Reel Life Starring Us

by Lisa Greenwald

Rockwood Hills Junior High is known for the close-knit cliques that rule the school. When arty new girl Dina gets the opportunity to do a video project with queen bee Chelsea, she thinks this is her ticket to a great new social life. But Chelsea has bigger problems than Dina can her father has lost his job, and her family is teetering on the brink. Without knowing it, Dina might just get caught in Chelsea’s free fall.
Filled with honest truths about status and self-confidence, as well as the bubbly, infectious voice Lisa Greenwald mastered in her breakout, My Life in Pink & Green , this book is sure to charm tween readers everywhere.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, School, Fiction, Young Adult, Friendship

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

A long bio can be kind of boring, so instead I'm going to pretend
that a famous journalist (maybe Barbara Walters) is interviewing me.
The only thing is, I'm making up the questions.
If you think of any other questions you'd like me to answer, send me an email and ask away!

Q. Where did you grow up?
A. I lived in Fairfield, Connecticut until the end of fifth grade and then I moved to Roslyn Heights, New York. That's on Long Island. But I don't have a bad Lawn Guyland accent, I promise.

Q. Do you have any siblings?
A. Yes, I have two younger brothers. I always wanted a sister, but it's kind of nice being the only daughter in the family, and my brothers and I are really close.

Q. What about the rest of your family? Are you close with them too?
A. Yes, family is really important to me. I talk to my parents and grandparents every day.

Q. Are you married?
A. Yes, to a fabulous guy named Dave. We met at sleep away camp when I was sixteen.

Q. Do you have any kids?
A. Yes, my daughter Aleah Violet Rosenberg was born on May 28th, 2010 and I personally think she's the cutest baby in the world, but of course I am biased.

Q. Do you have any pets?
A. I had a miniature toy poodle named Yoffi, but he died in 2007. I miss him so much.

Q. That's sad. Do you think you will get another dog?
A. I would love to adopt one very soon!

Q. What is your favorite book?
A. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt is my favorite book in the whole entire world. I read it in sixth grade in Ms. Mayer's class. I have read many books since then, but Tuck Everlasting is still my absolute favorite.

Q. What is your favorite movie?
A. I have two. Clueless and Avalon.


Q. What's one of the craziest things that's ever happened to you?
A. I won a radio contest at the end of eighth grade! Someone from Z100 called me up and asked me to say the "phrase that pays" and I answered correctly. I won a thousand dollars.

Q. Did you always want to be a writer?
A. No, not always. I wanted to be a hair stylist, then a concert pianist, then a rabbi. But I always loved making up stories, so I think writing is the perfect job for me.

Q. Where did you go to college?
A. I went to Binghamton University in upstate New York. I was an English major with a concentration in creative writing. It's reallllllllly cold in Binghamton. Then two years after I graduated college, I went to The New School to get my MFA in writing for children.

Q. You mentioned that you met Dave at sleep away camp. Did you really like sleep away camp?
A. YES! I loved it. I went to Eisner Camp in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. I would go back to camp forever if only I could. Sleep away camp is the best place in the world.

Q. Tell me some other things you really like.
A. Okay. Here's a short list: sleeping late, fancy hotels, reading and writing (duh!,) peanut m&ms, flip flops, sweatpants, people watching, New York City, cheese omelets, weddings, pedicures, looking at old pictures and re-reading old cards and letters.



Q. Tell me some things you really dislike.
A. Peas, mean people, rats and mice, sweating, pants and skirts with a side zipper, spicy food, uncomfortable shoes, people clipping their nails on the subway, feeling lonely or thinking about other people who might feel lonely.

Q. MY LIFE IN PINK & GREEN is about a pharmacy. Do you really like pharmacies?
A. Yes, I love them! I love the way they smell and the way the aisles are arranged. I love when the pharmacists know the customers and I love looking at all the beauty products.

Q. Do you write every day?
A. I try to, but in addition to writing I also work in the library at The Birch Wathen Lenox School in Manhattan. I love being around kids and books and talking to kids about books!

Q. I don't have any more questions. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A. Just that I hope readers like my book, and I'd love to hear from all of them if they want to talk to me!

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

New girl Dina has just moved to Long Island from Massachusetts. She was cool there, so she'll be cool here, too, right? Instead she keeps discovering potato chips smashed in her backpack--something called being chipped at this new school, Rockwood Hills Junior High. She notices the cliques, too, that seem to be based on relative wealth. With her trusty video camera, Dina starts recording what she sees, and even lands an assignment to make a video for the school's 50th anniversary celebration; even better, her partner is the most popular girl in school, Chelsea. This can only help Dina's social status, of course. Only it doesn't really, and slowly Dina learns that there's more to everything than appearances, and maybe being in the most exclusive clique isn't worth all that much compared to having real friends who value her for herself.

