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Teen Idol: A Young Adult Novel of High School Secrets, Hollywood Stars, and Tabloid Chaos
High school junior Jenny Greenley is so good at keeping secrets that she's the school newspaper's anonymous advice columnist. She's so good at it that, when hotter-than-hot Hollywood star Luke Striker comes to her small town to research a role, Jenny is the one in charge of keeping his identity under wraps. But Luke doesn't make it easy, and soon everyone—the town, the paparazzi, and the tabloids alike—know his secret...and Jenny is caught right in the middle of all the chaos.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 27, 2004
About the author
Meg Cabot
198 books35.5k followersLibrarian note: AKA Jenny Carroll (1-800-Where-R-You series), AKA Patricia Cabot (historical romance novels).
Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.
She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.
Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.
Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.
Series:
* Airhead
* The Princess Diaries
* Mediator
Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.
She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.
Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.
Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.
Series:
* Airhead
* The Princess Diaries
* Mediator
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,063 reviews
June 3, 2016
DNF at 30% because:
- The story narrator is supposed to be sixteen, but she sounds twelve
- The audiobook narrator has the most irritating voice I've ever heard
- Dull, dull, dull, dull
- Plot's going nowhere, and it's doing it slowly
- Everyone's been fooled by the super famous Hollywood star's awesome disguise of ... glasses
- Hollywood star gets labelled 'sensitive' because he stands up for someone who is being bullied. No, that makes him a fucking human being.
Nope. Just nope.
- The story narrator is supposed to be sixteen, but she sounds twelve
- The audiobook narrator has the most irritating voice I've ever heard
- Dull, dull, dull, dull
- Plot's going nowhere, and it's doing it slowly
- Everyone's been fooled by the super famous Hollywood star's awesome disguise of ... glasses
- Hollywood star gets labelled 'sensitive' because he stands up for someone who is being bullied. No, that makes him a fucking human being.
Nope. Just nope.
December 5, 2016
This was every bit of what I expected from Meg Cabot. Yeah, the setup is beyond unlikely and not just the celebrity vising the high school part. But all the unlikely bits make perfect sense in a fun story with people I came to care about and an engaging plot. And, of course, Jenny was a lot of fun to spend time with and joining her while she learns who she wants to be and what she's going to make important in her life was just outstanding.
December 29, 2015
Teen Idol was the book which changed my opinion of ‘pink covered books’.After going through a lot of hideously pink covered ‘Mary Kate and Ashley’s and ‘Hannah Montana’s in the library shelves,I was actually disgusted with the colour pink.
So you can imagine my eagerness to read Teen Idol.Note my sarcasm.It was also my first book by Meg Cabot.And from what they say “First impressions are the best ones”,I thought she is one of those authors who write nonsense.
But,boy,I was wrong.Teen Idol was absolutely amazing and Meg Cabot was equally wonderful.Line to line,page to page,this book made me smile.
The first thing I loved in this book,was Jen.She was so normal and the kind of a girl,I’ll admire immediately.In fact,in times I saw myself in her.From the way she runs to everyone’s aid to the way he gets along with everyone.she was a lot like me.Well,scratch that ‘like’,I was as if I am experiencing the story myself.
Unlike many other books,the hero didn’t grab me.It was not as if I didn’t like Scott,or even Luke for that matter.I liked them both,but not as much as Jen.
I enjoyed Teen Idol greatly.It was like going through a personal experience.I had depth.that can be only understood if you think about it twice after you read it.
So you can imagine my eagerness to read Teen Idol.Note my sarcasm.It was also my first book by Meg Cabot.And from what they say “First impressions are the best ones”,I thought she is one of those authors who write nonsense.
But,boy,I was wrong.Teen Idol was absolutely amazing and Meg Cabot was equally wonderful.Line to line,page to page,this book made me smile.
The first thing I loved in this book,was Jen.She was so normal and the kind of a girl,I’ll admire immediately.In fact,in times I saw myself in her.From the way she runs to everyone’s aid to the way he gets along with everyone.she was a lot like me.Well,scratch that ‘like’,I was as if I am experiencing the story myself.
Unlike many other books,the hero didn’t grab me.It was not as if I didn’t like Scott,or even Luke for that matter.I liked them both,but not as much as Jen.
I enjoyed Teen Idol greatly.It was like going through a personal experience.I had depth.that can be only understood if you think about it twice after you read it.
April 26, 2016
Review posted on Fafa's Book Corner !
Beware spoilers ahead!
DNF
I had read this book back in September 2015. I was going through a Meg Cabot funk and I was really excited to read this. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this.
The book begins with a piece from Dear Annie. A girl was having a dilemma with her grandmother. Her grandmother thought that everything said girl had an interest in is going to send her to Hell. The girl has no idea what to do. Annie responds saying that her grandmother is crazy and that she's already in Hell, it's called high school.
We are then taken to the first chapter in which Jenny is in class. A couple of the boys want to play a prank on their teacher so they steal her favourite doll and go to hide it somewhere. This upsets Jenny because she knows how important that doll is to her teacher. Jenny tries to express her concerns to her best friend (I've forgotten her name). But said best friend brushes it off claiming that the teacher will be fine.
That's about as much as I read. I found it surprising that Jenny was nice whenever you interacted with her for example she really did care about that doll, but when she was Dear Annie she was absolutely rude. I know that in media they portray high school as such, and while it isn't rainbows and sunshine, it's not like Hell. I just found that stupid. And yes that girl's grandmother was weird to consider everything her granddaughter liked Hell worthy, that still doesn't mean you have the right to call someone's grandmother nuts. Even if it's true she doesn't right to say that.
Overall this was not a good book. I cannot bring myself to recommend this.
Beware spoilers ahead!
DNF
I had read this book back in September 2015. I was going through a Meg Cabot funk and I was really excited to read this. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this.
