating like a tree trunk" - do tree trunks sweat?) and I can't say I had a cheetahlicious time reading it.
This one is probably my least-favourite so far. It was very up and down, and for some of it, it was about the Cheetahs going places, but then it would fall flat and not do a whole lot. The performance at the Apollo was fantastic for the girls, but they don't win, and they cry and throw tantrums because they didn't win. I get that they're young teens, but wow, such sore losers. They do end up getting an even bigger opportunity by the end of this book (which will carry over into the next), but even by then, I was thinking of how convenient a lot of it is, and how lucky these girls are.
I also didn't like the characters as much in this one, not just because of them spitting their dummies out when they lose at Amateur Hour. Galleria keeps calling people "brown cow" as in from the nursery rhyme, and fortunately Dorothea puts her in her place and tells her to stop using it. Still, Galleria is a very sore loser. "I can't believe we didn't win mommy." Aqua also says that losing at the Amateur Hour was a worse day than when her grandmother died of cancer... I just... wow. The girls really needed to sort out their priorities in this one.
Cheesy dialogue continues ("I'm so nervous I'm sweating like a tree trunk" - do tree trunks sweat?) and I can't say I had a cheetahlicious time reading it.
May 8, 2025
Hey Ho Hollywood (Updated)
Mr. Walker is letting the twins invite their friends (the rest of the Cheetah Girls over). Mainly because he’s inviting his girlfriend High Priestess Abala Shaballa Bogo Hexagone over. The twins (Angie and Aqua) don’t really like her. On this night, her and her friends are concocting a ritual for the Cheetah Girls who are about to preform in the Apollo Theatre Amateur Hour contest. Aqua is especially anxious about the Sandman.
Aqua can’t wait for this girl at her school named JuJu Beans (who this she’s hot ish cause she can rap and shake her behind) to hear the Cheetah Girls do their thang. She treats the twins like their country. So, she’s hoping Galleria, Chuci, and Dorinda get into LaGuardia (their school). It’s a Performing Arts School. While they’re waiting for Chanel and Dorinda, Galleria is acting all proper. Mr. Walker is WAY too into decorating and it kind of makes me wonder about him.
He likes snow globes, classic LPS, and ivory silk. Mmm. His favorite colors are white, ivory, and brown and he’s real “particular” about his things. Aqua says the snow globe thing is a little weird. (Oh just the snow globes Aqua?). She says it’s also strange that he bought a blender and now everything he eats is blended. Dorinda says she *wishes* she had a blender. The others don’t get it so they have to break it down and say he used to like to cook real food like cajun crawfish but now he just blends strange vegetables and fruits to make shakes. He expects them to drink them too. Uh NOPE! Celery and turnip shakes?
Then there’s the High Priestess-who Angie just thinks is a witch-. Aqua says Aballa wants to put a “Vampire Spell” on them so they can captivate the audience tomorrow night. They get kinda quiet and Galleria asks Aqua what she’s gotten then into. Dornda tries to be out -a couple of times- but Aqua gets them to stay by Galleria telling her they owe them. Mr. Walker comes into the room with Aballa and her coven Rasputina and Hecate and Bast. The ritual includes a goose (yes you read that right), tomatoes, beets, and Tabasco sauce. They also use kumquats, a head of lettuce, and a teddy bear.
They tell the Cheetah Girls to drink a potion that has raw steak, beets, tomatoes, pimientos, and Tabasco sauce. Strangely, Aqua thinks its good. She then makes them hold hands and says they have to pay homage to the sylphs of the east, the salamanders of the south, the bats of the west, and the gnomes of the north. She gives them each a shoe box and instructs them to put them in their closets and don’t open them. In the boxes are stuffed animal parts; teddy bear eyes and noses, poodle tails, and rabbit whiskers. After midnight she says the teddy bear, the poodle, and the rabbit will merge with them and give them the strength of a true Cheetah Girl. Aqua and Angie decide to ignore the “Hocus Pocus” Priestess and pray on it.