Ah, the dangerous waters of middle school! Who can ever forget the scrupulous navigation they require, and how fruitless the entire experience is in the end. As in My Life in Pink and Green, Greenwald has created engaging characters with real problems that are serious, yet not enough to ruin a funny story. Dina's relentless optimism and charming insight infuse the novel with a cheerful glow, while Chelsea's struggles with keeping her father's unemployment and family's struggling finances a secret add a shade of gray. This is an excellent read for middle grades, highly recommended for ages 10 & up.

[Jamie Meinsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the characters felt generic and the book was drawn-out, the story offered some very nice messages about friendship and relationships.

[Caroline Clesen]

In the book, Real Life Starring Us, by Lisa Greenwald is a teen fiction novel about a girl Dina and Chelsea. Dina moved from Massachusetts to Rockwood Hills Junior High and immediately was known as the freak show, she's gotten chipped more than anymore else has on the first day of school. The only things that has gotten her through the day was her video camera. Dina is assigned a project for the 50th anniversary celebration and not only that, but she is paired up with one of the most popular girls in the school, Chelsea. They’re assigned a video project which Dina loves. Chelsea on the other hand does not want to have anything to do with the project or Dina. Dina thinks she can earn her friendship by getting Sasha Preston, TV famous in their project. She finds Sasha and they interview her for their project. Dina think that by doing this, it'll automatically make her friends with Chelsea. What Dina doesn’t know it that Chelsea actually like her. In this book, the chapters switch off people. One chapter will be of Dina speaking and then the next chapter will be of Chelsea. I like how she did this, because it’s more contradicting and it lets us know what each character is thinking. I can connect with this book because I've also been in a position where I had to make new friends and it is difficult. Overall, this book was very good and it was never not interesting I would recommend this book to anyone that has moved to a new school and was trying to make friends.

[Phasja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dina was popular at her last school. So she thought she would be popular at her new school, Rockwood Hills junior high, too. But she's not people here think she's weird and put crushed up bags of chips in her backpack. They call this a chipping. But when she gets paired up for project with the most popular girl in school, Celeste, she think she has a chance at being popular again, being "in"with the cool kid. Celeste does not want to work with Dina but she knows that she has to. Celeste doesn't make a big deal out of it because she is having bigger problems. She thinks her friends are keeping secrets from her.

There are a lot of ups and downs in this book. I think it is a very good book and would recommend it to girls that are over the age of 12. I can relate to this book ALOT I was just like Dina at my last school I was one of the most popular people, and I talked to everyone, I knew almost everyone and everyone knew me but at the school I'm at now I don't talk to people that much and it's the same with Dina. This was a really awesome book, I love it so much I would defiantly read this again. Read it and find out what secrets Celeste's friends are keeping and if Dina and Celeste will become friends or not.

[Ellicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an IMPRESSIVE book. Lisa Greenwald writes an amazing plot based on two completely different girls: Dina, the new girl, and Chelsea, the queen bee. The chapters in the book were told in each girl's point of view which made me interested to find out how they can depend on each other and develop an unlikely friendship. When they film a video project together, both girls inspire to seek each other for advice, in the times they most likely need it. Dina is a girl who wants to fit in with the popular group. On the other hand, Chelsea’s troubled home life means a secret could ruin her social status. They’re lives may not be similar, but they are more alike than they seem. Dina and Chelsea will discover what it means to be popular, and if it’s worth it when no one knows who you really are. I ABSOLUTELY would read more of Lisa Greenwald’s books which will surely be amazing!

[Ellen Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was a clean, fast and fun read. I don't read a lot of middle grade books so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The story was cute and the characters each have their own issues. There is junior high angst and it was handled in a way that was fun to read. It was nice to see two characters who might not be perfect but were handling their personal struggles the best way they could. Sometimes they screwed up and people got hurt. I enjoyed reading about two girls who didn't know each other and thought they had nothing coming in common finding out they were wrong. Also I thought the chipping ( I know it's being chipped) idea was creative. :) I would feel totally comfortable letting my tween daughter read it. I think she would enjoy it. :)

[Mrs. Nelson's · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greenwald's latest is sweet, uncomplicated fun; as uncomplicated as things can be when you are the new girl at school, that is. Two girls are paired up for a class project: one is popular, the other is the aforementioned new girl (who sadly, isn't super cool). It's a recipe for disaster - did I mention they are middle school girls? But they end up learning a lot about each other and themselves, making this a great, feel-good pick for tween girls!
--Review by Lauren

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommended it to my 13 years old niece. I love this book, keep writing.

