Hollywood Hills

Alexa & Holly #3

by Aimee Friedman

Get your drama on as the girls from New York Times bestseller SOUTH BEACH and its sexy sequel, FRENCH KISS, strut back into the limelight in another sizzling tale of romance, friendship, and crushes.

Celebrity sightings. Sizzling nightlife. Endless shopping.
Hollywood, here they come...

She's stopped believing in love at first sight....but can a Hollywood heartbreaker make her look twice?

When a collision with destiny pulls her heart in two directions, which path will she choose? Either way, this trip will change everything.

With one week to go before graduation, Alexa and Holly take off on a whirlwind trip to L.A. Can they handle the drama?

Genres: Young Adult, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Teen, Romance, High School

352 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

Aimee Friedman was born and raised in Queens, New York, in an apartment filled with books and different languages. She wrote her first story at the age of five, and was off and running from there. Aimee wrote all through her years as a student at the Bronx High School of Science and then Vassar College. After graduating from college in 2001, she became a children's book editor, a job she still does, and loves, to this day! Aimee published her first novel, the New York Times bestseller, South Beach, in 2005, and is now the author of several novels for young adults, the latest being Two Summers. Aimee lives in New York City, where she can usually be found writing in cafes, window-shopping, or searching for the perfect iced latte.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. I read the first two books years ago and I'm glad I finally finished the trilogy. This book was really good, just like the other ones :)

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s the week before high school graduation, and Alexa St. Laurent has scored two invitations to the hottest event of the year: Margaux Eklundstrom’s wedding. There’s no doubt who she’s inviting to come with her: her best friend Holly Jacobson. Neither girl can wait to get to Los Angeles, Alexa because she wants to hang with celebrities and Holly because she’s impatient to leave behind her parents’ and boyfriend’s expectations. But L.A. turns out to be different than each girl expected. With so many choices ahead of them and so many opportunities for having fun, there’s only one thing for sure: L.A. could change everything.

The latest and last of Alexa and Holly’s exciting vacations, Hollywood Hills is certainly the sweetest and most memorable. It’s not necessary to have read the story’s prequels, South Beach and French Kiss, to understand Hollywood Hills; in fact, this was the case the first time I read this book. However, the background is a plus, particularly because it details the development of Alexa and Holly’s current relationship. By now, their friendship is pretty much rock solid, and the girls rely on each other for fashion advice and moral support. Alexa’s and Holly’s characters don’t mature much through the course of this book, because each girl has more or less established who she is before this story even started, so most of the book is plain and simple guilty pleasure. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, and Friedman does a wonderful job of making this story about true friendship and love amidst the glitz and fake glamour or Hollywood. This is a very cute and satisfying read perfect for summer.

Fans of South Beach and French Kiss, both by Aimee Friedman, will enjoy Hollywood Hills, as will readers who liked Summer Boys and Summer Girls, both by Hailey Abbott.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this book and I thought it was a great ending to the series! Alexa is still single and Holly is still dating Tyler. They're about a week from graduation. While staying at her mom's house, Alexa and a guest are invited to a celebrity wedding. Alexa chooses Holly! On their stop in Las Vegas the plane gets delayed or cancelled but they need to get to Hollywood for the party so a guy they meet drives them there. He and Alexa don't get along, and she sleeps but he and Holly chat. The girls are staying in the bride's brother's guest house (Alexa is head over heals for him). Alexa and him go out on a date but Alexa realizes she doesn't like him, and she is surprised by this. Holly meets up with a former track teammate who goes to UCLA and falls in love with the campus. She was planning on going to a college back east with Tyler. After having many short conversations with Tyler while in LA, they mutually breakup but will remain friends. She gets an interview with the people at UCLA to let her in. Her mom (who is the assistant principal at her high school) gives her a recommendation. She gets in. While at the wedding, the guy who gave them a ride to LA is there. He is a childhood friend of the bride and her brother. He confesses to liking Alexa and she secretly does too. He goes to college back east so everything will work out!

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

3rd in a series

[Tiny Pants · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a bad feeling about this one even before reading French Kiss. I know everyone says "don't judge a book by its cover," but I did. The cover photo here of the girls is a stock photo that's been used to death in ads, as well as on at least one other book cover -- The Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love -- though at least they took the time here to manipulate it into describing more or less precisely a scene in the book. Still though, what are the girls standing on? A chrome diving board? The digitally-created background they've popped in looks too weird. They did a nice job choosing images for the first two books, so I'm not sure what happened here. But in getting too specific, I think they did the book a disservice. And I don't just mean making Alexa's shoes look incredibly cheap.

I will say, I liked this one much better than French Kiss, but it was still no South Beach. It was less contrived, and it did manage to surprise me at least once, but the premise felt too forced, and few of the details rang true -- especially, again, the clothes, though I knew as a transplanted Southern Californian, I was going to be harsh on the details of life in Los Angeles. I said it with the A-List books, and I'll say it again now: LA does not smell like orange groves. It hasn't since the 1940s probably. It certainly does not now. Likewise, if you are not physically at the beach, you will not smell the beach, nor will you feel sea breezes. LA's a city, and especially when it's hot out, it smells like a city. I would say it smells like car exhaust and hot paving more than anything else.

Anyway. Enough complaining about the details. The overall plot of the book is reasonably enjoyable, and the romantic plots are much more believable and compelling than in either of the other two books. Holly in particular really shines in this book, though the urge to slap Alexa across her pretentious face presents itself approximately every other page. The relative level of accord between the girls gives them more time to grow as characters, rather than having to deal with a bunch of are-they-or-aren't-they friends, as in French Kiss. Admittedly, I feel Holly's the one who's really grown, and that Alexa is maybe just really convinced by her delusions of grandeur. She's the more inspiring and fully realized of the two, and would shine in her own book (hint, hint).

