Pop Girl

by Tallia Storm, Lucy Courtney

Storm Hall lives to sing.

Whisked away on the holiday of a lifetime, Storm misses her first chance to sing nationally.

Did she miss her big break?

Discovered by Elton John when she was just 13, Tallia Storm's life changed for ever. Teenage singer/songwriter, model and writer Tallia is taking the world by STORM!

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Music

314 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Chelsey with a y · Rating 5 out of 5]

So before I started this book I was a little confused if this was a made up story or if it was Tallia Storm's journey to fame. I commented on one of her photo's on Instagram and she actually got back to me. I wasn't expecting her to. Anyway, it is her journey to fame. I loved it, I think I always dreamt me getting famous in a similar way.... would have been awesome. If you are a musician/singer you will love this book

[dearlittledeer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first saw this at the Scholastic Book Fair and then picked it up at the library. Honestly, I had not heard of Tallia Storm and had no idea this was a celebrity book. So maybe I'm the only person who read it just cause it sounded kind of cute? Which it was. Nothing groundbreaking, but a fun wish-fulfillment story. OK for middle school readers.

[Kylie🐾]

I absolutely adored this book all the characters were beautiful written and described. I would definitely read his book more than once (like 20 more times). It's the perfect getaway, i am really happy that Storm got her dream and that she had an amazing week in Hawaii and got to live the life she wanted even if it was for like three days.
I hated it when Storm and Belle fell out but it was nice to see that in the end they became BFF's again. I really wish I could hear what she sang , smelt the food she ate and saw the incredible views from her eyes. This book was completely charming , witty and funny, Props to everyone that worked on this book with Tallia Storm.

I don't really want to ruin this book for anyone but I don't want people not to see this either so all I will say is go out to a bookshop and buy it or order it online because trust me you won't regret it . It's a book you can't put down and you will full in love with it over and over again . FACT!!

The only characters that wasn't worth liking was that clueless band with the stupid name. HAHA , but in all seriousness enjoy .

[Lexi Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Scottish-born Storm was just 13 years old, her demo CD landed in the hands of rock legend Elton John. Within 24 hours, John himself invited her to open a concert for him. And from there, Storm’s singing career exploded overnight. Today, she is a music and fashion celebrity in her own right. And in her debut novel, Storm spins a rocket-to-fame tale loosely based on her own uncanny experiences, even using her own last name as the first for her protagonist. Pop Girl follows 14-year-old Storm as she yearns to become an entertainer. “Singing is my Thing. Totally and utterly my capital-T Thing,” she pines. She’s devastated to miss a national singing competition because of a Hawaiian family vacation, but, once in paradise, Storm literally stumbles into an opportunity to showcase her voice and talent on a scale even she could never have dreamed of. Charming but gauzy, Pop Girl is a literal art-imitating-life endeavor by an author who shows promise at excelling in yet another art form. — Lexi Walters Wright, First published March 10, 2017 (Booklist Online).

[maddie terrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

I really liked this book! It was fun to travel to Hawaii with Storm! I didn’t know that this was the author’s story in a way!

I recommend this book to anyone that likes traveling or singing! It is a really great book!

[Isabella Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, and I am excited for Pop Girl 2 to come out.

[Wisteria · Rating 1 out of 5]

I seriously don't understand how this is based on a true story because its SO painfully unrealistic.

I have so so many complaints with this book. First off, the story is so unrealistic. Yeah like every single 12 year old girl who likes singing just gets to play with some random band, then proceeds to get dumped from the band, where she then sings with her favorite pop star. I literally can't stand this book. Words cannot describe how bad, annoying, and unrealistic the plot was. It's kind of laughable how bad this book is.

Secondly, the characters are incredibly annoying and unlikable. I'm genuinely mad at the main character throughout the book. She is entitled and bratty, and overall just terrible to everyone around her. She Honestly deserved getting dumped by the band, but no instead, she conveniently meets her favorite pop star who decides to let her sing at her next concert. Honestly it's total BS, I doubt Ariana Grande or any pop star in their right minds would let some entitled brat play at their concert IN HAWAII, just bc they had conflict with another band.