[𝓚𝓪𝔂𝓵𝓮𝓲𝓰𝓱 𝓞𝓵𝓼𝓮𝓷 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book! it just sat on my shelf for a long time and then i finally decided to read it and it was amazing! i loved all the different things the girls went through and how it all came together in the end

[milana waller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little unrealistic but good... didn't like how the girl wanted to be popular and the book kinda thought that that was good and that popular people are better which I thought was shallow

[Sarah K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book!!!

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just the kind of book I would have loved when I was in middle school! Growing up I was a Lisa Greenwald fan and it is always good to read a kid's book every once in awhile!

[sadsappysuckers · Rating 4 out of 5]

do i feel like a 2 year old reading this? lil bit. was it peak? yes. only complaint is chelsea shouldve had sebastian early but its wtv. yaya!

[Anncleire · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Sometimes in order to really see things you just have to look through a different lens” Dina.

Reel life starring us è un libro molto interessante. La storia si sviluppa grazie a due punti di vista quello di Dina e quello di Chelsea due ragazzine di tredici anni che viaggiano attraverso il primo trimestre dell’8th in middle school. Dina si è appena trasferita, mentre Chelsea ha avuto la mononucleosi e entrambe iniziano l’ultimo anno con un mese di ritardo. Chelsea in apparenza ha la vita perfetta, circondata da mille amici, super popolare, ricca, ben voluta da tutti. Dina è l’ultima arrivata e se nella vecchia scuola era circondata dagli amici, qui si ritrova da sola a dover confrontarsi con una realtà che non accetta la sua diversità. Le cose cambieranno quando entrambe si troveranno a dover collaborare per un progetto per l’anniversario della scuola. Progetto che sarà il fulcro su cui si svilupperà tutto il racconto. La vita, quella vera, non è mai quella che sembra e ha sempre mille sfumature che vanno interpretate. Nonostante le iniziali difficoltà scopriranno di essere più vicine di quello che credevano.

Diversi sono i particolari che fanno amare questo libro. Innanzitutto il fatto che in qualche modo è tutto perfettamente realistico, si ha a che fare con preadolescenti, a tredici anni inizi a staccarti dalla famiglia, a fare le tue esperienze a prenderti le prime cotte, ma sei ancora in qualche modo legato a certe abitudini infantili. C’è sempre la solita divisione tra i popolari e gli sfigati, i ricchi e i meno ricchi, i fashion e i fuori moda, mischiati in un contesto che non è quello dell’high school ma che comunque lo anticipa in pieno.
Le dinamiche sono le stesse ma qui in qualche modo c’è altro. Il libro in fondo mostra che ognuno è speciale. Chelsea non ha la vita perfetta anzi va tutto a rotoli, Dina si rivela meno preoccupata del giudizio degli altri e molto più incline a vivere tutto così come viene.

Le perfide migliori amiche di Chelsea Molly e Kendall offrono l’antagonismo perfetto, come pure Ross il re della scuola che alla fine sceglie il meno ovvio, e Sasha Preston che sembra un personaggio secondario e invece fa la differenza perché è davvero capace di unire le due ragazze e mostrare loro che cosa significa davvero vivere una vita al di fuori delle convenzioni. In fondo è il suo lavoro visto che ha uno show dove da suggerimenti chiamato “Sasha says so”, period.

Una curiosità: il “being chipped” o “chipping” come lo chiama Dina: alcuni ragazzi di divertono a infilare patatine dentro gli zaini degli altri studenti. Un modo per far capire che il ragazzo in questione ha qualcosa di strano, non è ben accetto, non fa parte della cerchia delle persone che contano, sta solamente un po’ sulle sue. Basta girare la testa un attimo e subito ti ritrovi pieno di patatine. E come si lamenta Dina : ma come si fa a sprecare in questa maniera delle patatine?

Consigliato, una storia come un’altra che però induce a riflettere su quella realtà che ci circonda e sul nostro modo di fare.

Ringrazio Netgalley e ABRAMS per avermi permesso di leggere questo libro.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Books and Threads.

I’ll be upfront here. I hated middle school. High school (once I got over the “holy crap, I just moved to a new school in the sticks”) was fun, but middle school for me was the worst of all the high school cliches. I’m sure it didn’t help that I carried books like Leon Uris’ Exodus around with me everywhere. So maybe I’m slightly amused about the idea of a tale about people in middle school recognising each other’s individuality and learning to respect it.

