The Truth About My Success

by Dyan Sheldon

Paloma Rose is living the dream.
A TV star and Teen Icon, she has everything most girls could ever want. On the other side of town, Dona Ginness is far from living the dream as you can get without actually being in a nightmare.

Normally the paths of Paloma and Dona would never cross. But there is one thing that draws their lives together. They look so much alike they could be twins.

And that's how it all begins...

Genres: Young Adult, Teen, Fiction, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 20, 2013

About the author

Dyan 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.

Reviews

[cass · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun story to read! A bit slow in the beginning, but, after learning more about the characters, the story draws you in.

[John Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paloma Rose is sweet and cute...Or used to be and still is on rare occasion on her rapidly failing teen TV show. These days, she's more likely to be caught in an embarrassing or compromising photo or situation that makes YouTube or the tabloids. This is in part because she's turned into a spoiled brat, but also because she's feeling like her life is turning into an ever smaller box thanks to her driven mother. Mom has had her in front of the camera since she was a baby and now they're in an ongoing war.
When things reach a point where one more bad photo or blow-up on the set of her TV show will tank her career, Mom and her agent Jack Silk realize that drastic measures are in order. They decide to send her off to a wilderness brat camp for troubled teens. Only there's a problem. Who will replace her on the show and in the press?
Enter Oona Ginness. She looks almost exactly like Paloma, or would with contacts and some hair tweaking. Jack and Mom spotted her when they stopped at the restaurant where she waitresses. Oona's life is at the other end of the spectrum from Paloma's. She lost her mom to cancer and that loss hit her dad so hard he can't really work or be a parent. He sits in front of the TV most of the time while Oona takes care of his maintenance duties at the rundown apartment complex where they live. Her only enjoyment comes from helping some of the other people who live there and Harriet, her small dog.
When Oona is approached about impersonating Paloma, she refuses at first, but the amount of money being waved in her face would really turn things around at home, so she very reluctantly agrees. No sooner does she say yes than Paloma is outfoxed by Jack and flies off to what she thinks will be a luxury break at a remote spa.
The book alternates between each girl's point of view and reading how they deal with being in completely new situations as well as gradually realizing how they've been hoodwinked, makes for a fast and fun read. Teens who like stories about celebrities and teens in unusual, but funny situations will enjoy this book.

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions)]

Pages read: 53

There's definitely humor in Sheldon's writing that I can appreciate. I don't feel like this book is going anywhere original or mindblowing, but it will likely be quite fun.

However, The Truth About My Success is written in third person present, which is making me feel like I'm watching a play and some narrator dude is standing there explaining everything about the setting to me in between bits of dialog. It just makes me so very aware that I'm reading and that these are characters. It's a very distancing effect, especially since the characters are ALWAYS referred to by their full names.

I quit when I got to this ending before a paragraph break:

Jack's smile deepens. Eve has just taken her first bite. Crunch.

It just reads more like a television script than a novel to me, and it's awkward. Now, I do think that fits with the plot, but it just doesn't work for me. Totally a stylistic preference, but I don't think I'm going to really enjoy this, so I'm moving on.

[Paz Vivanco (Taylor's Version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

No me aguanté y lo terminé al tiro.

Me gustó mucho la historia, la encontré súper entretenida. Es una lectura ideal para el verano.

El personaje de Oona me encantó desde el principio. Es una persona fuerte, decidida y con carácter. Paloma, por el otro lado, era súper odiosa en u principio, pero a medida que avanza la historia también avanza su desarrollo como personaje y termina siendo una gran persona.

Es un libro 100% recomendable. Tengo muchas ganas de seguir leyendo libros de Dyan Sheldon.

[Lianne Mei]

Do not like the writing style. For some reason the narration reminded me of a telenovela.

[Haley S · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth it. It was so slow and there was NO climax. I am so glad to be done with it.

[Aly Engaged · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable. I really enjoyed the story

[~just one hopeless romantic~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Truth About My Success is a funny, lighthearted story that would make you happy on a bad day. It was a tiny bit slow in the beginning, but once more of the characters got introduced, you were swept up into the story. Dyan Sheldon is a comical, witty author, and that shows a lot in this book. I would recommend this book to someone who wants a funny, cute story that will keep them turning the pages. Four stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I managed to get through this book very quickly, and it kept me mildly entertained, but it's one I'd say you could easily pass by. With the predictable storyline and forgettable characters, I would say the one original thing it has going for it is the writing style, and even that was quite off-putting at first. Present-tense, third-person omniscient is certainly a bold and creative choice, but it often had the feel of some over-enthusiastic, kind of condescending teacher narrating the story for me. Lots of metaphors were used to convey the thoughts and feelings of the characters, and I agree with other reviewers it did have the effect of constantly reminding the reader that they're an onlooker to this story - making it hard to get immersed, or to feel any real connection to the characters.