At the Apollo, we find out the twins peeked in the box. The first group is a girl group called Bacon Once Over Lightly. They sound more like spam and get booed off the stage and escorted off by the Sandman. Aqua has this thought that maybe Aballa cursed their performance. Then there’s a group called the Coconuts and a guy named Wesley Washington that sings falsetto. (He sings too high for his range). Then the Cheetah Girls go on. The crowd loves them! They think they’ve got it in the bag, but the winner is announced and it’s STAK CHEEDA (a rap group of two annoying boys that teased the Cheetah Girls in the hallway).
Of course there are a lot of tears. The next morning, Aballa is over and the twins are startled to find an ugly mask hanging on their wall. Aballa tells them it’s a Bogo Mogo Hexagone Warrior Mask. She tells the twins when the red marks are intense it means Bogo is returning, and the twins will have someone always looking over them. Their dad at breakfast is looking more love-sick and having another one of Abala’s shakes. Galleria calls and tells Aqua her mom knows Pepto B at Churl It’s You and he’s hooking them up. Kahlua Alexander (aka Brandy) is in the shop getting her braids taken out and Galleria says their going to sing for here (when they show up to give the twins).
When the others show up to get the twins, Mrs. Doretha surprises them all with new outfits. Then they practice the two songs they’ll sing “Wanna Be Stars” and “More Pounce to The Ounce”. Before they start Aballa asks if the spell worked and Aqua says no. She says that either they didn’t follow instructions or High Priestess Hexagone has bigger plans for you.
They’re all impressed when they get to “Churl It’s You.” The whole place is done up in pink. Pepto introduces himself and kisses Dorothea on the cheek. Aqua thinks he must be French (or something else). Kahlua and her mom love them and they say they’ll talk to Mr. Hitz over Kahlua’s label (Def Duck Records). Then they talk about everything from Gallerias dream, all things Cheetah, Kahlua’s movie to bonding over them all losing at the Apollo. When they leave, Mrs. Alexander says she’ll be in touch.
On the way to Drinka’s, the twins read their horoscope in the paper and it says “Get ready for an unexpected trip. You’re gonna be flying the friendly skies real soon. Pack your party clothes.” The twins are still kinda down because they don’t know if they did the right thing choosing RNB over gospel, but by the end of dance practice at Drinka’s Galleria’s joking makes them (Aqua) feel a little better.
Mr. Walker gives the twins the good news that he’ll be working a new job at SWAT an insect repellant company and then Galleria gives them the news that they’ve been offered a showcase in LA. There’s a delay at the airport and they’re held up for four afters but after that they’re on their way to LA.
My Thoughts:
Loved! Loved! Loved! “Churl It’s You.” Like Chanel I love the color pink! And this place has cotton candy, popcorn, and pink soda? WOW! This is the kind of place I’d want to have if I had a beauty salon.
Odd feelings about the Priestess girlfriend Abala. Since I’ve started my journey, I’m starting to see the ugly truth about how people perceive Wiccans and witches. On this read tho, I associated her more with Vodoo. Abala felt like a BAD stereotype! She dresses odd. She associates with questionable people. She performs bizarre spells. Maybe she’s hexed the twin’s father. All negative traits people associate with witches.
When the Cheetah girl’s fail the contest it’s because of Abala’s spell. But when the opportunity comes for them to meet Khuala. (Let me stop right there). It rubbed me the wrong way. I Now, to be honest initially I probably felt the same way. When I first read this book, I probably saw her as strange, but now that my eyes and mind have been opened to some things. It just feels like a prejudice, unjust, version of what magic looks like from a Christian POV.