Given that situation, I was actually impressed by how much I enjoyed Reel Life Starring Us. The setup up is that the new girl in town, Dina, gets paired up with Chelsea, the most popular girl in the eighth grade for a video project. Greenwald alternates between the girls’ perspectives to portray them both trying to handle fitting in, friendships, their family, clothes, and all the drama of a middle schooler’s life. It’s a nice device to show both girls having their own insecurities, that even the most admired person isn’t perfect, and that no one’s life is as great as it might look from the outside.

My favorite thread was the underlying theme of judgment - Dina desperately wants to be friends with Chelsea because she and her friends are the cool group, and so she judges the girls she sits with at lunch as ‘Acceptables’ - good enough until she can drop them to sit with Chelsea. Chelsea is intrigued by Dina and wants to be friends, but her friends can’t see the point of hanging out with the weird ‘new girl’ and pour scorn on the idea of any public overture. Both girls and by extension, all their classmates are missing out on possible friendships for fear of crossing those invisible social lines. Which...I think we can admit happens all the time.

The action leads up to an heavily messaged ending where the eighth grade class comes together to realise everyone is valuable, the girl gets the guy, and Dina and Chelsea become great friends. But for all the heavy handedness on the message, the writing is engaging and Dina and Chelsea are fun heroines who really do illustrate the pressures and worries tween girls from every clique deal with every day.

I think this might be a book that older elementary readers might enjoy more than preteens. Most preteens are going to be too sophisticated to be taken in by a message this obvious - even when it is a good one. But for an older elementary reader who might be worried about moving on to middle school and is confused about why her friends are suddenly starting to change on her, it’s a good reassuring read.

Many, many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Amulet Books, for allowing me to read a galley for review!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

At First Sight: Two very different girls are getting a late start at Rockwood Middle School' 8th grade class.

Dina just moved from Massachusetts to Long Island and is having a hard time fitting in - no one really talks to her, people keep dumping potato chips in her backpack and everyone looks at her funny because she likes to film random stuff.

Chelsea is one of the most popular girls at school, but she spent the first month of eight grade sick at home. But she's back and ready to take her spot as ruling queen of her class. And things are going according to plan, except for the fact that her best friends didn't tell her about the special projects everyone is doing for the 50th Anniversary of their school and now she has no team to work with.

And, since Dina is the only other student without a team, their teacher decides to pair them up, and even tells them they should make a video, since Dina clearly likes making them.

At first, Dina thinks that working with Chelsea might be her ticket to popularity but she quickly realizes it won't be that way. Chelsea couldn't care less about the video, she has her hands full with trying to stay on top of the social later and not letting anyone find out just how complicated things are at home now that her father has lost his job.

But they are stuck together and it's make it work time!


Second Glance: Reel Life Starring Us was a bit of a surprise to me as I had just finished reading My Life in Pink and Green and I guess I was expecting something very similar to that but it wasn't. However, it was a very nice book.

Told in alternating chapters by Chelsea and Dina, this book deals with popularity and how our perception of people changes as we get to know them. Chelsea was, at times, hard to like though I felt for her because I know what's like when you dad looses his job and you kind of aren't sure what's going to happen, and I thought that part of her - those feelings - was very honest; but she was a wimp when it came to a lot of stuff regarding her circle of friends.

Dina I liked more for she was quirky and liked doing her own thing yet she knew she wanted to be popular again and was very honest about it. She could be a bit sulky at times but she was fearless when it counted and resourceful.

I found the ending a little too-neat, and I felt certain parts of the story weren't as developed as much as I would have liked, but I'm willing to overlook that, for the most part.


Bottom Line: Reel Life Starring Us is a nice, quick read about girls and popularity, and very honest too. I had some issues with somethings but I enjoyed the story a lot, none the less.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reel Life Starring Us is a middle grade novel which alternates between the points of view of two eighth grade girls. Dina has recently moved to town, and must deal with the fact that the qualities that made her popular in her old school are the same qualities that make her unpopular in her new school. Chelsea, in the meantime, has started school a month late, thanks to a bout with mono, and she's hiding a secret about her family that she is convinced will ruin her own popularity. The girls are thrown together by a well-meaning teacher who assigns them to work together on a video celebrating the school's upcoming fiftieth anniversary. Dina sees this as an opportunity to make a new friend, while Chelsea worries what it will do to her reputation.