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the book, Hollywood Hills, by Aimee Friedman we learn of a girl named Alexa and her best friend Holly going through your ‘not-so-typical’ teenage struggles. When they get a once in a lifetime chance to go to a celebrity wedding they take it, and make the flight to L.A. Partying, dating, and having fun, the girls try to make their trip the best time of their lives. They make reckless decisions and decide to let loose, starting a little vacation romance. Celebrity worlds clash with the average teen life as the reader is pulled through the endless plot.
Although this book seems interesting, and would be great for a 5th grade reader, it is not something to recommend reading for someone with more refined tastes. It is anything but classy, and unless you are rich and live the life of a teenage model, you won’t understand half of the references made. I didn't want to continue reading it because I didn't understand most of what was going on. The character development is also poor at best, and you spend the whole time wondering whose point of view it is from, as the POV changes every two paragraphs. I often found myself confused wondering which character they were describing. The flip flopped easily between who they were talking about making it difficult to read. The plot is scattered, and it’s hard to figure out what is happening while reading. Overall, the book Hollywood hills was a dud and shouldn’t be read by anyone unless they are under the age of eleven.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Audrey for TeensReadToo.com

Jersey girls Alexa St. Laurent and Holly Jacobson head to Hollywood to attend celebrity Margaux Eklundstrom's wedding. They are overjoyed to find that they will be staying in Margaux's hot brother's guest house and that they will be able to get out of a family camping trip a week before graduation.

Once in paradise, things don't go so smoothly. Holly struggles to find a college that she and her boyfriend can both attend, but will this end their relationship for good? Meanwhile, Alexa seems to be having the time of her life with Margaux's brother, Jonah. Soon, though, she realizes that she may not really be in love with Jonah Eklundstrom, but will she regret her decision?

When the girls miss their flight back to New Jersey, they are forced to take a later flight--but will they make it back in time? Or will they miss their high school graduation?

I think you should read this book because once you pick it up, you can't put it down!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Novel Idea is my favorite Aimee Friedman book—as well as my favorite Romantic Comedy novel—but South Beach, the first one, would be my favorite Holly and Alexa adventure. Nothing ever beats the first novel in a series—unless it’s Harry Potter we’re talking about—and it’s the same here. I mean, I thought it could have done just as a standalone, but then a second and third came. These are pretty decent, but their adventures kind of get, well, unnecessary. It seems almost impossible that so much can happen in less than a week. And meeting Hollywood stars? Hm. Exciting yes, but just tiring. Why does everything have to be about Hollywood and stars? As well, the name dropping, although it makes me go, “Oh, that girl/guy! I’ve heard of him/her!” really bugs me. Unless it’s a celebrity expose on how stars live, I don’t really like those stories. Just how realistic is it, right?

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the second best out of the trilogy. I liked it overall, but I felt that something was missing. How could Holly's parents suddenly be so AWOL and how could they not be strict at all? Remember the first book? Now, that was hectic.

Hollywood was a nice place to have the setting go through. We find that not a lot of books have that "setting," without the characters being some sort of movie star or pop star.
I'm sad to see this trilogy go, but three books is the perfect ending.

[Jadine · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading books 1 and 2, I am still not on board with what these high school girls are able to get away with. I just really don't understand why the author couldn't have made these girls in college. I feel like the story would have been more realistic. I spent too much time with this book looking back at the connections that happened later in the book. I don't know if I was skimming and missed things or if I just have a bad memory.

[Ja'kiara Johnson]

Its about these two girls Holly and Alexa and they go to Hollywood, and Alexa hooks up with a superstar. But Holly isn't in to all that, and she has a boyfriend back at home. But at the end Holly really liked it and didnt want to leave, and Alexa and Johan the Superstar hooked up, but Holly and Alexa had to go home for graduation.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was totally awesome cept i thought that Alex's old boyfriend Diengo from French Kiss and South Beach was going to come back. I'm just really happy that Holly ended up with Zach and Alex finally found her one true love with Seamus. I could totally predict that Seamus and Holly were going to end up together cause when they were fighting in the car there was totally love in the air

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was pretty silly and frothy, definitely not a tough or intelligent read. It's a good beach read for a high school aged girl that is trying to escape from reality. These girls in this novel go to Hollywood, meet famous celebrities, get cute boyfriends, etc all in a few pages. Pretty un-realistic, but fun.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hollywood Hills is a light and fluffy read good for a relaxing day at the beach or hanging in during the colder months. You get to see some of the glamorous parts of Hollywood when the girls go off on their adventure. Hollywood Hills had me missing I could take off on an adventure like the girls with my best friend. It's an enjoyable read.

[Maya Nasr · Rating 3 out of 5]

It made me fall in love with Los Angeles all over again! I also have a list of all the cool places the two main characters went so that I be sure to go to all of them [let me know if you care for it; I can arrange getting it to you]. Super light read; definitely great for a day at the beach.

[Kali F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

when i read it i will let you know!=]

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

best out of series

[Sarah Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly I can say this book was pretty good. not a whole lot of scandel comapired to her other YA novels.

[Michelle Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED all the books in this series!! Too bad this was the last one!!!

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good, about midway through I was reading.. and I was like, "I don't really like this." I'm actually very glad I finished it!!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was sweet to see Alexa and Holly go out into the world and make their own mistakes, because it makes me realize that that will be me soon.

[idiomatic · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly alexa st. laurent is an underrated gossip girl in the canon

[Kendall Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an alright quick read. Fun because I was living in LA.

[Rea K]

I read this one at least twice. I totally remember loving it.