The book begins with a piece from Dear Annie. A girl was having a dilemma with her grandmother. Her grandmother thought that everything said girl had an interest in is going to send her to Hell. The girl has no idea what to do. Annie responds saying that her grandmother is crazy and that she's already in Hell, it's called high school.
We are then taken to the first chapter in which Jenny is in class. A couple of the boys want to play a prank on their teacher so they steal her favourite doll and go to hide it somewhere. This upsets Jenny because she knows how important that doll is to her teacher. Jenny tries to express her concerns to her best friend (I've forgotten her name). But said best friend brushes it off claiming that the teacher will be fine.
That's about as much as I read. I found it surprising that Jenny was nice whenever you interacted with her for example she really did care about that doll, but when she was Dear Annie she was absolutely rude. I know that in media they portray high school as such, and while it isn't rainbows and sunshine, it's not like Hell. I just found that stupid. And yes that girl's grandmother was weird to consider everything her granddaughter liked Hell worthy, that still doesn't mean you have the right to call someone's grandmother nuts. Even if it's true she doesn't right to say that.
Overall this was not a good book. I cannot bring myself to recommend this.
November 16, 2014
You can check out more reviews by me on my blog:
I liked this book, in ways that I really didn't think I would. I had pre-conceived ideas about Teen Idol (I mean, reading the back cover synopsis who wouldn't?) But Meg Cabot did something she tends to do a lot --something I tend to forget and therefore don't give her credit for-- she surprised me!
And, Cabot really intrigued me by making sure that not only did I not realise Jen wasn't falling for Luke for a while --she was too busy realising she was already in love with the cute editor-in-cheif of the school newspaper-- but that the reason I didn't realise this was because Jenny herself didn't realise it..
It was cute, and if you're looking for a light read then this is the perfect choice!
Over and out, T x
I liked this book, in ways that I really didn't think I would. I had pre-conceived ideas about Teen Idol (I mean, reading the back cover synopsis who wouldn't?) But Meg Cabot did something she tends to do a lot --something I tend to forget and therefore don't give her credit for-- she surprised me!
And, Cabot really intrigued me by making sure that not only did I not realise Jen wasn't falling for Luke for a while --she was too busy realising she was already in love with the cute editor-in-cheif of the school newspaper-- but that the reason I didn't realise this was because Jenny herself didn't realise it..
It was cute, and if you're looking for a light read then this is the perfect choice!
Over and out, T x
November 8, 2016
Oh, I just really liked this. I loved Jen, and how she was mayonnaise and secret sauce, and how she wielded so much power through niceness. I liked her secret identity a lot, and how she cared about her latin teacher's doll, of all things.
I really liked that a hot movie star came to school - secretly! identity porn! - and that he became friends with our heroine but was clearly not meant to be her love interest. And Scoooott, I thought he was so dreamy, with the reading of dystopian books as a means of seduction. (This would also work on me, fyi, I mean, if anybody wants to seduce me.) I liked the growing up everybody does (Trina and Steve! "Anything you want, baby, I love you!" Cara! Obviously Jenny herself!).
And I liked how it ended with a girl saying she wants to be President, because it seemed like a good omen for today. I'M WITH HER.
I really liked that a hot movie star came to school - secretly! identity porn! - and that he became friends with our heroine but was clearly not meant to be her love interest. And Scoooott, I thought he was so dreamy, with the reading of dystopian books as a means of seduction. (This would also work on me, fyi, I mean, if anybody wants to seduce me.) I liked the growing up everybody does (Trina and Steve! "Anything you want, baby, I love you!" Cara! Obviously Jenny herself!).
And I liked how it ended with a girl saying she wants to be President, because it seemed like a good omen for today. I'M WITH HER.
October 3, 2020
Although I do have a few issues with this book, I liked it overall. It was cute and made me smile!
But on the minus side, it portrayed being a nice person as something oh-so-lame. Every now and then Jenny (the protagonist) goes - 'Oh no. I'm so nice and everyone's friend. How sad for me.' Which was a little ridiculous but ok. And I hadn't really noticed this the last few times I read the book, but the writing seemed a bit puerile? Considering how into literature most of the characters seem to be, the way they talked and thought seemed silly.
Otherwise, this book is a light and fun read. If you don't think too much!
But on the minus side, it portrayed being a nice person as something oh-so-lame. Every now and then Jenny (the protagonist) goes - 'Oh no. I'm so nice and everyone's friend. How sad for me.' Which was a little ridiculous but ok. And I hadn't really noticed this the last few times I read the book, but the writing seemed a bit puerile? Considering how into literature most of the characters seem to be, the way they talked and thought seemed silly.
Otherwise, this book is a light and fun read. If you don't think too much!
September 4, 2017
Though there were some good messages here, I didn't love the repeating theme that all teen sex is normal and fine, just use a condom. I'm sure I was more sensitive to it as my 13-year-old was reading it to me, but I still think that's irresponsible in a book so very clearly geared to tweens. Hearing this story was akin to being trapped in a 12-year-old's silly fantasy: intelligence-insulting and way too long.
July 8, 2012
To see full review and Hollywood Analysis click here: http://yalbookbriefs.blogspot.com/201...
I often forget about Teen Idol and it's not because it's a bad book, in comparison's to Meg's other titles this one is sort of....well, just there.
The book itself has fairly decent characters and it the storyline is solid enough. But it's nothing special. And perhaps that's what my problem with it is.
The plot is pretty generic, good girl Jen's life is changed when movie star Luke Striker shows up in her small town and shakes up things. Honestly, while I am glad that Cabot didn't go the cliche route of having Jen and Luke end up together, I really wondered what Luke's purpose was other than to be a catalyst. Couldn't Jen come up with the conclusion that things in her life weren't perfect? From what was happening in her life before Luke's intervention, I believe she could. But I guess the book wouldn't have sold if he hadn't made an appearance.
