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Sweet Dreams
Cover Girl
Renee's relationship with her boyfriend is endangered when she is afraid to tell him that she has become a model
150 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 25, 2017
Another very oversimplified look at a complicated career path in which a girl tries to impress a boy named Greg. Renée isn't especially interested in modelling, but when her mother gets her into a top agency, she goes for it anyway, since she's poised to be the hot new thing and earn enough money to pay for her college education.
...Greg wants nothing to do with it, since he hates 'anything phony' and puts the entire fashion industry in that category. (It doesn't help that Renée lies about how she's been spending her free time.) But really, I'm less interested in Greg than I am in Renée's mother, who's the one pushing Renée to lose weight and skip studying and ignore her friends and make enough money to support them both. There was a brief moment when I understood what her mother was doing, that she just wanted to make sure Renée would be able to go to college...and then she explained cheerfully that she was going to quit her job and be Renée's full-time manager, which sounds like the WORST IDEA EVER. Honestly, I think the book would have been much more realistic if Renée had then failed to get well-paying jobs and then everything had just gone bottom-up. I suppose it's foolish of me to expect the best of this sort of thing.
...Greg wants nothing to do with it, since he hates 'anything phony' and puts the entire fashion industry in that category. (It doesn't help that Renée lies about how she's been spending her free time.) But really, I'm less interested in Greg than I am in Renée's mother, who's the one pushing Renée to lose weight and skip studying and ignore her friends and make enough money to support them both. There was a brief moment when I understood what her mother was doing, that she just wanted to make sure Renée would be able to go to college...and then she explained cheerfully that she was going to quit her job and be Renée's full-time manager, which sounds like the WORST IDEA EVER. Honestly, I think the book would have been much more realistic if Renée had then failed to get well-paying jobs and then everything had just gone bottom-up. I suppose it's foolish of me to expect the best of this sort of thing.
April 2, 2026
My kids recently asked me what my reading life was like at their age. I told them about these books in our high school library that had white covers. These books were my escape as well as my entertainment on long bus rides to and from school. I read a total of 56 of these books when I was 14 and 15.
After this chat with my kids, I wondered if these books were still in circulation. Our local library had one Sweet Dreams Romance still on the shelf: Cover Girl. I couldn’t resist holding a white cover book in my hand again.
The story was so familiar (and true to form): girl likes guy, guy also likes girl, there is a conflict-this time she’s an undercover fashion model-and boy decides not to like girl. All works out in the end because they “love” one another.
It’s 40 years later. This book made me laugh and miss simplicity. And although worn, the cover is amazingly still white.
After this chat with my kids, I wondered if these books were still in circulation. Our local library had one Sweet Dreams Romance still on the shelf: Cover Girl. I couldn’t resist holding a white cover book in my hand again.
The story was so familiar (and true to form): girl likes guy, guy also likes girl, there is a conflict-this time she’s an undercover fashion model-and boy decides not to like girl. All works out in the end because they “love” one another.
It’s 40 years later. This book made me laugh and miss simplicity. And although worn, the cover is amazingly still white.
April 2, 2016
Sometimes you get a really different story in these Sweet Dreams book but mostly they are just written to a formula. This is a formula one. Nothing stands out about this one (except the mums a bit of a self absorbed cow). The interesting thing about reading these as an adult is you want to scream "Forget him!", "Move on, he's a wanker" or "If you put up with that shit at sixteen then you're just setting yourself up dealing with that forever". Lol. Totally different perspective now.
2016 READING CHALLENGE - a book that you can finish in a day
2016 READING CHALLENGE - a book that you can finish in a day
November 29, 2021
I am kind of hate reading these at this point 😂.
They are so nostalgic to me and I love the covers as I was obsessed with these books as a teen. Talk about bad messages for girls though. I’m kind of glad (as far as I know) there isn’t this type of thing around now. If I had a daughter, I would hate her reading them!
At least they are brief at around 150 pages.