The twin’s Dad sounded more gay to me than he did cursed. Ivory silk furniture? And you don’t have to be “under a spell” to act dumb in love. The Showtime At The Apollo scenario reminded me EXACTLY of a video I saw on You Tube about a group called Girl Tyme (which was Beyoncé’s group before Destiny’s Child) and how they lost to the older male group. And I kind of wondered was the author inspired by that since she seems to take inspiration from real groups. I wondered who Kahlua was supposed to be and then it hit me. OHHH! She’s Brandy. The braids. Brandy is a alcoholic beverage. Khulna (I think) is an alcoholic bevage. The lady in the sweat suit was probably meant to be Brandy’s mother who managed her. Interestingly enough she must not be a fan of the Queen B as her version of her is called “Backstabba”.
Rating: 5 (I gave it a 6 before probably because of "Churl It's You"). Maybe 5 and a half
Mr. Walker is letting the twins invite their friends (the rest of the Cheetah Girls over). Mainly because he’s inviting his girlfriend High Priestess Abala Shaballa Bogo Hexagone over. The twins (Angie and Aqua) don’t really like her. On this night, her and her friends are concocting a ritual for the Cheetah Girls who are about to preform in the Apollo Theatre Amateur Hour contest. Aqua is especially anxious about the Sandman.
Aqua can’t wait for this girl at her school named JuJu Beans (who this she’s hot ish cause she can rap and shake her behind) to hear the Cheetah Girls do their thang. She treats the twins like their country. So, she’s hoping Galleria, Chuci, and Dorinda get into LaGuardia (their school). It’s a Performing Arts School. While they’re waiting for Chanel and Dorinda, Galleria is acting all proper. Mr. Walker is WAY too into decorating and it kind of makes me wonder about him.
He likes snow globes, classic LPS, and ivory silk. Mmm. His favorite colors are white, ivory, and brown and he’s real “particular” about his things. Aqua says the snow globe thing is a little weird. (Oh just the snow globes Aqua?). She says it’s also strange that he bought a blender and now everything he eats is blended. Dorinda says she *wishes* she had a blender. The others don’t get it so they have to break it down and say he used to like to cook real food like cajun crawfish but now he just blends strange vegetables and fruits to make shakes. He expects them to drink them too. Uh NOPE! Celery and turnip shakes?
Then there’s the High Priestess-who Angie just thinks is a witch-. Aqua says Aballa wants to put a “Vampire Spell” on them so they can captivate the audience tomorrow night. They get kinda quiet and Galleria asks Aqua what she’s gotten then into. Dornda tries to be out -a couple of times- but Aqua gets them to stay by Galleria telling her they owe them. Mr. Walker comes into the room with Aballa and her coven Rasputina and Hecate and Bast. The ritual includes a goose (yes you read that right), tomatoes, beets, and Tabasco sauce. They also use kumquats, a head of lettuce, and a teddy bear.
They tell the Cheetah Girls to drink a potion that has raw steak, beets, tomatoes, pimientos, and Tabasco sauce. Strangely, Aqua thinks its good. She then makes them hold hands and says they have to pay homage to the sylphs of the east, the salamanders of the south, the bats of the west, and the gnomes of the north. She gives them each a shoe box and instructs them to put them in their closets and don’t open them. In the boxes are stuffed animal parts; teddy bear eyes and noses, poodle tails, and rabbit whiskers. After midnight she says the teddy bear, the poodle, and the rabbit will merge with them and give them the strength of a true Cheetah Girl. Aqua and Angie decide to ignore the “Hocus Pocus” Priestess and pray on it.
At the Apollo, we find out the twins peeked in the box. The first group is a girl group called Bacon Once Over Lightly. They sound more like spam and get booed off the stage and escorted off by the Sandman. Aqua has this thought that maybe Aballa cursed their performance. Then there’s a group called the Coconuts and a guy named Wesley Washington that sings falsetto. (He sings too high for his range). Then the Cheetah Girls go on. The crowd loves them! They think they’ve got it in the bag, but the winner is announced and it’s STAK CHEEDA (a rap group of two annoying boys that teased the Cheetah Girls in the hallway).