Also, another big issue I had with Luke was who he ended up with. Geri was a quasi horrible bitchy character. And while it was true she was nowhere near the likes of Lana Weinberger, I still didn't like that all the boys-including Scott-seemed to like her. Especially Luke who seemed to be about seeing someone's natural beauty. Geri just seemed to be this brash kind of bitchy character. She wasn't terrible, but I just don't see her Luke let alone Scott.
As for Scott, the love interest in the novel, I didn't like him as much as some of Cabot's other heros. He wasn't awful. He was nice. He cooked. And I liked that, I just felt like I didn't get to know him that well. And while I understand why Jen liked him, I wished their relationship would've been more developed.
Things I really did like about this book: the fact that it was a stand alone. While I do like series, it was nice to read something where I didn't have to wait for a sequel. And I really liked how everything was wrapped up in this book. Plus, did I mention it had a nice message that wasn't overly preachy. Yes, that was nice. Plus, did I mention that there's show choir in this book. Yes, all you Gleeks there are some pretty funny show choir scenes in this book which makes me think they really need to bring on Meg Cabot as a consultant for Glee.
Best Feature: Not Your Typical Hollywood Story: This book isn't what I expect, meaning I thought Luke and Jen were going to fall in love with each other. No, that didn't happen. And I liked that in a weird way, but at the same time I really had to wonder what was Luke's purpose other than being Jen's Jiminy Cricket. Still though, despite Luke's lack of a role to the story, I liked that it wasn't cliche.
Worst Feature: Meh. As far as Meg Cabot novels go, this is a good book. But it's not that memorable. While I think there was a good message in the novel. I just....I wanted something more. I honestly, felt while the foundation was there, there was just something off about the book that it never reached its potential. Perhaps, it was how Luke was handled as a character and for that matter who he ended up with.
Appropriateness: This is a pretty clean novel. There is some bullying that goes on in the book, but other than that I can't think of anything remotely inappropriate. In fact, I would recommend this book for teens because of the bullying issues that go on in the book. I love the message this book tries to send without being overly preachy.
I often forget about Teen Idol and it's not because it's a bad book, in comparison's to Meg's other titles this one is sort of....well, just there.
The book itself has fairly decent characters and it the storyline is solid enough. But it's nothing special. And perhaps that's what my problem with it is.
The plot is pretty generic, good girl Jen's life is changed when movie star Luke Striker shows up in her small town and shakes up things. Honestly, while I am glad that Cabot didn't go the cliche route of having Jen and Luke end up together, I really wondered what Luke's purpose was other than to be a catalyst. Couldn't Jen come up with the conclusion that things in her life weren't perfect? From what was happening in her life before Luke's intervention, I believe she could. But I guess the book wouldn't have sold if he hadn't made an appearance.
Also, another big issue I had with Luke was who he ended up with. Geri was a quasi horrible bitchy character. And while it was true she was nowhere near the likes of Lana Weinberger, I still didn't like that all the boys-including Scott-seemed to like her. Especially Luke who seemed to be about seeing someone's natural beauty. Geri just seemed to be this brash kind of bitchy character. She wasn't terrible, but I just don't see her Luke let alone Scott.
As for Scott, the love interest in the novel, I didn't like him as much as some of Cabot's other heros. He wasn't awful. He was nice. He cooked. And I liked that, I just felt like I didn't get to know him that well. And while I understand why Jen liked him, I wished their relationship would've been more developed.
Things I really did like about this book: the fact that it was a stand alone. While I do like series, it was nice to read something where I didn't have to wait for a sequel. And I really liked how everything was wrapped up in this book. Plus, did I mention it had a nice message that wasn't overly preachy. Yes, that was nice. Plus, did I mention that there's show choir in this book. Yes, all you Gleeks there are some pretty funny show choir scenes in this book which makes me think they really need to bring on Meg Cabot as a consultant for Glee.
Best Feature: Not Your Typical Hollywood Story: This book isn't what I expect, meaning I thought Luke and Jen were going to fall in love with each other. No, that didn't happen. And I liked that in a weird way, but at the same time I really had to wonder what was Luke's purpose other than being Jen's Jiminy Cricket. Still though, despite Luke's lack of a role to the story, I liked that it wasn't cliche.
Worst Feature: Meh. As far as Meg Cabot novels go, this is a good book. But it's not that memorable. While I think there was a good message in the novel. I just....I wanted something more. I honestly, felt while the foundation was there, there was just something off about the book that it never reached its potential. Perhaps, it was how Luke was handled as a character and for that matter who he ended up with.
Appropriateness: This is a pretty clean novel. There is some bullying that goes on in the book, but other than that I can't think of anything remotely inappropriate. In fact, I would recommend this book for teens because of the bullying issues that go on in the book. I love the message this book tries to send without being overly preachy.
November 15, 2025
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In high school I couldn't get enough of Meg Cabot. And Teen Idol was always my favorite of her books! Reading back through it today, all I can say is, I love it almost as much as I did then! Seriously, the plot is just adorable (and just within the realm of reality/slightly teetering on the unbelievable, but in a really good way). The characters are excellent! Seriously, I want to be friends with Jenny. And Scott. And I've had friends that are exactly like Trina! I did get seriously nostalgia reading this book again and it was amazing.
As stated previously, the story itself was amazing. I also loved the Dear Annie additions! I thought it was a great way to show that Jenny did have a little bit more of a personality. Not that I'm dissing on Jenny's normal personality at all! But the Annie letters had a bit more of a bite to them, where Jenny was just straight up nice to everyone.
Scott, of course, was a perfect book boyfriend. He was Jenny's friend when he was unavailable/thought she was unavailable. And when he realized they were both available, he was still the same sweet, funny guy he'd always been with her. I loved that nothing changed for him and her, except that they finally admitted their feelings for each other.