What I liked most about this book is its focus on an unusual relationship. Typically, books in this genre involve a girl, her best friend, and her male love interest. At the heart of this book, though, is an unwanted alliance and a real enmity between two girls who might not necessarily be compatible, or want to become friends. Because the book comes at middle school from this unique angle, the story is able to explore emotions and experiences other than the typical best friend and boyfriend interactions. From chipping, the school's hazing method, whereby potato chips are crumbled into an unpopular student's backpack, to Chelsea's realization that her friends might not care as much about her as they do about her money and status, Greenwald demonstrates a real understanding of the intricacies of middle school politics, and how difficult they can be to navigate.

Unfortunately, though I love the premise, it was hard for me to click with this book. I liked the characters, but it didn't feel like enough happened to them to keep me interested for the duration of the entire novel. I was especially bogged down by the continuous references to the girls' procrastination. It seemed like more than half of their interactions involved the same conversation - Dina wanted to work on the project, but Chelsea had better things to do. There was also the additional element of trying to track down a TV star who went to their middle school, which was interesting, but took a long time to build up to. I would have liked to see more minor conflicts to keep things moving in between the main events of the story.

Girls in grades 5 to 8 will enjoy seeing their own middle school dramas brought to life in this story. Budding filmmakers and actors will also enjoy the film-related scenes, and the behind-the-scenes tour of a TV set.

[Arminzerella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dina has just moved to Long Island after living in Massachusetts for most of her life. She’s starting 8th grade a few weeks late and she misses her old school, with its small class (50 students in her 7th grade), and all of her friends. Dina was pretty popular at her old school, but then, there weren’t really any cliques or mean kids. Now she’s an outcast, and the other kids treat her like she’s a walking disease – especially when Dina takes out her video camera and starts filming them. Dina is paired with Miss Popularity herself, Chelsea Stern (also starting the school year late because of mono) for a school project (to make a video celebrating the school’s 50th anniversary), and she couldn’t be happier. Not only does she love making and editing videos, but she has a chance to increase her own social standing by association. Chelsea, on the other hand, couldn’t be less thrilled. She’s way too caught up in what other people think about her (and worried that they’ll discover her secret) to be nice to the new girl – even if she privately thinks Dina is pretty cool. Will the girls finish their video in time for the anniversary celebration? And once it’s over, will they ever speak to one another again?

There are countless other books about middle school cliques and how mean girls can be to one another, and this one doesn’t really set itself apart from what’s become a pretty crowded genre. Lisa Greenwald tries to give her characters some added depth – Dina’s got her video making, and Chelsea’s dad has lost his job – but when it comes down to it, it’s about the popular kids’ power and cruelty (with a heavy dose of materialism and the unpopular kids wanting to be “just like” the cool kids). Dina is refreshingly strong – she tries not to let Chelsea or the other kids get under her skin – but it’s frustrating to see her efforts to fit in shot down over and over again (plus she basically treats the girls who do accept her just like Chelsea treats her). The underlying message – “just be yourself” – is positive, but it’s occluded by the usual mess.

If you like your girl characters strong and confident, try Lisa Greenwald’s previous novel, “My Life in Pink and Green.” It is the embodiment of middle school girl power, with its determined and capable 12-year-old protagonist.

[Daph (Loving Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a difficult review for me to write. I read the entire book, but that's all there is to say about that. I was frustrated with the two main characters from the beginning but somehow managed to read on, but I didn't really enjoy it. I don't know what made me continue reading; maybe the idea of finding out if it would get any better towards the end. But alas, that wasn't the case either.

Dina is the new girl at her school and seems to be hyperconscious of herself and everyone around her, especially Chelsea, who is the girl who has it all. However, Chelsea has a 'secret' and is constantly trying to prove herself to her friends.

The main girls are pretty much the same from the beginning; insecure, obsessing over a boy and whining. Oh man, the whining in this book is terrible. It almost had me trying to tear my hair out. Because both Dina and Chelsea are so insecure, their thoughts are filled with everything they are insecure about. It goes on and on and every alternating chapter just switches the person who whines. For me as a reader, it was really annoying to read about. For me, it felt like the project they were working on was only thrown in to make sure the girls would have to interact with each other.

The characters were flat, both the main characters and the main character's friend and I failed to be able to relate to any of them, even a little bit. The so-called secret that Chelsea was trying to keep was obvious from the start and the way everything turned out at the end wasn't exactly a surprise either.

I know that I'm being horribly negative in this review, but I was just so frustrated while reading it and I need to vent. There are a couple of things I really don't like in books and two of them happened to be the centerpieces in this one so I guess I should just say this wasn't for me, at all. I gave this one two stars because I managed to finish it, but I wouldn't recommend reading it.