Of course there are a lot of tears. The next morning, Aballa is over and the twins are startled to find an ugly mask hanging on their wall. Aballa tells them it’s a Bogo Mogo Hexagone Warrior Mask. She tells the twins when the red marks are intense it means Bogo is returning, and the twins will have someone always looking over them. Their dad at breakfast is looking more love-sick and having another one of Abala’s shakes. Galleria calls and tells Aqua her mom knows Pepto B at Churl It’s You and he’s hooking them up. Kahlua Alexander (aka Brandy) is in the shop getting her braids taken out and Galleria says their going to sing for here (when they show up to give the twins).
When the others show up to get the twins, Mrs. Doretha surprises them all with new outfits. Then they practice the two songs they’ll sing “Wanna Be Stars” and “More Pounce to The Ounce”. Before they start Aballa asks if the spell worked and Aqua says no. She says that either they didn’t follow instructions or High Priestess Hexagone has bigger plans for you.
They’re all impressed when they get to “Churl It’s You.” The whole place is done up in pink. Pepto introduces himself and kisses Dorothea on the cheek. Aqua thinks he must be French (or something else). Kahlua and her mom love them and they say they’ll talk to Mr. Hitz over Kahlua’s label (Def Duck Records). Then they talk about everything from Gallerias dream, all things Cheetah, Kahlua’s movie to bonding over them all losing at the Apollo. When they leave, Mrs. Alexander says she’ll be in touch.
On the way to Drinka’s, the twins read their horoscope in the paper and it says “Get ready for an unexpected trip. You’re gonna be flying the friendly skies real soon. Pack your party clothes.” The twins are still kinda down because they don’t know if they did the right thing choosing RNB over gospel, but by the end of dance practice at Drinka’s Galleria’s joking makes them (Aqua) feel a little better.
Mr. Walker gives the twins the good news that he’ll be working a new job at SWAT an insect repellant company and then Galleria gives them the news that they’ve been offered a showcase in LA. There’s a delay at the airport and they’re held up for four afters but after that they’re on their way to LA.
My Thoughts:
Loved! Loved! Loved! “Churl It’s You.” Like Chanel I love the color pink! And this place has cotton candy, popcorn, and pink soda? WOW! This is the kind of place I’d want to have if I had a beauty salon.
Odd feelings about the Priestess girlfriend Abala. Since I’ve started my journey, I’m starting to see the ugly truth about how people perceive Wiccans and witches. On this read tho, I associated her more with Vodoo. Abala felt like a BAD stereotype! She dresses odd. She associates with questionable people. She performs bizarre spells. Maybe she’s hexed the twin’s father. All negative traits people associate with witches.
When the Cheetah girl’s fail the contest it’s because of Abala’s spell. But when the opportunity comes for them to meet Khuala. (Let me stop right there). It rubbed me the wrong way. I Now, to be honest initially I probably felt the same way. When I first read this book, I probably saw her as strange, but now that my eyes and mind have been opened to some things. It just feels like a prejudice, unjust, version of what magic looks like from a Christian POV.
The twin’s Dad sounded more gay to me than he did cursed. Ivory silk furniture? And you don’t have to be “under a spell” to act dumb in love. The Showtime At The Apollo scenario reminded me EXACTLY of a video I saw on You Tube about a group called Girl Tyme (which was Beyoncé’s group before Destiny’s Child) and how they lost to the older male group. And I kind of wondered was the author inspired by that since she seems to take inspiration from real groups. I wondered who Kahlua was supposed to be and then it hit me. OHHH! She’s Brandy. The braids. Brandy is a alcoholic beverage. Khulna (I think) is an alcoholic bevage. The lady in the sweat suit was probably meant to be Brandy’s mother who managed her. Interestingly enough she must not be a fan of the Queen B as her version of her is called “Backstabba”.
Rating: 5 (I gave it a 6 before probably because of "Churl It's You"). Maybe 5 and a half
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2024
I have officially finished the first arc of the cheetah girls book series!! This first arc definitely set the tone high for the rest of the series so I am approaching the remaining 12 books with high hopes.
November 10, 2025
3.5 rounded up!
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