I'm also super happy (and thought it was super adorable) about Luke and the mystery woman from Clayton High School (if you've read the book then you know who that is and if you haven't then I won't ruin that for you). Also, the whole Trina and Steve romance thing. Honestly, I just loved the whole thing through. All the people and their love lives. It really just puts me back into high school (although, I'm very much with Luke on the whole high school issue. It's basically prison. With worse people. Haha. Except for the people that I cared about, which, in this book, would be Luke, Scott, Trina, Steve, Jenny).
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In high school I couldn't get enough of Meg Cabot. And Teen Idol was always my favorite of her books! Reading back through it today, all I can say is, I love it almost as much as I did then! Seriously, the plot is just adorable (and just within the realm of reality/slightly teetering on the unbelievable, but in a really good way). The characters are excellent! Seriously, I want to be friends with Jenny. And Scott. And I've had friends that are exactly like Trina! I did get seriously nostalgia reading this book again and it was amazing.
As stated previously, the story itself was amazing. I also loved the Dear Annie additions! I thought it was a great way to show that Jenny did have a little bit more of a personality. Not that I'm dissing on Jenny's normal personality at all! But the Annie letters had a bit more of a bite to them, where Jenny was just straight up nice to everyone.
Scott, of course, was a perfect book boyfriend. He was Jenny's friend when he was unavailable/thought she was unavailable. And when he realized they were both available, he was still the same sweet, funny guy he'd always been with her. I loved that nothing changed for him and her, except that they finally admitted their feelings for each other.
I'm also super happy (and thought it was super adorable) about Luke and the mystery woman from Clayton High School (if you've read the book then you know who that is and if you haven't then I won't ruin that for you). Also, the whole Trina and Steve romance thing. Honestly, I just loved the whole thing through. All the people and their love lives. It really just puts me back into high school (although, I'm very much with Luke on the whole high school issue. It's basically prison. With worse people. Haha. Except for the people that I cared about, which, in this book, would be Luke, Scott, Trina, Steve, Jenny).
April 2, 2013
Sweet and romantic. I found it extremely satisfying. This is one of those reads when after a tiring day, you just lean back against your couch, prop your feet up on a stool and start to read. It was nice to see that the heroine- a character who always has to be the "nice" person, grow up into someone who can actually take a stand. I found Luke and Scott extremely lovable as well; they're just perfect.
April 12, 2011
Well, I'm hit-and-miss with Meg Cabot. I love love love All-American Girl, but I'm so very disappointed in the premise of the following title that I refuse to read it. The Princess Diaries did not interest me, and Avalon High didn't immediately capture my interest. Anywho, I did not have extremely high hopes for Teen Idol, but I was hoping for a nice little light, predictable teen romance.
It's pretty much just that, but with random messages of social change that are really quite annoying. This book makes being "just the nice girl" seem like the worst thing in the world. In order to be a good person, this book claims, you must break whatever rules you don't happen to like, and boss people around. I kind of understood the point Cabot was trying to make, about not being a pushover who's always just fueling the negatives when they're really trying to make things better, but it seemed that the main character was becoming a jerk.
Teen Idol is not fully what you would expect if you look at the back cover. I thought the novel would be more about Jenny as an advice columnist on her school paper, and helping the star. Early on, his identity is revealed and the story shifts to the "social change" thing and Jenny's "complicated" relationship with the guy she should obviously be with.
Final rant: You know it's bad when a book's syntax is so obvious that it's detracting from your focus on the actual story. Well the story goes a lot like this - with hyphens - all over the place ... and it gets confusing - the story, I mean. (How many times could she use the phrase "I mean"? !!!!!!) I suppose this is part of the character's voice, but it is excruciating to read at times. You should never be struggling to understand a book like this, but at times I caught myself trying to keep things straight simply because it was like a math problem, with parentheses within parentheses within brackets.
After all that, I have to say the story had some nice twists and somewhat complex characters. If you like Meg Cabot's stuff, you'll like this. But once you've read one, you've read them all, and I'd suggest that one be All-American Girl, not Teen Idol.
It's pretty much just that, but with random messages of social change that are really quite annoying. This book makes being "just the nice girl" seem like the worst thing in the world. In order to be a good person, this book claims, you must break whatever rules you don't happen to like, and boss people around. I kind of understood the point Cabot was trying to make, about not being a pushover who's always just fueling the negatives when they're really trying to make things better, but it seemed that the main character was becoming a jerk.
Teen Idol is not fully what you would expect if you look at the back cover. I thought the novel would be more about Jenny as an advice columnist on her school paper, and helping the star. Early on, his identity is revealed and the story shifts to the "social change" thing and Jenny's "complicated" relationship with the guy she should obviously be with.
Final rant: You know it's bad when a book's syntax is so obvious that it's detracting from your focus on the actual story. Well the story goes a lot like this - with hyphens - all over the place ... and it gets confusing - the story, I mean. (How many times could she use the phrase "I mean"? !!!!!!) I suppose this is part of the character's voice, but it is excruciating to read at times. You should never be struggling to understand a book like this, but at times I caught myself trying to keep things straight simply because it was like a math problem, with parentheses within parentheses within brackets.
After all that, I have to say the story had some nice twists and somewhat complex characters. If you like Meg Cabot's stuff, you'll like this. But once you've read one, you've read them all, and I'd suggest that one be All-American Girl, not Teen Idol.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2012
Reviewed by Spreeha for TeensReadToo.com
Jenny Greenly has been everybody's best friend or, like her REAL best friend called her, mayonnaise. She even helps out people with them not knowing it's her. You see, Jen is the secret advisor, Annie, who people go to to solve their personal relationships. She does the layout and the other secret thing (being Annie) for the Clayton High School Register in Clayton, Indiana. Of course, only the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and a few other administrators of the school know about the Ask Annie thing. But something very big is about to happen in the small town of Clayton.