This one is about Renee who becomes a successful model on first sight because she’s got dark hair. I nearly choked. I had my own “discovery” as a model around her age and I know how ridiculous this whole progression was. Between this and the Kelly Blake series, which I remember my mother buying me as “research” - no wonder I had unrealistic expectations 😂. (And no, it didn’t work out for me for so many reasons).
Even worse is the Insta love with boring Greg. I mean ffs. So stupid. And oh wow, I had unrealistic ideas about teenage boys too reading these. Wonder why.
I’m sure I would have found this romantic at the time. Now I’m thinking sulky guy who can’t deal with his girlfriend looking attractive or dressing up (I mean that’s equally as bad as expecting it) and chucks it because he feels betrayed with no thought about Renee and her mother’s financial situation. Wow, what a prize.
Her mother is problematic too and clearly trying to live through her daughter.
Ending with her mum’s promotion was ridiculous. As if it’s that easy to crawl back to a job you walked out on, and not only that, get a higher paid one. It’s not like she even seemed to do that much as Renee’s manager.
They are so nostalgic to me and I love the covers as I was obsessed with these books as a teen. Talk about bad messages for girls though. I’m kind of glad (as far as I know) there isn’t this type of thing around now. If I had a daughter, I would hate her reading them!
At least they are brief at around 150 pages.
This one is about Renee who becomes a successful model on first sight because she’s got dark hair. I nearly choked. I had my own “discovery” as a model around her age and I know how ridiculous this whole progression was. Between this and the Kelly Blake series, which I remember my mother buying me as “research” - no wonder I had unrealistic expectations 😂. (And no, it didn’t work out for me for so many reasons).
Even worse is the Insta love with boring Greg. I mean ffs. So stupid. And oh wow, I had unrealistic ideas about teenage boys too reading these. Wonder why.
I’m sure I would have found this romantic at the time. Now I’m thinking sulky guy who can’t deal with his girlfriend looking attractive or dressing up (I mean that’s equally as bad as expecting it) and chucks it because he feels betrayed with no thought about Renee and her mother’s financial situation. Wow, what a prize.
Her mother is problematic too and clearly trying to live through her daughter.
Ending with her mum’s promotion was ridiculous. As if it’s that easy to crawl back to a job you walked out on, and not only that, get a higher paid one. It’s not like she even seemed to do that much as Renee’s manager.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2020
I loved the Sweet Dreams series as a teen and as a nostalgia kick it was great - so much melodrama! The plot was predictable - Renee is studious and outdoorsy and falls for Greg, who loves that about her. Then Renee's mum decides her daughter should embark on a modelling career. Renee keeps this from Greg, who doesn't even like her wearing make up. Of course, this all blows up in her face...
Predictable and of the time, this was a quick read in which the plot moved far too quickly.
Predictable and of the time, this was a quick read in which the plot moved far too quickly.
February 24, 2010
Synopsis (taken from http://sweetdreamsseries.com):
How can Renee tell Greg about her secret life... Renee's living a life that most girls only dream of. Overnight she's become a glamorous high-fashion model in New York City. But behind her cover-girl smile is a girl with a broken heart. She's hiding her new life from her boyfriend Greg - who hates everything phony and loves Renee for what she used to be. Once he finds out the truth, will he ever trust her again?
How can Renee tell Greg about her secret life... Renee's living a life that most girls only dream of. Overnight she's become a glamorous high-fashion model in New York City. But behind her cover-girl smile is a girl with a broken heart. She's hiding her new life from her boyfriend Greg - who hates everything phony and loves Renee for what she used to be. Once he finds out the truth, will he ever trust her again?
August 11, 2016
I read this book so many times as a pre-teen that it was falling apart. I now know it was very formulaic, but it was still a fun read. I learned in my high school French class that the last name of the nasty photographer (Paul Mechant)translate to "mean." But the joke sailed over my head at the time.
August 11, 2014
I totally had those awesome silver flats when I was a kid!
May 19, 2015
Nostalgia trip! I remember this one too. Something about her towel being in the picture
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews