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A-List #10
California Dreaming
College is just a week away: the private jets are booked, the Gucci suitcases are packed, and the A-List crew is ready to say goodbye. Or are they? Sam’s headed to USC film school, but when Eduardo offers her a different ending – moving to Paris as newlyweds – will she go completely off-script? Cammie’s living her own California dream as the owner of Hollywood’s hottest new nightclub, and dating Ben, the only boy who ever really broke her heart. But can she mix love and money, or will she have to pick one? As for Anna, Yale is starting to feel more like a nightmare than her lifelong dream. And with a one-way ticket to Bali burning a hole in her pocket, the future suddenly feels wide open. The clock is counting down for the A-Listers.
304 pages
First published January 1, 2008
21 people are currently reading
1471 people want to read
About the author
Zoey Dean
56 books407 followersThe author of The A-List series and How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, which has been renamed and turned into a TV show known as Privileged on the CW in September 2008. Zoey Dean's books are produced by the media packager Alloy Entertainment, which created Gossip Girl, The Clique Series, and The A-List and sold them to Little, Brown and Company.
Zoey is currently working on The Talent series. She is also working on The A-List: Hollywood Royalty.
Zoey Dean divides her time between Beverly Hills, California, and her favorite small islands in the Caribbean.
See also: Cherie Bennett
Zoey is currently working on The Talent series. She is also working on The A-List: Hollywood Royalty.
Zoey Dean divides her time between Beverly Hills, California, and her favorite small islands in the Caribbean.
See also: Cherie Bennett
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
November 8, 2012
Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
We left Anna Percy at the end of BEAUTIFUL STRANGER deciding if she should be spontaneous and follow Logan onto the plane and fly to Bali the week before she was due to head to freshman orientation at Yale.
Now, Anna has thrown all caution to the wind and has made a mad dash to the airport. With no luggage, and chucking her shoes that weren't equipped for sprints, she runs down the jet-way to board the awaiting plane. Anna is the last passenger to board, and she's not even sure that Logan is on-board the plane. For the last eight months while Anna has been living in California with her father, she has tried to shed the reserved exterior that everyone sees. She came to California in the hopes of reinventing herself and to quit thinking everything through before she acts.
Anna finds her seat and is relieved to find Logan ensconced in first class. He is pleased to see Anna, and the two sit back, ready to enjoy the impulsive flight to Bali. But things soon turn into a nightmare. The captain makes an announcement that the hydraulics for the landing gear have malfunctioned, and they have to return to LA and attempt to land on the belly of the plane. Anna immediately regrets her impulsiveness, knowing that her attempt to be carefree has caused the malfunction. Unable to contact her father, the only person Anna is able to reach is her dear friend, Sam.
Anna and Logan arrive in LA safely amid friends and family, all relieved to see their safe return. But the flight makes Anna start to reevaluate her future plans. Does she really want to spend the next four years locked into Yale? Does she want to try flying to Bali with Logan again in a few days? These are questions that plague Anna over the course of the next week, when her decision must be made.
On the other hand, we have Sam, who has also made an impulsive decision…she has accepted Eduardo's marriage proposal and they are to be wed in one week's time. Sam is an absolute wreck and her friend Dee has come to the rescue. Unknown to everyone, including Dee, Dee has a real knack for coordinating all the wedding plans and helps Sam bring everything together. But Sam is torn. Does she give up her dream of attending USC's infamous film school to follow Eduardo back to Paris?
All of these questions and others concerning Cammie, Dee, Ben, Adam, Jackson Sharpe, Sam's mom, Dina, and others come to a (tentative?) resolution. Ms. Dean seems to tie up everyone's future nicely by the end of the story. The action starts quickly and leaves the reader with a pounding heart, praying Anna and Logan come out safely from their flight. And Ms. Dean leaves the reader guessing up until the end what the wedding will entail. I enjoyed this story more than the last couple and am already eagerly waiting for her new era of A-List teens in HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY, due out in January 2009.
We left Anna Percy at the end of BEAUTIFUL STRANGER deciding if she should be spontaneous and follow Logan onto the plane and fly to Bali the week before she was due to head to freshman orientation at Yale.
Now, Anna has thrown all caution to the wind and has made a mad dash to the airport. With no luggage, and chucking her shoes that weren't equipped for sprints, she runs down the jet-way to board the awaiting plane. Anna is the last passenger to board, and she's not even sure that Logan is on-board the plane. For the last eight months while Anna has been living in California with her father, she has tried to shed the reserved exterior that everyone sees. She came to California in the hopes of reinventing herself and to quit thinking everything through before she acts.
Anna finds her seat and is relieved to find Logan ensconced in first class. He is pleased to see Anna, and the two sit back, ready to enjoy the impulsive flight to Bali. But things soon turn into a nightmare. The captain makes an announcement that the hydraulics for the landing gear have malfunctioned, and they have to return to LA and attempt to land on the belly of the plane. Anna immediately regrets her impulsiveness, knowing that her attempt to be carefree has caused the malfunction. Unable to contact her father, the only person Anna is able to reach is her dear friend, Sam.
Anna and Logan arrive in LA safely amid friends and family, all relieved to see their safe return. But the flight makes Anna start to reevaluate her future plans. Does she really want to spend the next four years locked into Yale? Does she want to try flying to Bali with Logan again in a few days? These are questions that plague Anna over the course of the next week, when her decision must be made.
On the other hand, we have Sam, who has also made an impulsive decision…she has accepted Eduardo's marriage proposal and they are to be wed in one week's time. Sam is an absolute wreck and her friend Dee has come to the rescue. Unknown to everyone, including Dee, Dee has a real knack for coordinating all the wedding plans and helps Sam bring everything together. But Sam is torn. Does she give up her dream of attending USC's infamous film school to follow Eduardo back to Paris?
All of these questions and others concerning Cammie, Dee, Ben, Adam, Jackson Sharpe, Sam's mom, Dina, and others come to a (tentative?) resolution. Ms. Dean seems to tie up everyone's future nicely by the end of the story. The action starts quickly and leaves the reader with a pounding heart, praying Anna and Logan come out safely from their flight. And Ms. Dean leaves the reader guessing up until the end what the wedding will entail. I enjoyed this story more than the last couple and am already eagerly waiting for her new era of A-List teens in HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY, due out in January 2009.
January 7, 2014
The finale (finally!) to the A-List series wasn't all that bad, though there were plenty of moments where the plotline started to jump the shark. I suppose there are only so many books that can be written about the same group of overprivileged girls and guys living in the same damn town; we've heard about their mansions and clothes and pearl-grey Lexuses a million times over. Nothing like a plane crash and a random subdural hematoma to shake things up a bit.
Besides that, the story moved along pretty well. I was happy with the way the character's lives played out (good for you, independent Sam!!)...most of the time (Ben's a douche, Anna!). The ending was a bit of a disappointment - it played out exactly the same way as How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls. Megan/Anna writes an article/screenplay about her experiences among the showy, lavish folks of Palm Beach/Beverly Hills. After some thought, Megan/Anna names her piece after...the title of the book/series! Get it? The book/series you just read is essentially the story that Megan/Anna wrote! So clever!
No.
For the record, it's possible that Filthy Rich Girls came out after this book (I'm not going to look it up), but either way, she used the same ending. Silly and lazy.
Other than that, I can't really complain. The series is over, and I no longer have to listen to Sam gripe about her ankles or hear about Anna's patrician features. Hallelujah!
Besides that, the story moved along pretty well. I was happy with the way the character's lives played out (good for you, independent Sam!!)...most of the time (Ben's a douche, Anna!). The ending was a bit of a disappointment - it played out exactly the same way as How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls. Megan/Anna writes an article/screenplay about her experiences among the showy, lavish folks of Palm Beach/Beverly Hills. After some thought, Megan/Anna names her piece after...the title of the book/series! Get it? The book/series you just read is essentially the story that Megan/Anna wrote! So clever!
No.
For the record, it's possible that Filthy Rich Girls came out after this book (I'm not going to look it up), but either way, she used the same ending. Silly and lazy.
Other than that, I can't really complain. The series is over, and I no longer have to listen to Sam gripe about her ankles or hear about Anna's patrician features. Hallelujah!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2009
Final book in the A-list series, Anna goes after Logan to Bali, but when the flight turn chaotic Anna ust hopes to make it home alive. Same hears about it and tells Eduardo if Anna lives they will get married in a week. Anna has a love for life whe returns unharmed and so Dee plans out Sam's wedding even thoguh Sam starts having second thoughts. Ben and Cammie's Club is doing amazing. Anna still has to decide if she wants to go to bali or Yale but then her father gets sick. Ana decides to go to Yale and Sam comes out that she doens't want to get married. Anna's script is becomming a movie, Jackson and Dina get married, Adam and Cammie get back together and so do Ben and Anna. As for Sam and Eduardo will come later and she still has more of her life to live.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2008
Well, this is it -- the final book in the original A-List series (in two months' time we get the first installment of "The A-List: Hollywood Royalty," aka the West Coast equivalent of "Gossip Girl: The Carlyles"). How'd this one go? I'll be honest, it's pretty ridic. Cherie Bennett and hubby Jeff (or whoever actually writes these) have a mere 300-ish pages to tie off all the plots that have been set in motion over the course of the series, which means, as you'd expect, some feel decently done, and some feel rushed and "wtf just happened? Really?" In the latter category, there's one that's tied off in that style that's obvious (I'll just say it -- Dee, since even though she's one of my favorite characters, they basically gave up on her from book 6 onward), but one of the other plots they rush through, I was kind of shocked by. Like, wait, what? Ten books of buildup and that's what we get? But you know, in the end, it's not like I was that shocked. Or that appalled. It was, as they say, okay. As an added bonus: Hopefully we never have to read about Anna Percy's "effortless patrician beauty" or all the things her "breeding" ensures she can do ever, ever again.
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May 30, 2022As I shared in my review of the first book in the series, I've refrained from providing this with a rating because I was re-reading purely for the nostalgia value. I did feel that the final book in the series merited its own review to reflect my reading journey.
This experience was a nice trip down memory lane with some fresh content as I am not convinced I actually finished the series. I maybe stopped around seven? I am glad to have completed it but perhaps would not recommend doing so in rapid succession.
The plots all feel worn out by the end of the series and we tend to circle around the same drama for far too long. Some characters mentioned along the way disappear for several books at a time only to be brought back briefly referenced or left out of the rest of the series all together.
Reading them close together, it's very clear what little editing for continuity there was between each publication. However, if you're looking for something light and a time capsule of the early aughts this is the series for you. It doesn't age well, but I don't regret revisting the series for fun.
This experience was a nice trip down memory lane with some fresh content as I am not convinced I actually finished the series. I maybe stopped around seven? I am glad to have completed it but perhaps would not recommend doing so in rapid succession.
The plots all feel worn out by the end of the series and we tend to circle around the same drama for far too long. Some characters mentioned along the way disappear for several books at a time only to be brought back briefly referenced or left out of the rest of the series all together.
Reading them close together, it's very clear what little editing for continuity there was between each publication. However, if you're looking for something light and a time capsule of the early aughts this is the series for you. It doesn't age well, but I don't regret revisting the series for fun.
May 20, 2021
Wraps up a little too neatly, but one of the better books of the series. I forgot that one of the only non-douchey protagonists went to Pomona - shout-out to my alma mater! I'm actually glad that I re-read this series because wow mainstream YA fiction of the aughts was light-years away from what's published now (in terms of diversity, social mores, etc.), so it's been interesting to mark the passage of time in that way.
June 7, 2008
It’s the A-List—what can I say?
Apparently, the new “IN” for rich-girls-and-boys-stories is to start a new generation. Like Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar. Now that that era is over, she’s starting the Carlyles, so the same goes for Zoey Dean with her new A-List novels, coming January 2009. Which isn’t exactly a bad thing since her novels are definitely better than Gossip Girl. And I guess nine (?) books are pretty long for a series about three girls and three boys.
So. The end. It’s not exactly unpredictable about Ben and Anna. If I were her, I wouldn’t give up Yale—or defer the Ivy League—just to work on one of those summer-chick-flick movies. Not that I would be given any of these choices in the first place, but I don’t fully support her decisions. If they’re really in love—and it was love at first sight for them, even after so many on-and-off mishaps—then it’s not gonna go anywhere, which means she can safely head to Yale and come back to LA after four years. At least, that’s what I would do. But you gotta think it from a rich-lifestyle point of view, because honestly, they can pay and pull strings to keep in Yale’s good graces, so it’s not like deferring for a year isn’t an option. But! The movie idea sounds incredibly lame—you’d think Anna, who’s like the outcast and unique individual not like the other girls, might realize that writing a screenplay isn’t going to get her anywhere but a summer romance for teens. I don’t know. I just don’t quite see it as an Anna personality trait, even if she does like writing. I’d always pegged her as the deep digger of the other name-brand-loving girls.
Samantha and Eduardo. Not surprising that she rejected Eduardo in the end, even though he was supposedly the best man she could ever want and love. Yet she gave it up anyway? Message: individuality is more important than love? I don’t know; I’d think they were on the same level, especially since I’m the soul-mate/true-love/romantic believing type of girl.
Cammie and Adam. Hm. Never liked Cammie, so I don’t have a good thing to say about her. But the author definitely played down the character of Adam since I never thought I really knew who he was and what he wanted—and he was quite an essential part to Cammie’s “good” side.
So that’s the end of the 1st era. But, I have to ask, how many more conflict/stories about the rich to go before it starts getting repetitive and boring?
Apparently, the new “IN” for rich-girls-and-boys-stories is to start a new generation. Like Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar. Now that that era is over, she’s starting the Carlyles, so the same goes for Zoey Dean with her new A-List novels, coming January 2009. Which isn’t exactly a bad thing since her novels are definitely better than Gossip Girl. And I guess nine (?) books are pretty long for a series about three girls and three boys.
So. The end. It’s not exactly unpredictable about Ben and Anna. If I were her, I wouldn’t give up Yale—or defer the Ivy League—just to work on one of those summer-chick-flick movies. Not that I would be given any of these choices in the first place, but I don’t fully support her decisions. If they’re really in love—and it was love at first sight for them, even after so many on-and-off mishaps—then it’s not gonna go anywhere, which means she can safely head to Yale and come back to LA after four years. At least, that’s what I would do. But you gotta think it from a rich-lifestyle point of view, because honestly, they can pay and pull strings to keep in Yale’s good graces, so it’s not like deferring for a year isn’t an option. But! The movie idea sounds incredibly lame—you’d think Anna, who’s like the outcast and unique individual not like the other girls, might realize that writing a screenplay isn’t going to get her anywhere but a summer romance for teens. I don’t know. I just don’t quite see it as an Anna personality trait, even if she does like writing. I’d always pegged her as the deep digger of the other name-brand-loving girls.
Samantha and Eduardo. Not surprising that she rejected Eduardo in the end, even though he was supposedly the best man she could ever want and love. Yet she gave it up anyway? Message: individuality is more important than love? I don’t know; I’d think they were on the same level, especially since I’m the soul-mate/true-love/romantic believing type of girl.
Cammie and Adam. Hm. Never liked Cammie, so I don’t have a good thing to say about her. But the author definitely played down the character of Adam since I never thought I really knew who he was and what he wanted—and he was quite an essential part to Cammie’s “good” side.
So that’s the end of the 1st era. But, I have to ask, how many more conflict/stories about the rich to go before it starts getting repetitive and boring?
July 17, 2014
The Good: This was a fun, fluffy series to read and I was pretty pleased with the where the characters ended up. Not everyone grew or changed, but that's what makes the entire situation realistic. Some people are going to end up on the same path they started on. I loved that we get pretty definite answers to the few remaining questions lingering from the earlier books and that we knew where everyone is off to, for the most part, now that high school is over.
The Bad: This book didn't flow nearly as well as the earlier novels in the series. It seemed as though the author got sidetracked cramming in everything readers wanted to know that the book ended up weirdly fast paced.
The Bad: This book didn't flow nearly as well as the earlier novels in the series. It seemed as though the author got sidetracked cramming in everything readers wanted to know that the book ended up weirdly fast paced.
January 11, 2016
pardon the vulgarity but i am sooooo happy to be done with this piece of shit series! everything comes in a complete circle and no one is really any different than at the beginning. Oh and yet another inconsistency:In American Beauty Sam's mom is married to Victor Weller who sells life insurance (p251), in this book she (trying for no spoilers here) DEFINITELY not. Seriously who the fuck edited these and does dean have such poor memory that she cant keep track of what she's written? I remember and i read the last book over a week ago!
Save yourself some time and brain cellsand forgo thisseries...i wish i had
Save yourself some time and brain cellsand forgo thisseries...i wish i had
April 13, 2016
I liked this book better than others in the series. It took me ten years to finish it that's how much I didn't really like it by always have to finish what I started. It was going fine until Ben and Anna got back together. They were such unlivable characters. So corny and totally was not rooting for them. I am glad Cammie decided to be an adult and got back together with Adam though. I also dog understand why dam and Eduardo broke up completely and didn't just call off the wedding to be a normal teenage couple. This series just wasn't that good. I'm glad I'm done with it. I was thinking about reading the three spin off books but I don't know if I'll ever waste me time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2011
The novel is the last in the series (A-List). Anna almost dies in a plane crash, then is deciding whether to go to bali or Yale (really, is that a choice?) Sam wants to get married or go to film school (once again... DUH!) and then Cammie is distressed with her club with her hottie Ben.
Well, to be honest, the book sucked. It was boring, took me much too long to finish, had no basic moral or ending. Just that everyone in the end does what we all know is right, and everyone slaps their forehead and says "WE KNEW THATS WHAT THE BITCHES WOULD DO!!!!!!! DIDN"T NEED A STORY ABOUT IT!"
Well, to be honest, the book sucked. It was boring, took me much too long to finish, had no basic moral or ending. Just that everyone in the end does what we all know is right, and everyone slaps their forehead and says "WE KNEW THATS WHAT THE BITCHES WOULD DO!!!!!!! DIDN"T NEED A STORY ABOUT IT!"
September 6, 2017
I simultaneously completely forgot how this book ended, and sort of knew all along. I have to say, for a fluffy series written back when I was an actual young adult... there were some ~deep things~ going on in this finale. I loved the thoughts about time and change and circling back to where you started. The ending of this story was absurdly appropriate and gave me quite a few feels. I'm so glad I reread these.
November 23, 2022
okay, so i'm basically just going to review the series as a whole:
i personally love books about rich kids getting into drama (gossip girl, the clique, etc.) so this was a really fun series to read. that being said, it was not that well-written and there were a lot of plot points that were a big deal in one book but then in the next book it was never talked about. i want to talk about the characters and then the relationships and then the random one-book plot points:
characters:
anna - homegirl can't make up her mind for SHIT. she is constantly conflicted but i honestly love her because she reminds me of myself. i loved her character arc throughout the novels and it felt really realistic.
sam - the realist character, actually. this is random but i did like that the author made her actually a bigger size and not just like a size 6 whom the author was trying to make 'fat.' anyway, sam has such a great personality and she is so fiery and protective.
cammie - the biggest bitch, but she's my bitch. i hated this girl so much in the first few novels but once she got with adam, i fell in love with her. she has been through so much and yes, she is incredibly rude and i would not like her in real life, but if she is on your side she is ON your side for life.
ben - sooooo boring. i don't understand the hype that he gets from every girl in this series lmao.
dee - MY LOVE. i wish she had a bigger part in the series, she is genuinely so funny and i love her so much she deserves the world.
adam - <333333333333 THE LOVE I HAVE FOR THIS BOY.
parker - parker world domination yassss.
relationships:
ben + anna - basic lol sorry but i do think it's sweet how much they care for each other. idk i just don't like ben that much.
sam + eduardo - first of all, age gap is concerning. putting that aside however, he treats her like the queen she is so i love that for her. i know they find each other later in life<3
adam + cammie - golden retriever boyfriend x black cat girlfriend they are EVERYTHING
dee + jack - again, dee deserves the world!
random plot points that were forgotten about:
1. monty (parker's little brother) was a pretty significant character in the first book and there was even an entire chapter from his point of view so i'm confused why they pretended he didn't exist after like the second novel.
2. maddy was a point of contention in Some Like It Hot between anna and ben and she even seduced her teacher which made me violently ill but then she disappears and is never brought up again.
3. why are we acting like champagne is this super short model when kate moss is one of the most successful models and is the same height champagne is (5'7).
4. it was mentioned that cammie might be going to pepperdine university in malibu but then books later she is not going to college at all and her grades have apparently always been bad, so how could she have gotten into pepperdine? it's a pretty good school so that doesn't make sense.
5. dina (sam's mom) said she was married when she and sam met up the first time but then she gets married to jackson in this book and says that she only ever had a 'boyfriend.'
6. cammie was so obsessed with finding out what happened to her mom and even found out that clark (her father) and dina were having an affair but then that goes nowhere? she just doesn't mention anything about that after she finds out.
7. the main conflict in the first book is that cammie, sam, and dee all are in love with ben but then they just magically get over it by the second book? (at least sam and dee do)
anyway, i'm sure there are more that i could list but that is a lot and i really did love the series it was fun and i grew attached to the characters.
i personally love books about rich kids getting into drama (gossip girl, the clique, etc.) so this was a really fun series to read. that being said, it was not that well-written and there were a lot of plot points that were a big deal in one book but then in the next book it was never talked about. i want to talk about the characters and then the relationships and then the random one-book plot points:
characters:
anna - homegirl can't make up her mind for SHIT. she is constantly conflicted but i honestly love her because she reminds me of myself. i loved her character arc throughout the novels and it felt really realistic.
sam - the realist character, actually. this is random but i did like that the author made her actually a bigger size and not just like a size 6 whom the author was trying to make 'fat.' anyway, sam has such a great personality and she is so fiery and protective.
cammie - the biggest bitch, but she's my bitch. i hated this girl so much in the first few novels but once she got with adam, i fell in love with her. she has been through so much and yes, she is incredibly rude and i would not like her in real life, but if she is on your side she is ON your side for life.
ben - sooooo boring. i don't understand the hype that he gets from every girl in this series lmao.
dee - MY LOVE. i wish she had a bigger part in the series, she is genuinely so funny and i love her so much she deserves the world.
adam - <333333333333 THE LOVE I HAVE FOR THIS BOY.
parker - parker world domination yassss.
relationships:
ben + anna - basic lol sorry but i do think it's sweet how much they care for each other. idk i just don't like ben that much.
sam + eduardo - first of all, age gap is concerning. putting that aside however, he treats her like the queen she is so i love that for her. i know they find each other later in life<3
adam + cammie - golden retriever boyfriend x black cat girlfriend they are EVERYTHING
dee + jack - again, dee deserves the world!
random plot points that were forgotten about:
1. monty (parker's little brother) was a pretty significant character in the first book and there was even an entire chapter from his point of view so i'm confused why they pretended he didn't exist after like the second novel.
2. maddy was a point of contention in Some Like It Hot between anna and ben and she even seduced her teacher which made me violently ill but then she disappears and is never brought up again.
3. why are we acting like champagne is this super short model when kate moss is one of the most successful models and is the same height champagne is (5'7).
4. it was mentioned that cammie might be going to pepperdine university in malibu but then books later she is not going to college at all and her grades have apparently always been bad, so how could she have gotten into pepperdine? it's a pretty good school so that doesn't make sense.
5. dina (sam's mom) said she was married when she and sam met up the first time but then she gets married to jackson in this book and says that she only ever had a 'boyfriend.'
6. cammie was so obsessed with finding out what happened to her mom and even found out that clark (her father) and dina were having an affair but then that goes nowhere? she just doesn't mention anything about that after she finds out.
7. the main conflict in the first book is that cammie, sam, and dee all are in love with ben but then they just magically get over it by the second book? (at least sam and dee do)
anyway, i'm sure there are more that i could list but that is a lot and i really did love the series it was fun and i grew attached to the characters.
April 8, 2023
The book was good and a quick read. I found myself constantly wondering what comes next. From the plane crash to the wedding to the college decision and the hospital visits, there was no shortage of reasons for me to be pulled back into the story line. I docked one point just because I hate excessive descriptions of what accessories everyone is wearing or what designer everyone is sporting like I get it. They’re rich and they’re wearing fancy clothes
April 13, 2024
A fun, quick read that pairs nicely with a cup or coffee or glass of wine while sitting in the sun!
California dreaming tells the stories of several friends intermingled together as the embark on a world full of possibilities after graduating high school.
From big Hollywood parties to travelling around the world, these girls have so much ahead of them!
If you’re looking for a fun summer read, this is a good one to check out!
California dreaming tells the stories of several friends intermingled together as the embark on a world full of possibilities after graduating high school.
From big Hollywood parties to travelling around the world, these girls have so much ahead of them!
If you’re looking for a fun summer read, this is a good one to check out!
January 22, 2019
Overall I really like teen quirky books like this, I liked how uncensored the characters where and how weird they could get with some of the things they said. If you like books that are kind of like cliche teen movies about rich kids then this is for you except the people in this book go through real problems and very real things and that's what I liked about it most
January 25, 2021
This was the last book in the series, so it made me so nostalgic and made me reminisce on all the fun I had in LA during college! So glad that Anna ended up with Ben and Cammie with Adam! The whole plane thing was kind of dramatic for just taking up around three chapters, but I thought it overall was a good end to the series!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2023
a good quick read about the glamorous life in hollywood through the eyes of high school grads on their way to college. the characters were developed really well and came together nicely in each chapter.
July 27, 2025
This book was ridiculous, unrealistic, and read like a constant ad for a bunch of luxury brands. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series but given that this is supposed to be the finale, I don’t think I’m missing much.
April 23, 2019
This is the best trashy YA I will ever read
EVER.
EVER.
June 19, 2020
This book was an okay final installment of the series.
July 30, 2023
This was a book that was painful to read. But I am so grateful for it to be finished and out of my life and home forever.
December 28, 2016
The best thing about this book... is that it's the last one in the A-List series. I am so angry at my 11 year old self for starting this book and even more disappointed that it took me 4 years to complete the series. I don't remember everything about the first book, "The A-List", or whether my initial reaction of it being fantastic was true or not. How would I now? I was only 11. Although, I do know that as I continued to complete the books over the years they got worse. I think I started losing interest around the 7th book, because I started hating how snobby the characters (Cammie) were. Maybe it was because I got older and was aware of how much I didn't enjoy these books or if the plots were more about what everyone was wearing instead of their actual life situations. I mean there is such a thing as using a good amount of detail... and Zoey Dean uses way too much. I figured out that if I skipped the whole paragraphs where she describes what everyone is wearing, eating, or what the decorations in a location looked like, the book, thankfully, moved a lot faster. Now, on to the actual review.
"California Dreaming" is the last hooray for the A-List Crew. The book continues right where "Beautiful Stranger" leaves off. The group is beginning to close their chapters of high school drama and head off to bigger and more elaborate spectacles. Anna is taking many steps to move on from Ben once she sees him in a lip-lock with Cammie, and one of those steps will definitely be towards her beautiful old friend, Logan. But Anna doesn't know if she actually wants to leave everything behind to be with him, go to Yale like she has always dreamed, or search for something different all together. Sam and Eduardo are trying to build a future together, but is Sam ready to leave behind everything she has in California? And Cammie is on a conquest to take back what was rightfully hers before Little Miss New York dropped into the scene, but on through her battles to get there she figures out that maybe it's actually time to move on and stop living in the past.
The main characters, Cammie, Sam, and Anna, were very confused on their plans for the future up until the last two chapters. They were going back and forth with their emotions for 300 pages and by page 200 I was sick and tired of it. It seemed like they already knew what they wanted to do, so why with all the conflict! Plus, it annoys me that everyone is talking about how they have all changed in the past eight months (I can't believe that Anna was only there for eight months because it felt like 3 years to me). No one changed at all in this book! The only thing they changed was their minds. They all acted exactly the same and barely ever showed any differences in personality. Also, I'm disappointed in Sam that she never realized that her body looks fantastic and putting herself down and remarking how she is wearing a certain style of clothing to hide her hips or butt. She liked Eduardo because he thought she was beautiful and I bet she would have loved herself just as much if she also thought she was beautiful no matter what she wore. Anyway, the series ended with a happily ever after (like it could end any differently) and with a happy Jasmine for not having to read anymore of these ridiculous books.
"California Dreaming" is the last hooray for the A-List Crew. The book continues right where "Beautiful Stranger" leaves off. The group is beginning to close their chapters of high school drama and head off to bigger and more elaborate spectacles. Anna is taking many steps to move on from Ben once she sees him in a lip-lock with Cammie, and one of those steps will definitely be towards her beautiful old friend, Logan. But Anna doesn't know if she actually wants to leave everything behind to be with him, go to Yale like she has always dreamed, or search for something different all together. Sam and Eduardo are trying to build a future together, but is Sam ready to leave behind everything she has in California? And Cammie is on a conquest to take back what was rightfully hers before Little Miss New York dropped into the scene, but on through her battles to get there she figures out that maybe it's actually time to move on and stop living in the past.
The main characters, Cammie, Sam, and Anna, were very confused on their plans for the future up until the last two chapters. They were going back and forth with their emotions for 300 pages and by page 200 I was sick and tired of it. It seemed like they already knew what they wanted to do, so why with all the conflict! Plus, it annoys me that everyone is talking about how they have all changed in the past eight months (I can't believe that Anna was only there for eight months because it felt like 3 years to me). No one changed at all in this book! The only thing they changed was their minds. They all acted exactly the same and barely ever showed any differences in personality. Also, I'm disappointed in Sam that she never realized that her body looks fantastic and putting herself down and remarking how she is wearing a certain style of clothing to hide her hips or butt. She liked Eduardo because he thought she was beautiful and I bet she would have loved herself just as much if she also thought she was beautiful no matter what she wore. Anyway, the series ended with a happily ever after (like it could end any differently) and with a happy Jasmine for not having to read anymore of these ridiculous books.
April 19, 2018
This book is an ok book because it shows how a girl wants to reach her dream or things.
September 2, 2009
The book picks up with Anna Percy leaving to Bali with her childhood friend, Logan. Unfortunately, there is a problem with the plane so it turns around back to L.A. Anna starts calling Sam with the airplane phone but she looses the connection. Meanwhile, Sam is with her fiancee, Eduardo, when she sees the news of the troubled flight on television. She turns to Eduardo and tells him that "if Anna makes it out safe, we'll get married in a week." Anna indeed does make it out safely from the plane and at the airport, her father and Sam are waiting for her. There is much more but I don't want to ruin it!
I can connect to Ben because sometimes bad things happen and you want to tell the person you are with but it is to happy of a time so you don't tell the person. This has happened to both me and Ben in this book when Anna came back from the plane and he wanted to talk to Cammie but he decided to wait.
I gave this book 5 stars because it was really fun to read and though the whole book you were like, "what's gonna happen next??!!"
I can connect to Ben because sometimes bad things happen and you want to tell the person you are with but it is to happy of a time so you don't tell the person. This has happened to both me and Ben in this book when Anna came back from the plane and he wanted to talk to Cammie but he decided to wait.
I gave this book 5 stars because it was really fun to read and though the whole book you were like, "what's gonna happen next??!!"
January 14, 2011
This book is apart of the A-List series. It is about a group of friends who went to Beverly Hills High School and welcomed the newcomer Anna. They all have huge homes and are rich with famous parents and conncections. This book in the series is about them planning their futures of college and where they will live. Sam breaks up with her boyfriend to pursue college and Anna gets back together with Ben. Cammie however owns her own nightclub and is becoming very successful on her own.
I thought this book was pretty good. It made me think of what I want to do in the future and about college. The girls thought they had everything planned out but then changed their minds at the last minute. I don't want to have to do that. I want to have my goals set out and know hwat I am doing when I graduate. Even though they live in Beverly Hills, the characters are relatable.
I thought this book was pretty good. It made me think of what I want to do in the future and about college. The girls thought they had everything planned out but then changed their minds at the last minute. I don't want to have to do that. I want to have my goals set out and know hwat I am doing when I graduate. Even though they live in Beverly Hills, the characters are relatable.
July 23, 2013
It's the perfect conclusion for a very good series of books talking about privileged teenagers in Beverly Hills. The book is funny and has very lovable characters like Anna and Sam. I enjoyed reading this book and the whole series. Even though I started reading them this year and they are a bit old, there's always a constant in high school relationships and the doubts and fears of the future. Everyone can relate with the situations in the book even though you don't have a movie star for a father o live in a Beverly Hills mansion because at the end of the day they are still teenagers dealing with image issues, heartbreaks and confusion. I loved it!! I would recommend it a lot, specially if you liked Gossip Girl or The Clique, it goes in the same direction with more humane, relatable and lovable characters!
June 18, 2009
Only going to put this one on here, though I read all 10 of these (I would vote all of them about a 3). This was the last of the A-List novels, and the series was pretty good. Flaky, snobby, pretentious, ridiculous... yup, it was all of those things, too.
But you know, sometimes I just want to read something like this, Gossip Girl (please don't talk to me about the TV show though), It Girl, or The Clique. These books are a fun way to forget about your troubles for a little bit, and I'm addicted to all of them.
Unfortunately A-List is done (I won't be reading the "new version"), so I have to get by with the other aforementioned series. It was fun while it lasted.
But you know, sometimes I just want to read something like this, Gossip Girl (please don't talk to me about the TV show though), It Girl, or The Clique. These books are a fun way to forget about your troubles for a little bit, and I'm addicted to all of them.
Unfortunately A-List is done (I won't be reading the "new version"), so I have to get by with the other aforementioned series. It was fun while it lasted.
March 26, 2011
I started reading the A-List Series in 2005 and it took me 6 years to read all of the books. It was the most entertaining 6 years of reading.
Being able to relate to this characters from when Anna first met Ben to the end of the series where everybody turned out to live happily ever after I was thankful to be on that journey with them. It helped me figure out who I was and also gave me an experience of living the "rich life"
I would recommend not only this book, but all of the A-List series.
5 stars to California Dreaming!
Being able to relate to this characters from when Anna first met Ben to the end of the series where everybody turned out to live happily ever after I was thankful to be on that journey with them. It helped me figure out who I was and also gave me an experience of living the "rich life"
I would recommend not only this book, but all of the A-List series.
5 stars to California Dreaming!
May 27, 2019
Finally finished rereading the series so I could purge it from my bookshelf. Though I loved the series in high school, it was a lot less lovable as an adult. The grammar and number of typos had me cringing. But this was the best book in the series. Now onward to filling the empty space on my shelf with better books...
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