The whole subplot with Belle and Collin is also annoying. It just shows how bad of a person storm is. She deliberately put her best friend down because she wanted to be famous and thought she was better than Belle. Which,,, haha nope. How is a 13 year old that good at singing anyways? Genuine question of mine.

I honestly see no development with Storm anyways. I think her whole character arc consists of, her being a brat, her "oh no" getting cheated on with some other band member, and then her meeting some famous pop star. And, supposedly after she meets this pop star she is automatically not a little brat anymore? No, she faced no real hardship during the book and nothing that actually made her change.

Long angry rant aside, I really dont recommend this book. Oddly enough I keep re reading it because it's incredibly short, and it's genuinely the worst book I've ever read, so I guess I like to punish myself with it???? I genuinely don't know. DONT READ THIS BOOK I WARN YOU.

[Michelle Bi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main reason this book wasn't super amazing and all to me was because of the INSANE-CRAZY-TIMETRAVELING-AWKWARD plot. In the beginning, she loves singing and it's her life and we all know that. She wants to be a professional singer, and she believes that that will happen someday. But during the middle section, their Taylor Swift (Ivy Baxter) just decides to go EXACTLY where the singing girl is vacationing! In addition to that, Ivy person decides to go to the EXACTLY same hotel the singing girl is in! Coincidence? After this the singing girl IS FAMOUSSSSSSS!! Guys, I totally get it... So in -0.2 pages, this singing girl changes from someone with a big dream to YASSSSS GUYS I WANNA GO INTERVIEW THIS PERSON WHATS HER NAME WHATS SHE LIKE IS SHE GONNA MAKE AN ALBUM?!?! I just don't get why the author wanted to make this change so fast. She could have explained what happened with more detail, so the reader could actually process what was happening. So, I would give this book maybe a 3.5?

Sorry guys my next review will be a Shreya J. Review :)))))

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been a five-star if only Storm wasn't such a stubborn person!
On the back cover, it depicts Belle as a "so-called best friend" because she "took Storm's spot". As Belle clearly states, STORM CAN'T DO THE SOLO. I feel so bad for her! All this time, Storm is taking her spotlight, and when she gets a genuine opportunity, Storm accuses her of "stealing her breath".
After Storm gets ahold of herself, this book gets interesting. The band was nice until they replaced her, Ivy finds her, blah blah blah. But I couldn't get that beginning-of-book Storm out of my head. It kinda ruined it for me.
So much potential from Tallia, if only she didn't make the main character a total brat.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book at the school's book fair because it was cheap and it had a gorgeous cover. I was really sold by the "debut novel" on the front.

I began by hating the main character. She was shallow. She was vain. She was narcissistic. Then I got caught up in her world. Her family is fabulous and real. Her life is so... average.

By the end, I was having a hard time putting it down. I just got swept up in the wave.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storm lives to sing and she finally has the chance to sing nationally with her school choir. When she realizes that her vacation is during the recital, Storm is sure her life and chance is over. In Hawaii, she makes friends makes a CD and then makes it famous. The true story of singer Tallia Storm rings true for the teens who hope to make it famous. Great read - Grades 6+. Highly recommended.

[Jaelynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book a five star rating it as everything you could ask for drama, friendship, and a bit of romance. Beware this book cliffhangs you but I want a part two!!!! This is a quick read and an amazing experience I had a lot of emotions in this book I was mad, sad, surprised, and delighted to see how it ended please read this book!!!!!!

[Estela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, easy read, although quite impossible to believe. The main event happens so quickly that it feels rushed and underdeveloped. I feel this book would have been much better if the author stuck to her actual experience instead of creating a story that had my eyes rolling in parts.

[Kaylee N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pop Girl is a nice, fun read book with some surprises around the corners. I really liked how challenges came her way but she somehow figured out how to overcome them, and she learned and grew from her mistakes.

[Jane Cera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story and many young girls’ dream of being famous. My favorite part was the spunk of the main character and the kindhearted people( mostly) in the story. Great characterization!

[Pinkgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book but I thought there would be romance between Storm and Colin.

[Joyce Gwyneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very inspirational. I also love how the author added One Direction-related scenes.

[Clara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes!

[Kurdt · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

**SPOILERS**
Summary: The main character, Storm, loves to sing, but when she had a national contest for school it happened to be the same week that she was in Hawaii with her family. Her trip ends up going better than she could have hoped. Then when she thought everything was perfect the people she recorded with had to ruin it for her and make them seem like the stars. Her dream of becoming famous still is able to come true just not like the way that she pictured it.

Good: I liked pretty much everything she did. She would add surprises once you think you know what is going to happen. Everything that she wrote was described very well, so you were able to imagine it. The book was super good. You never knew what would happen next, and always wanted to keep reading so that you could see. She wrote it based on how she became famous, which I think makes it even better. It was such a good and easy to read book. I would definitely read it again along with reading the sequel to it.

Bad: There wasn’t really anything I didn’t like about the book. In some spots it got a little confusing, but that was only once or twice. It was a really easy book, which is sometimes nice. But in this case I think if it was a more difficult read and had a little more to it, it would have been even better then it was already. There was nothing that stood out as bad as soon as you started reading it, which I take as a good sign that it was a good book.

[Nora R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was pretty good, not the best book ever though.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pop Girl is about a girl that is passionate about singing. But when a ban keeps her from singing, she does not use her name, and life for her gets crazy and dramatic. Then, she gets a chance to sing with her favorite singer of all time on stage.

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Pop Girl" by Tallia Storm would be called a realistic fiction book. This is because the theme of this story could happen to anyone but at the same time it is pretty challenging to get famous in around 15 minutes. Pop Girl is not in a series. This book is mainly about a girl named Storm Hall who really likes singing. Storm's parents have been talking about this once-in-a-lifetime Hawaii trip. Once Storm notices that this trip is the same week as the national singing competition she became resentful that she was going to Hawaii. Luckily when she goes to Hawaii she finds a Hawaiian band with amazing music that is in need of a last-minute singer. Their original singer was unavailable and she changed the trip she resented to a good trip after all. At one point, she was angered when some of the songs she sang for the band were credited to someone else's name instead of her. You should read the rest to find out more that happens though. I would rate this book 10/10 because it was very exciting and had a lot of different settings and experiences and you couldn't get enough action in one chapter.

If you liked the book One Silver Summer by Rachel Hickman you may also like to read Pop Girl by Tallia Storm.

[JORDANW · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Storm Hall who likes to sing. In this story she goes through a lot with her friends and family trying to achieve her dreams. When she finally gets her chance it was taken away from her. She is forced to go on a family trip to Hawaii, but when she gets there it is not at all what she expects. When she meets a band who's singer has disappeared on the island. When she final gets her chance again it is then taken away from her a second time. This book was very funny with a lot of ups and downs. It was very exciting I would defiantly recommend this as a good read.

[Lia Alfonso · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this mainly because several of my students were reading it and seemed to enjoy it. I feel like I read fan fiction of some sort. The whole thing is rushed, with practically no character development. And some of the things the character does are so contrary to character it is laughable. Like that whole bit about her running out in a designer dress to look for her brothers; she does not spend a single moment before that showing even a hint of a warm relationship with them, and then she drops everything to find them because they are so important? I just felt it was very badly written, but I could see how the whole "celebrity" angle appeals.

[Sara S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, for a book I bought for $2 at a Scholastic Book Fair with the intentions of adding it to my classroom library, this book was great. A fast paced novel that has believable enough characters also roughly based off the true story of the authors rise to fame.

[Gianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book if you like reading about a girls journey to becoming a famous pop star!!! Totally recommend!!!!!

[Carolina Zavala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely thought I was expecting something different as the story played out, but the ending is a twist!

[Tori Thurber · Rating 4 out of 5]

No spoilers! It was a very good book good story but a little slow.

[Emily Attrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good book about a girl who gets the chance of a lifetime.