I liked how down-to-earth Oona remained throughout the story (her relationship with her dog was a cute aspect of her character) and Paloma's over-the-top attitude could be funny, but that was pretty much the extent of how I felt about their characters. Neither them nor any of the side characters felt like anything I hadn't seen before to be honest, though I did appreciate the storyline with Oona's dad's depression. It wasn't very deep or anything, but I liked that it was included and progressed nicely in the background of the story.

The biggest problem I had concerning the characters was Paloma's development in the middle of the book, while she was at the ranch. To put it bluntly, I think this is one of the most inconsistent character developments I've ever read. One second she hated being at the ranch, the next she found herself enjoying it, then she was just pretending to like it, then she was back to openly hating it again?! It feels to me like the author knew how predictable the outcome was so didn't really bother showing the steps it took to get to it, which really took away from that whole thread of the story for me.

The plot in general was quite engaging, but I felt many turns of events could be pretty convenient. I don't think this book was aiming for profound realism anyway though, so that didn't bother me much. I do wish there had been more action and funny scenes however - with the humorous to-the-point writing style this book adopts, I definitely think it could have pulled off some lively, potentially ridiculous scenes really effectively. As it was, characters seemed to come to decisions that would progress the plot simply because someone had to, leaving me with few stand-out events to look back on now that I've finished it.

It did take me a few chapters to get into this story because the writing style felt so unnatural to me, but once I got used to it, it did make for light reading and I was interested to see how it all ended. Unfortunately, (and this kind of relates to the lack of action I was taking about) I found a climax to be honestly non-existent in this story; and if there was one it lasted about a paragraph, and failed to excite me. Particularly I found the complete lack of redemption, or in fact closure, for the villains to be very underwhelming - all we got was effectively "See ya, suckers!" which was completely unsatisfying as Leone is Paloma's mum. I can take some lack of realism, but come on, she can't completely kick her parents out of her life just like that!

Another thing I found to be not very polished was the pacing. This book is told (generally - there are some exceptions) in the alternating perspectives of Paloma and Oona. However they didn't feel like they correlated at all, and once or twice one chapter would end, and at the end of the next the other character still would not have reached that point time-wise, which is just lazy writing in my opinion.

On the subject of chapters I can't not mention the stupid and unnecessary titles they each had, ranging from the utterly random As Far as Paloma's Concerned, She Might as Well Be a Bug to the oh-so-original Jack Silk Has an Idea.

Overall I'd judge this book as decent, with a few things setting it apart but a couple more dragging it down. My favourite parts were the ranch setting, the witty comments in the narrative and that fact that the author wasn't afraid to add in swearing, mentions of darker topics and references to real-life pop culture (like tweeting) - those things were cool. This book definitely wasn't terrible, but I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone.

[Paige Bradish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received The Truth About My Success by Dylan Sheldon from the publisher and this is my honest review.

In this novel we meet teenager Paloma Rose. She is the star of a very popular tv show. The only problem is, she is a complete terror to all of those around her. The story starts off by showing us her rich life. She lives in a mansion with her neurotic mother and alcoholic mother, and her scheming manager is never too far behind. Paloma’s mother and manager fear that she is going to ruin her fame if she keeps acting the way she has been recently. To fix their fears they enroll the help of Palomas look-a-like, Oona.

The two decide to send Paloma off to what she thinks is a all expenses paid vacation in order to have Oona act as the brat in order to fix her down spiraling reputation. Paloma ends up at an attitude fixing ranch where they refuse to call her anything else than her name given at birth, while Oona takes on the role of the teenage girl on a famous TV show.

I honestly loved this book, the fact that the bratty teenager got tricked by being sent off to a ranch to fix herself so that somebody else could play her part on TV, I feel like that would never happen. Producers come across bratty people all the time and I will bet that 90% of them would love to send them away and replace them with a look-alike but that just is not in the cards. I found it hilarious how much trouble Paloma was giving her mother, because she actually really deserved it. Paloma shows us flashbacks all the time of how non-existent her mother was the years she was growing up. Anybody would rebel on their mother if they did not show an interest in them their whole lives.

Oona was my favorite character. No matter what happened with Paloma or to herself throughout the whole book she managed to stay very down the earth even while living in a beautiful mansion and being treated like a queen, she still kept her old ways. The only thing I did not like is that they forced her to leave her dad. The house seemed as if was big enough I could not understand why they could not give her dad a room in the house so that he did not have to be alone. But I guess, it turned out to be good for him considering what happened in the end.

No spoilers, but I must say the ending of this book was great! Paloma’s mother and her manager definitely got what they had coming to them and I loved every second of it. From the described look on their faces in the beginning all the way to the deals made by all the characters at the end. This was an interestingly good book and I am glad I picked it up.

[Luke Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen earlier this year, I had no idea if I would read any more books by Dyan Sheldon. I went with her most recent one just in case, and came out pleasantly surprised. The Truth About My Success is a witty, sassy novel with great humor, and it held a snazzy reinventing of the classic The Prince and the Pauper.

Sheldon's narrating throughout this book is one with a forked tongue, complete with tongue-in-cheek humor and a snark that she wields like a weapon. While I found Lola's extravagance in first person in CoaTDQ to be a little unrealistic and dramatic (as her character is), The Truth About My Success opts for a third person omniscient style with all of the characters coming into the ring, which makes for a much more entertaining book. Sheldon also uses old sayings and a lot of metaphors throughout the book, something that I found to be an interesting technique. All the ones referencing European History made me giggle (I'm currently taking AP Euro, so anything about Louis XIV and the Ottoman Empire is bound to get a quick laugh).

The one main thing I didn't like was Paloma, as I found her at the beginning to be immature for almost 17. I know she's supposed to be a spoiled brat, as she grew up that way, but it seems unrealistic and more like it was played up for laughs. It was nice to see her develop and grow during the whole escapade alongside a large cast of fun and diverse characters.

This book was definitely a quick read, and I'm surprised I managed to get it done in three school days. I hope Dyan Sheldon's other work holds up to this level, because The Truth About My Success was a great book, and I could definitely see it being adapted for the screen (I might be writing a screenplay for this in the future).

[Kim Ammons (youthbookreview) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 out of 5 stars.

Spoiled rich teen star almost gets her show cancelled because of all the negative press. Evil agent and mother hatch a plot to send her away while a sweet, poor lookalike of hers takes her place. Lessons are learned, evil, scheming characters get what they deserve, teenage girls bond and live happily ever after.

In short, I felt like I was reading a Disney Channel Original Movie, but it lasted longer than two hours. I was reading it on vacation, though, and it kept my attention, so it wasn’t a chore. It was a fine, very light read for my situation. I’m definitely not a fan of the author’s style of writing, however, because it felt very…narrated? Not sure if Sheldon’s other books are like that, because this is the first one I’ve read by her, but as soon as I started the book, I imagined it being read to me by a British narrator. And the whole book is like that; the narration felt detached from what was happening, almost. It was strange.

I’d only recommend this to someone who’s specifically looking for a C-quality made-for-TV type book to read on a vacation or something like that. *shrugs*

(Review cross-posted on Youth Book Review)

[Paper Privateer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paloma Rose is a TV star and a teen icon, but she’s spoiled, bratty, and making life miserable for her agent, mother, and the people she works with. Oona Ginness, however, is barely holding her life together. When Paloma’s agent, Jack Silk, spots Oona, he notices that she looks a lot like Paloma and hatches a plan to save Paloma’s—and his—career. Paloma is sent to a ranch away from civilization to learn how to be a better person and Oona is trained to look and act like Paloma until she is ready to be back in the spotlight. Before long, both girls realize they are being used by Jack and Paloma’s mother for their own ends and come up with their own plan to achieve what they want.

The point of view alternates between Paloma and Oona, but the story is told in third person present. It reads more like a script than most books do, and the style distances the readers somewhat from the characters. There doesn’t seem to be any logical reason for telling the story in that tense, and many readers might find that style distracting. Paloma is incredibly obnoxious, even by the end of the book when she is supposed to be more likable. Oona is much more likeable but still doesn’t have a lot of depth. This book is more of a fun fluff read than a serious book, but is still enjoyable if the reader can get past the difference tense.

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly classic princess-and-the-pauper story, with the slight twist of the princess not wanting to make the switch. Or really, neither Paloma nor Oona particularly wants to make the switch, but Oona at least has the option of saying no, whereas Paloma...is effectively stuck in a broom closet.

It's pretty fun, although I'd have liked to see a slightly different trajectory for character development—Paloma's transformation is kind of magically fast (through pretending to reform, she reforms), and Oona doesn't really change. I'd also have wanted a few of the plot holes filled in: what exactly is Oona doing about school? Her father knows what she's doing, but what about friends? How does not one single person get suspicious? Why is nobody bothered that Paloma's father never notices a difference? Still, it made a fun, light holiday read (raided the local library while visiting with my parents), especially since it's hard to go terribly wrong with the princess and the pauper.

[Barbara Band · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't sure about this book at first and I wouldn't normally have picked up something with such an obviously "girlie" cover but I was given it to review ... and enjoyed it more than I expected. It's about a TV teen star, Paloma Rose, spoilt and obnoxious, who is slowly going off the rails - there's not much details about this so suitable for younger teen readers. Her manipulative agent and ineffectual mother send her off to boot camp whilst they put a double in her place, who knows nothing about any of this.

As anticipated, the boot camp experience changes Paloma and the double, Oona, isn't quite a vacuous as anticipated and her nicer nature starts to affect those around her. Things come to a head when both girls find out what is going on and plot to bring about the downfall of said agent and mother. Happy ending warning! A bit too perfect but I would be happy to recommend this book to my students!

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A modern twist of the olden tale of twins or look-a-likes switching places. Paloma, the spoiled princess, experienced some hardships when her mom and her agent shipped her off to brat camp. In that experience, she starts to grow up and gain some life skills. Then there is Oona, a poor girl, who works hard to support herself and her depressed father. One day, Paloma's agent gave her an opportunity to make big money which will help her reach her goals to go to college and not worry so much about finances. Oona pretending to be Paloma changed people around her. She couldn't be so selfish and mean like the original Paloma. Oona's kindness brightens those around her and her influence brought a more peaceful and happy work environment on the show set. Anyway, I like how eventually Oona and Paloma met up and they became friends as they taught the adults an important lesson.

[Maddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truthfully, this book had its ups and downs for me. I had found the novel in the young adult section of my local bookstore, but I felt like it really didn't belong there after reading it. While the literary tone kept me amused and entertained for the most part, the overall plot was too predictable. I've read several books and watched numerous movies with the same exact scenario this book presented. In addition, the ending seemed really rushed to me. Overall, I would say that the book was a cute read. However, I feel like it is better suited for a younger audience who can properly appreciate it.

[Lindsey Swieringa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not read this entire book and I do not plan on finishing it. One of my pet peeves in books are bratty main characters. I know a lot of authors write books with those kinds of characters but I do not feel I need to read them. I started this book with high hopes and everything just went down hill. I did not like the writing style either. I can't put my finger on what I didn't like about it I just know I didn't like it. I thought the basis of the story would be good but as I got further in the book, it just got slower. I didn't feel I could give it higher than a 1 star rating based on what I had read.

[Culleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a book review program. It is definitely a YA book but I enjoyed the story line. It is the story of a teenage Hollywood TV star (Paloma) who is on the verge of losing her show because of her bad behavior. Her mother and agent find a girl (Oona) who looks exactly like her to take her place for a few months. They send Paloma to a behavior modification ranch in the middle of no where while Oona leaves her waitressing job to live the life of a Hollywood star. When they find out that the mother and agent a lying and scheming, they come together to fix their own problems.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 stars

This book was adequate. I thought it had some original concepts, but mainly it was similar to another book I had read some years ago. Admittedly, the plot isn't that common but it had not enough for it to 'stand out' for me. I did enjoy reading it though, and might look at others by the author if they are like this...

Reread: June 2015 - limiting, but okay...

[Kimberly]

I got about a third of the way through and decided life is too short to slog through something I'm not enjoying. The narrator's voice is weird, the characters are primarily unsympathetic, and the plot line (celebrity and non-celebrity switching places) wasn't freshened up enough to feel...well...fresh.

[Lauren Ip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really awesome book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great characters no matter how horrible they seem. They make up the book so much. At times Paloma got ridiculous but it became very funny and the secondhand embarrassment was very real.

[mary do · Rating 4 out of 5]

No romance, out of my comfort zone. The book was great, I think I read it before, so much déjà vu. The mother of Paloma was absolutely terrible but she still had a bit of mother in her. Dark side.... Tick. The book sometimes had me hooked.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good review that makes you want to read on. I really enjoyed it although at some points it did feel like the story was being repeated. However, this should not concern anyone because the book was absolutely amazing and I would highly recommend it!

[Asriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! My favorite thing about it was the unique writing style. It's very different from other books. The story was also interesting and ended in a very unsuspecting way. It was great! ❤

[Dempup46 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book and appreciate Sheldon's writing.This is the first book by Sheldon that I read and I think I'm going to read some more of his books.
I rated 4 because it was a great book but it wasn't amazingly excellent but it was pretty good.

[Cathycassidy_fan135 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a better story than I would have thought it would be, but still could be improved. Though the front cover is amazing! Actually, that's what made me so attracted to it:)

[Heather Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

this. is. perfect. I loved it!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me of a cupcake. Its frosting was overly sweet with an almost-too-perfect resolution, while the actual writing, the cake part, was pretty dry.

[Sylvia Flowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pure fluff, but fun.