Find this review and others on Loving Books.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at www.In-Interest.blogspot.com

Dina, the individual arty type, has just moved school and plummeted down from one of the popular people at her former school to being a complete misfit. Chelsea, on the other hand, is the popular and seemingly enviable pupil. What made this book so interesting was to the extent that their personality and lives contrast so completely. The book also alternates perspective which enables the reader to create a very clear judgement on the whole situation.

What Lisa Greenwald does so well is enducing sympathy and sometimes empathy. We get to see each person from the others eyes and the totally warped view they hold on each other, it's sometimes really sad. Life for Chelsea isn't really what it seems, which is a total shock as we first see her through the eyes of Dina. Dina may not be the free thinking individual as she strives to get in with the popular people.

The plot is simple but that does not mean it is engaging. Greenwald manages to take a simple concept and execute it in a really compelling way. There are twists and turns in Dina and Chelsea's relationship. It is evident that Chelsea really wants to be friends with Dina just as much as Dina wants to be friends with Chelsea but the pressure from Chelsea's friends is too much. This actually happens and it does life. There is also an element of romance in this book which is really sweet.

I thought, at times, that sometimes the background characters were a bit cliche'. But, they do exist and there are cliques like that. What was incorparated into the story was the theme of exclusion, which I feel many poeple will understand exactly how they feel. Dina is sometimes derogatory in her thoughts towards her 'friends' as she believes they are just 'acceptable'. It takes a TV star, school projects and a twist of fate but soon realises the true worth of those she looked down on, and also the ones she looked up to.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reel Life Starring Us by Lisa Greenwald is one of the best books that I have ever read. I know that I say that about a lot of the books I read, but it is true! I loved this novel! I have been reading Lisa Greenwald's novels since her first novel came out around two/three years ago, and I love every single one that I read.

This novel is about Dina, a girl who just moved to New Jersey from Massachusetts. She thought she would just be accepted into her new school like everybody was in her old one, but that wasn't the case when she arrived. She doesn't have any friends and she's called "The Video Girl" because she carries her video camera around with her. But when Dina and Chelsea (the most popular girl in the school) are forced to work together on a video project for their school's fiftieth-anniversary celebration, Dina thinks it is a chance for her to make a friend. Chelsea, on the other hand, is dealing with some problems at home, so since everybody thinks she has a perfect life, she feels that she needs to hide her problems.

I loved the topic, the author's writing style, and nearly everything about the book! The chapters go back and forth from Dina's perspective to Chelsea's perspective (first chapter was about Dina, second chapter was about Chelsea, third chapter was about Dina, ect.), which I really liked. I would rate this novel a five out of five, and I would totally read it again. I would recommend this novel to anybody who likes young adult novels, girl-ish novels, or novels that relate to today's reality. Happy Reading!

"Some people felt like outsiders looking in. Some people were seen as insiders but didn't feel that way. Some felt angry. Others felt sad. But what we really learned was that everyone had something to offer. Here are the faces and voices of Rockwood Hills Middle School's eighth graders. All different. All accepted. All cool." ~Reel Life Starring Us, pages 282-283

[Paula Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever felt like The New Kid ? Moving and Changing schools can be very difficult and as someone who has been to quite a few schools over my years - I'm 24 and I have lived in 17 different houses so far. I came from a family who for some reason or another loved to move not only houses but also towns, so I've had plenty of experience at being the new girl and more often than not - it isn't really a great experience.
In Reel Life Starring Us we meet Dina - she's the New Girl, at her old school she was the popular one and now starting at a school formed with cliques and close-knit family and friends - she has gone from Hero to Zero and if her day's as being the New Girl doesn't suck as much - what makes matters worse is that she is continually being "chipped". This is when the classmates prank the loser by putting chips and crumbs in the loser's backpack. Already her 2nd day and she has been chipped twice. When paired up on a school project for the 50th Annual Fair of Rockwood Hills Junior High with fellow student Chelsea , Dina sees this as her ticket to Popularity and no longer being "chipped" as Chelsea is everything Dina used to be - Popular, Beautiful, All the Boys love her and she rules the school. However as we are about to read and learn, appearances can be fooling as underneath Chelsea's popular exterior lies a girl whose life day by day is falling apart.
Will Chelsea and Dina bond over their problems or when their video starts to be known will Chelsea and Dina find themselves living in a Rockwood Hills Junior High Reality show , where everything you see is not always the truth ?
Find out all this and more in Lisa Greenwald's new Junior High novel "Reel Life Starring Us" - a great read for all those tween and teens interested in Reality TV and novels like Lisi Harrison's The Clique series.

[Clementine · Rating 3 out of 5]

When new girl in school Dina is assigned to work on a video project with popular girl Chelsea, she thinks it’s a great in to the popular crowd. Chelsea’s not interested, and has way bigger problems at home: her dad lost his job, her family is on the edge of ruin, and her parents can’t stop fighting. Dina and Chelsea are thrown together, but will they survive the project–and each other?

Frequently funny and keenly observant about middle school life, Greenwald’s Reel Life Starring Us plays into this generations technology connections and mostly succeeds. Offering dual narration from Dina and Chelsea, Greenwald manages to mostly craft separate voices for the two girls. While Dina often sounds to precocious for her own good (and often too much like an older high school girl), Chelsea’s increasingly reflective voice helps soften the narration.

Both girls offer insights into the world of popularity, and Greenwald is careful to demonstrate that students on both sides of the spectrum are susceptible to bullying and feeling like they don’t fit in. Greenwald’s writing mimics the voices of authentic tweens, and middle grade readers are likely to tear through this humorous, entertaining tale about a school project, a famous starlet alumna, and just a hint of romance.

Recommended to fans of contemporary middle grade fiction. If I hadn’t read The Whole Story of Half a Girl right afterward, I probably would have loved this even more. This is frothy fun: totally entertaining, but unlikely to linger long in readers’ minds after they’ve finished.

Reel Life Starring Us by Lisa Greenwald. Amulet Books: 2011. Electronic galley accepted via NetGalley for review.

[StorySeekers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be more for middle-graders since, the setting of story takes place in middle school. Even though I’m older than the girls in the story, I actually enjoyed reading the story. I brought back memories of my time in middle school. Lisa Greenwald is a wonderful writer. There were moments of surprise, laughter, and sometimes heartfelt, all bringing a great story of growing up. Too bad I didn’t have a book like this when I was in middle school.

The story is told in two points of view, Dina and Chelsea, both girls who attend at Rockwood Hills Junior High. They are very different. Dina may seem outgoing, artsy, and not care about anything, but inside she does, she only appears to be free-minded, and smile at everything. Chelsea appears to be the girl with the perfect life, the most popular girl in school, but in reality, her family is struggling with financial problems. These two very different girls get teamed up to do a video about the school, for a big event.

They have a lot of struggles trying to finish the project. There are so many distractions. Chelsea is afraid of losing her friends once her secret is out. Dina is worried about making friends. But deep down, this story should be for any middle grader, because it shows how many people are actually different than they appear to be. They have stories and secrets of their own, just needing a push to show who they really are.

There were slow parts, and then some exciting parts, for overall enjoyable read. I really love the video tips and Sasha Preston pieces of advice, which worth both great advice to keep in mind.

-Sarah

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reel Life Starring Us is the first book I have read by Lisa Greenwald so I had no expectations about what the book would be like or her writing style. Although Reel Life Starring Us is aimed at a younger age range than I usually read I was not disappointed.

Reel Life Starring Us is a light read that follows Dina and Chelsea as they are paired together for the school gala. Dina, new to the school, hopes this will help her fit in and become popular, Chelsea just wants it over and done with.

I really enjoyed reading Reel Life Starring Us. The chapters are shared between the two characters so we get to see both versions of school and home life for each person making it interesting to see how their opinions of the same school differ.

I felt sorry for Dina, being a new girl in school but also an outcast, especially as she didn't care about clothes like the popular kids did, but I also felt sorry for Chelsea. Although she was popular she was having issues at home that she felt like she couldn't share with her friends which eventually made her feel like an outcast from them.

I loved the idea behind Reel Life Starring Us, having two girls from opposite sides of the school popularity ladder being forced to work together for a school project that they either know nothing about or don't want to do. It was good to see how they eventually worked together to get their project finished, but also helped each other feel better along the way. I really enjoyed the ending of the book and I will be looking for more books by Lisa Greenwald to read.

[Wonderwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reel Life: Starring Us is a teen fiction novel written by Lisa Greenwald. The main character, Dina, is a new girl at a tough school. She is just trying to adjust when she is paired with the meanest girl in school, Chelsea Stern. They are assigned to create a project together, all year long, to present at the end of the year gala. While Dina is just trying to work, be cool, and fit in, Chelsea just doesn’t see it. Her, along with her two best friends, start to bully Dina beyond her control. Besides chipping, ditching, and purposefully discluding, the new year isn’t going so well. When Chelsea’s family gets into trouble and Chelsea can’t keep up with her friends, she realizes lots of things.
Something I learned about the world from reading this is not everyone is nice. Not everyone is hard-working or has the same interests as you. People will only show true desire through something if they have an interest for something. Chelsea does not have an interest for this project therefore, she is not nice, cooperative or hard-working. At first, Chelsea put no effort forward to enhance the experience of the project. As the year progressed, and the book, she started to help more and become more interested.
I would recommend this book to many people. Although some of the characters represent poor morals and attitudes toward others, there are some very interesting things that you can take away from the book. This book would be especially enjoyable for middle school girls who are looking for a book they just can’t put down.

[Reading Vacation · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dina and Chelsea appear to be opposites. Dina is the new girl at the bottom of the social ladder, obsessed with taking random videos.. Chelsea seems to have it all with her designer clothes and an almost boyfriend. When they are paired together for a video project, it is a roller-coaster ride of fireworks and emotions.

Dina faces ridicule from the popular crowd, yet she handles it with dignity. At first, I didn’t care for Chelsea because she was only nice to her small insider group. She was pretty mean to everyone else and she would hurt the feelings of others. Over time though, Chelsea realized how awful she was acting and she turned things around. I actually started to like her!

The video project itself is so awesome. The girls interview their classmates by asking “what makes you unique.” Some of the answers were hilarious. One classmate always arrives at school at exactly 7:43 AM, every single day. I have made some videos for school projects too, so it was fun to read about Dina and Chelsea’s video.

Reel Life Starring Us is light and entertaining. I enjoyed reading about these realistic tween girls.

RATING

4 Liked

COVER COMMENTS

What a cute cover. I like how she’s making a movie box with her fingers. The colors remind me of Lisa Greenwald’s debut novel, My Life in Pink and Green. I love how the font matches her pretty green eyes.

[Jac (For Love and Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dina was part of the popular crowd at her previous school, but when her parents move her to Long Island from her small town in Massachusetts she starts out as the weird new girl at a much larger middle school. She feels like she's won the lottery when when she's placed with Chelsea, the leader of the cool kids, for a school project. She's sure it's only a matter of time before she and Chelsea become good friends and she is included in the popular group!

Chelsea, is late starting school because of a family secret. She's hoping to maintain her status with the popular kids, but once she starts working on the video project with Dina she finds herself more and more intrigued by her quirky personality. Chelsea is torn between two things, maintaining her popularity and befriending the new girl. This dilemma is made more difficult by her need to hide her secret.

While I'm in the minority, and loved Junior High, this was a great book showing both the struggles of middle school and starting to find your place in the world. I could sympathize with Chelsea as I had a lot of the same issues (my Dad lost his job and I befriended the new kid! *lol* ) And I think Lisa Greenwald did a great job of making you empathize with both girls.

I really enjoyed this quick read and give it 3 hearts

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important lesson I am taking away from this book is everyone is different and you have to accept that. In the video Chelsea and Dina were creating for the fiftieth anniversary, they included an interesting fact about everything. This showed everyone is different in their own special way. They also learned new faces and names. Chelsea and her friends hated Dina at the beginning but that changed. Dina found out that they didn’t like her and was hurt in the book Molly texted Chelsea saying. Can’t believe your missing this. Having fun with the weird video girl. Dina so badly wanted to be popular and part of Chelsea’s “group”.

The best quote in the story is when Sasha Preston, a movie star said “Things are always changing and evolving.” I love this quote because it shows you have to accept change whether you like it or not. Everything is always changing around you. Chelsea asked Sasha Preston why she had no friends in eighth grade. She said that everyone wanted to be like everyone else and she was that girl who wanted to be different. For example, in the book Chelsea went from having the newest trends and clothes to her dad losing a job and wearing her new but old clothes. Lisa Greenwald left me wanting more and more. I want to read more books by her!

[Terryann · Rating 4 out of 5]

GREENWALD, Lisa. Reel Life Starring Us. 294p. Amulet Books. Sept 2011. ISBN: 978-1-4197-0026-2. $16.95. F.

Gr 6-9
When Dina 13, arrives at her new school in Long Island, she is ready to be popular, just like she was at her old school. The kids at Rockwood Hills find her very uncool, though, foiling her plans by filling her backpack with potato chips whenever she isn't looking. Dina figures that if she make popular Chelsea befriend her, life will be perfect. When a teacher makes Chelsea team up with her to create a video project for the school's 50th anniversary gala, Dina is sure she's hit the jackpot. Sadly, Chelsea's life isn't as perfect as everyone else thinks and this video project has just made things for Chelsea go from bad to worse. The school project is the perfect back drop to explore perceptions about friendship, popularity, responsibility and morality in this heartwarming novel. Alternating chapters in each girl's POV reveal their mirrored struggles with themes individuality and empathy. An engaging and interesting read.

-Terry Ann Lawler - Phoenix Public Library, AZ.