Nineteen-year-old screen sensation Luke Striker is coming to this town to research a role for a big project coming up. So the school suggested Jenny be the one to show Luke around the school and keep this whole deal a secret. They decided for him to be a transfer student named Lucas Smith. Jen thought that Luke was going to be coming in like a week -- not the very next day! Anyway, Jen is not the type of person who gets star struck by a CELEBRITY! But I guess this was a very first for her. As she got to spend more time with Luke she seemed comfortable around him and didn't think he was one of those people who are just snotty, mean, and self-centered.
But will Luke turn out to be someone Jen didn't think he was going to be? Will she blow his cover with a little mistake or will Luke manage to do that on his own? Find out!
This book is so awesome! It's just so many things happening that you feel like you're totally in the moment! I personally think that Meg Cabot's books are really good and just right on with the every day life of teens.
Jenny Greenly has been everybody's best friend or, like her REAL best friend called her, mayonnaise. She even helps out people with them not knowing it's her. You see, Jen is the secret advisor, Annie, who people go to to solve their personal relationships. She does the layout and the other secret thing (being Annie) for the Clayton High School Register in Clayton, Indiana. Of course, only the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and a few other administrators of the school know about the Ask Annie thing. But something very big is about to happen in the small town of Clayton.
Nineteen-year-old screen sensation Luke Striker is coming to this town to research a role for a big project coming up. So the school suggested Jenny be the one to show Luke around the school and keep this whole deal a secret. They decided for him to be a transfer student named Lucas Smith. Jen thought that Luke was going to be coming in like a week -- not the very next day! Anyway, Jen is not the type of person who gets star struck by a CELEBRITY! But I guess this was a very first for her. As she got to spend more time with Luke she seemed comfortable around him and didn't think he was one of those people who are just snotty, mean, and self-centered.
But will Luke turn out to be someone Jen didn't think he was going to be? Will she blow his cover with a little mistake or will Luke manage to do that on his own? Find out!
This book is so awesome! It's just so many things happening that you feel like you're totally in the moment! I personally think that Meg Cabot's books are really good and just right on with the every day life of teens.
August 29, 2017
(3.5 stars) Okay, this was cute. The story was actually a decent one, and not what I expected when it comes to "celebrity heartthrob goes undercover at local high school and interacts with the normal students" because that usually means that there's a celebrity-falling-for-a-mortal plot. This was refreshingly different! Jen Greenley, an ordinary junior in her small Indiana school, is the anonymous student newspaper columnist Ask Annie. Because she can keep a secret so well, the school administration asks her to keep some exciting news on the down-low: Luke Striker, 19-year-old Hollywood celebrity, is coming to their small town for two weeks to research a role, and want her to be his student guide.
Meg Cabot, unfortunately, sounds the same no matter what. Her Jen Greenley's voice and style is the exact same as Mia Thermopolis of The Princess Diaries. Her writing is also very conversational, which helps Jen/Mia to sound like a typical 17-year-old, but can be pretty irritating. Probably 80% of her sentences started off with "And" "So" "Anyway" and "But." Still, short cute read, nice palette cleanser before going on to something heavier.
Meg Cabot, unfortunately, sounds the same no matter what. Her Jen Greenley's voice and style is the exact same as Mia Thermopolis of The Princess Diaries. Her writing is also very conversational, which helps Jen/Mia to sound like a typical 17-year-old, but can be pretty irritating. Probably 80% of her sentences started off with "And" "So" "Anyway" and "But." Still, short cute read, nice palette cleanser before going on to something heavier.
October 24, 2015
2.5. I listened to this on audio and that is not what I didn't like about it. I really enjoy audio books. What I didn't like was the ending....mostly.
I shall now begin ranting.
So I'm a total sucker for books where the snotty stuck-up celebrity/popular person falls in love with the normal-ish everyday main character.
Before you ask, yes that did happen in the book.....but was it with our main character Jenny Greenley? NO!
Was it with some dumb stupid senior girl named Geri who we barely know anything or even care about?! YES!
Seriously we don't know that much about her. There was barely any characterization there! She is a senior and she was dating Scott.....the end. Any other facts that I'm missing? NONE! Because there are none to mention.
That pissed me off so bad!
And that's not the main reason I hated it. WHO THE HELL FALLS IN LOVE OVER THE FREAKING PHONE?
Yes people that is EXACTLY what happened.
Our beautifully handsome sexy and kind male celebrity Luke Striker was phoning Geri very often to check on Jenny, and then their conversations slowly switched to talking about Geri and then Geri/Luke combo. They fell in love over the phone.
Is that not the stupidest romantic outcome ever?!
First off, Luke never bothered to associate with Geri before. He always hung around Jenny and mainly talk to Jenny.
Geri only "loves" him because he's a hot and sought-after celebrity. There is no way she can fancy herself in love with him, or him her, for that matter.
When I heard that part, my eyes went wide. I was so tempting to look at the screen of my Mp3, scream "WHAT?" and risk being dubbed crazy by my family, and chuck the device across the room. On top of that Luke ditched his Spring Fling/Prom date (Jenny). Even if she gave him permission, who does that? finish the night then go get a room with the stupid hormonal senior girl!
On to the Scott situation. I can sort of see why Jenny would fall in love with Scott, but he didn't have much characterization either. More than Geri, but still.
I think my ranting is over.
I find it cool that Jenny is "Ask Annie". I also find it interesting that her personality/outgoingness changed by the end of the book. I liked the change. Except how she was being sort of mean as Ask Annie. She didn't have to switch her hidden and real personas. She could have staying nice and helpful in both....guess not.
I am confused by the relevance of the Betty-Ann doll. The Senior Prank? It was an interesting touch but didn't have much importance.
The Cara Schlosberg case: sad yet inspiring. Good of Jenny to do some helping in the spotlight instead of behind the scenes.
Catrina "Trina". She finally realized that Steve was her "soul mate".
only know you love her when you let her go....
In this case it's "him". It was really mean of her to take advantage of him like that. At least Jenny made her open her eyes. I loved their reunion! It was so cute!
I didn't like her "I hate Jenny" episode. At least she came out of it and realized she made a mistake.
There definitely could have been more characterization of Jenny's family.
I love Luke. Even though his head didn't seem to be screwed on right when he fell in love OVER THE PHONE!
Sorry....I will never get over that.
He's hot (of course) and he isn't stuck-up. I liked that he actually cared about what happened at Clayton and in high schools in general.
It was rather stupid of him to take his shirt off though.
Mr. Hall is a self-loving jerk face of a teacher who I don't like. The Troubadours bit was funny. A nice touch.
I was liking this book mostly until the end. I didn't hate it, but it definitely annoyed me!
I shall now begin ranting.
So I'm a total sucker for books where the snotty stuck-up celebrity/popular person falls in love with the normal-ish everyday main character.
Before you ask, yes that did happen in the book.....but was it with our main character Jenny Greenley? NO!
Was it with some dumb stupid senior girl named Geri who we barely know anything or even care about?! YES!
Seriously we don't know that much about her. There was barely any characterization there! She is a senior and she was dating Scott.....the end. Any other facts that I'm missing? NONE! Because there are none to mention.
That pissed me off so bad!
And that's not the main reason I hated it. WHO THE HELL FALLS IN LOVE OVER THE FREAKING PHONE?
Yes people that is EXACTLY what happened.
Our beautifully handsome sexy and kind male celebrity Luke Striker was phoning Geri very often to check on Jenny, and then their conversations slowly switched to talking about Geri and then Geri/Luke combo. They fell in love over the phone.
Is that not the stupidest romantic outcome ever?!
First off, Luke never bothered to associate with Geri before. He always hung around Jenny and mainly talk to Jenny.
Geri only "loves" him because he's a hot and sought-after celebrity. There is no way she can fancy herself in love with him, or him her, for that matter.
When I heard that part, my eyes went wide. I was so tempting to look at the screen of my Mp3, scream "WHAT?" and risk being dubbed crazy by my family, and chuck the device across the room. On top of that Luke ditched his Spring Fling/Prom date (Jenny). Even if she gave him permission, who does that? finish the night then go get a room with the stupid hormonal senior girl!
On to the Scott situation. I can sort of see why Jenny would fall in love with Scott, but he didn't have much characterization either. More than Geri, but still.
I think my ranting is over.
I find it cool that Jenny is "Ask Annie". I also find it interesting that her personality/outgoingness changed by the end of the book. I liked the change. Except how she was being sort of mean as Ask Annie. She didn't have to switch her hidden and real personas. She could have staying nice and helpful in both....guess not.
I am confused by the relevance of the Betty-Ann doll. The Senior Prank? It was an interesting touch but didn't have much importance.
The Cara Schlosberg case: sad yet inspiring. Good of Jenny to do some helping in the spotlight instead of behind the scenes.
Catrina "Trina". She finally realized that Steve was her "soul mate".
only know you love her when you let her go....
In this case it's "him". It was really mean of her to take advantage of him like that. At least Jenny made her open her eyes. I loved their reunion! It was so cute!
I didn't like her "I hate Jenny" episode. At least she came out of it and realized she made a mistake.
There definitely could have been more characterization of Jenny's family.
I love Luke. Even though his head didn't seem to be screwed on right when he fell in love OVER THE PHONE!
Sorry....I will never get over that.
He's hot (of course) and he isn't stuck-up. I liked that he actually cared about what happened at Clayton and in high schools in general.
It was rather stupid of him to take his shirt off though.
Mr. Hall is a self-loving jerk face of a teacher who I don't like. The Troubadours bit was funny. A nice touch.
I was liking this book mostly until the end. I didn't hate it, but it definitely annoyed me!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2015
Dear Annie,
I love him. He doesn't know I'm alive. What do I do now?
Desperate
-
Dear Desperate,
When you figure that out, could you please let me know?
Because I haven't the foggiest idea.
Annie
Jen
Jen's your typical 'girl-next-door.' She's nice, she's caring and she will always be there to wipe your tears.
Jen was, what you would call, a 'goody-two-shoes,' and could get away with a few things.
Luke, a teenage heart throb, and once he got to know her a little, had told Jen that she could make a difference to the school, which happened to lack respect and courtesy.
She was on the school newspaper because she was "Ask Annie" and gave advice to those who sent for help. Jen actually had a truthful and trustful nature, maing it easier for people to like her.
At times, her advice was funny and I think her responses were pretty good.
Scott
Scott's parents split, making him move to another place with his mother. Then one day, he came back to Clayton High, seemingly giving his father a chance, and started to live with him.
He's apparently the 'geeky' type and worked at the newspaper thingo as well. He, and a few other staff members, knew that "Ask Annie" was in fact Jen.
I actually liked Scott. He was pretty laid back and, to be honest, was way more attractive than Luke.
Trina
At first I was like, "WTF, bro?"
But then I realised that's how she is. Crazily, overly obsessed with Luke Striker, a guy she will never have.
Then I was like, what a son of a bitch.
I hated her. I really, really, really, really, really, - words cannot express how much I didn't like her. Trina was a self absorbed, using bitch that used Steve and didn't care for Jen.
SMH.
But even when she apologised, I still didn't like her. At all. I still don't.
Luke
Luke was alright, I mean, I thought he was supposed to be hot? I guess he was but I didn't fall for him one. Tiny. Bit.
He was annoying, bossy and confusing. But I liked how he cared for people and cared for 'making a difference.'
Yeah...that's all I got.
Overall
This book was a light read - I read it in, like, a few hours.
I liked Scott, disliked Trina.
No, what I liked was when Jen stopped being nice and started being straight forward. I don't know why she wasn't like that in the first place.
Anyways, I have no idea why I read this and now I'm going to stop because I have nothing to say...type? Whatever.
I love him. He doesn't know I'm alive. What do I do now?
Desperate
-
Dear Desperate,
When you figure that out, could you please let me know?
Because I haven't the foggiest idea.
Annie
Jen
Jen's your typical 'girl-next-door.' She's nice, she's caring and she will always be there to wipe your tears.
Jen was, what you would call, a 'goody-two-shoes,' and could get away with a few things.
Luke, a teenage heart throb, and once he got to know her a little, had told Jen that she could make a difference to the school, which happened to lack respect and courtesy.
She was on the school newspaper because she was "Ask Annie" and gave advice to those who sent for help. Jen actually had a truthful and trustful nature, maing it easier for people to like her.
At times, her advice was funny and I think her responses were pretty good.
Scott
Scott's parents split, making him move to another place with his mother. Then one day, he came back to Clayton High, seemingly giving his father a chance, and started to live with him.
He's apparently the 'geeky' type and worked at the newspaper thingo as well. He, and a few other staff members, knew that "Ask Annie" was in fact Jen.
I actually liked Scott. He was pretty laid back and, to be honest, was way more attractive than Luke.
Trina
At first I was like, "WTF, bro?"
But then I realised that's how she is. Crazily, overly obsessed with Luke Striker, a guy she will never have.
Then I was like, what a son of a bitch.
I hated her. I really, really, really, really, really, - words cannot express how much I didn't like her. Trina was a self absorbed, using bitch that used Steve and didn't care for Jen.
SMH.
But even when she apologised, I still didn't like her. At all. I still don't.
Luke
Luke was alright, I mean, I thought he was supposed to be hot? I guess he was but I didn't fall for him one. Tiny. Bit.
He was annoying, bossy and confusing. But I liked how he cared for people and cared for 'making a difference.'
Yeah...that's all I got.
Overall
This book was a light read - I read it in, like, a few hours.
I liked Scott, disliked Trina.
No, what I liked was when Jen stopped being nice and started being straight forward. I don't know why she wasn't like that in the first place.
Anyways, I have no idea why I read this and now I'm going to stop because I have nothing to say...type? Whatever.
February 21, 2008
Very good. Please try it! I loved it. Girl next door gets to be a movie star's school guide, discovers her love has been with her all along.
February 25, 2019
Ahh this was so cheesy but it’s soooo nice to finally have finished a book this year! Love u Meg Cabot!
May 22, 2024
Didn't slap as I remember it slapped
September 9, 2019
Rating: 3.5 Stars
I needed a book set in Indiana for my reading challenge, and I thought, Meg Cabot - why not?
I think I started this book thinking it was going to be more about the Hollywood teen idol, Luke, but really, it was Jenny, who was the teen idol.
She had been playing the role of peacekeeper for a long while. They thought of her as the mayonnaise, the one who held everyone together. She often committed acts of kindness, expecting nothing in return, but she was not one to cause any waves. I loved that Luke challenged her to use her influence in bigger ways. She did a lot of brave and bold things at Luke's urging, and it was great watching her take those chances.
I also enjoyed some of the references in this story more than I should have. But, seriously, I really miss Chi Chi's.
Overall: This book was fun and cute, and I could get behind the overall message. Oh, and there was lots of Latin phrases being thrown around. ❤️
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
I needed a book set in Indiana for my reading challenge, and I thought, Meg Cabot - why not?
I think I started this book thinking it was going to be more about the Hollywood teen idol, Luke, but really, it was Jenny, who was the teen idol.
She had been playing the role of peacekeeper for a long while. They thought of her as the mayonnaise, the one who held everyone together. She often committed acts of kindness, expecting nothing in return, but she was not one to cause any waves. I loved that Luke challenged her to use her influence in bigger ways. She did a lot of brave and bold things at Luke's urging, and it was great watching her take those chances.
I also enjoyed some of the references in this story more than I should have. But, seriously, I really miss Chi Chi's.
Overall: This book was fun and cute, and I could get behind the overall message. Oh, and there was lots of Latin phrases being thrown around. ❤️
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
February 16, 2019
Totally held up!
I didn't really remember Teen Idol the way I did a bunch of Meg Cabot's other books, and it's funny because I feel like many of the ones I loved back then I'm not impressed with now, but this one was eh to me when I was a teen and I'm impressed with it now. Cabot does some trope-flipping in this one that I probably couldn't really appreciate when I was less well read but that I now find delightful.
Part of why Teen Idol ages so well is that Jenny Greenley, unlike most of Cabot's main characters isn't judgmental, so this book does not have the slut shaming that mars many of Cabot's earlier works from a more educated outlook. Luke Striker ends up being different from what you expect him to be, and it's all just very pleasant. A story that easily could have been full of jealousy and hatefulness and is full of healthy relationships, friendship, and kindness instead.
I didn't really remember Teen Idol the way I did a bunch of Meg Cabot's other books, and it's funny because I feel like many of the ones I loved back then I'm not impressed with now, but this one was eh to me when I was a teen and I'm impressed with it now. Cabot does some trope-flipping in this one that I probably couldn't really appreciate when I was less well read but that I now find delightful.
Part of why Teen Idol ages so well is that Jenny Greenley, unlike most of Cabot's main characters isn't judgmental, so this book does not have the slut shaming that mars many of Cabot's earlier works from a more educated outlook. Luke Striker ends up being different from what you expect him to be, and it's all just very pleasant. A story that easily could have been full of jealousy and hatefulness and is full of healthy relationships, friendship, and kindness instead.
July 9, 2020
Although different to the books I usually read, I'm happy I ventured outside the box. I enjoyed Teen Idol but I don't particularly love the ending. Nonetheless, Teen Idol has an engaging plot and a sense of light heartedness throughout.
September 7, 2018
Not as good as I remember. But won't change my rating because my 15 year old self loved it & I owe her my loyalty.
September 29, 2019
I used to read this book again and again in middle school. My copy is buried somewhere at my parents' house falling apart.
Read
January 10, 2024So apparently I read this physically 4 years ago (no idea what inspired me to pick it up then but whatever) so I can’t do a rating of this edition since Goodreads does not allow you to review more than one edition of a book.
I really didn’t enjoy the story at all, but I enjoy audiobooks narrated by celebrities and this book is narrated by Elisabeth Moss (obviously she did this obviously many years prior to her work on Handmaid’s Tale). I thought she did a decent job but she didn’t change her voice at all for any of the characters. She just spoke every character in the same tone which made it hard to differentiate who was talking. This book is mostly the main character narrating so the one voice worked, but normally I like at least some differences in tone for a different speaker.
In regards to the story, I had forgotten how problematic it was in spots. Definitely not a favorite.
I really didn’t enjoy the story at all, but I enjoy audiobooks narrated by celebrities and this book is narrated by Elisabeth Moss (obviously she did this obviously many years prior to her work on Handmaid’s Tale). I thought she did a decent job but she didn’t change her voice at all for any of the characters. She just spoke every character in the same tone which made it hard to differentiate who was talking. This book is mostly the main character narrating so the one voice worked, but normally I like at least some differences in tone for a different speaker.
In regards to the story, I had forgotten how problematic it was in spots. Definitely not a favorite.
Read
May 29, 2026Bookshelf reread.
The book follows Jenny Greenley, the well liked condiment of her school, which is full of bullying and cruelty and awful people, and she alone cares about everyone, which is very bizarre because how can there be so many selfish sociopaths in one place? The story didn’t say so, but perhaps this school is where they send diagnosed sociopaths from across the nation and her family just didn’t get the memo.
Jen is happily a member of her school’s newspaper or whatever it’s called, officially working on the layout for each paper, and unofficially acting as the anonymous Ask Annie, a column held by a secret writer allowing students to write in with their questions and receive unbiased advice. She was chosen for this role because she’s good at keeping secrets, impartial, and well liked by everyone because she is good to others and always smooths things over and offers good advice. She is also an unhappy member of the school’s show choir, as her friend Trina tricked her into joining by not mentioning it involved dance and a diva teacher. She also tricked her head-over-heels, on-again-off-again boyfriend Steve to join the show choir, and they spend most of the book preparing for their competition while Jen gets yelled at for her poor arm dancing.
Jen is called to the principal’s office to meet with a bunch of teachers and a manager because her secret keeping makes her the perfect student guide candidate for famous movie star Luke Stryker when he comes to their school for two weeks undercover in preparation for a role. Trina is obsessed with Luke and Jen doesn’t care, so she reluctantly agrees.
Luke arrives looking scraggly but still apparently gorgeous no matter what he wears. He is sleepy at first, and alarmed at what he learns about school, with it beginning so early in the morning and lasting over seven hours and not having coffee on hand. Ha! Loser. Jen never figures him out, even though she figures out everyone. I also didn’t figure him out, but unless it’s blatantly obvious like all the other characters, it’s normal for me to not figure people out.
What makes Luke realize he’s at a school of sociopaths is when Cara Schlodinger or whatever her name is goes through the lunch line and a cacophony of mooing begins from her classmates until she begs them to stop and runs out crying. He is appalled, but the others assure him Jen will fix her up before their next class, so he follows her to the girls’ bathroom to overhear her pep talk to Cara, but he’s still disappointed that she helped her after the damage was done and didn’t stop it, while Jen is terrified that overstepping could result in everyone turning on her and her becoming a pariah. She’s non-confrontational, but for some reason she snaps back at Luke and then worries she’s driven him away. She also kind of hopes she’s driven him away.
He stays for a bit longer and learns more about the place, until he shows up to help the show choir’s car wash and takes off his shirt, where his famous tattoo is visible and everyone realizes who he is, starting a riot. The police are called and his constant limo that no one but Jen ever notices arrives to take him away, and he calls for Jen to join him.
He seems freer now that the truth is out and he can gush out what he wants to say. He tells Jen she has more power than she realizes, as the only people who maybe don’t like Jen are her choir teacher and the popular jerk Kirk (Kurt?), and that she should make a real change to fix the things that bother her and make the school a better place. While that is great and all, let’s try to remember that she only has one year left and no matter what difference she makes, future students can still be awful to each other. I guess she should make a difference to the people she’s with now anyway though.
He then goes back to wherever he goes rather than completing his acting research, but says he’ll come back for the Spring Fling as her date, and he maintains sources to hear how things are going with Jen and make sure she’s okay, because it would certainly be weird for him to talk to her, the rare person he considers his actual friend.
She takes what he said to heart and gets to work making changes, starting with telling Trina not to go to a movie with Steve just so he’ll pay before she dumps him afterward because she thinks she has a chance of going to the dance with Luke. Trina is meanly offended by this and gets mad at her. Shortly afterward, annoyed by her constantly talking about Luke, Steve dumps her for the first time and she blames Jen for this.
Jen’s mom is friends with Cara’s mom and is up to date on her struggles, which she always tells Jen about and asks her to take Cara under her wing. Cara is called Cara Cow by her peers, because she’s a little overweight and is strongly effected by the bullying and tries to dress like the popular crowd in styles that are unflattering to her. Jen goes to her at lunch and requests visiting her house after school.
All the bullying and lack of any empathy that Cara goes through (Luke was big on his shock over the lack of empathy) makes it a wonder why Cara hasn’t gone to extremes, but the book probably didn’t want to go that dark. Jen goes to her house and chooses which clothes she can wear and throws out the others, then dyes her hair and restyles it and teaches her makeup and tells her these are her looks now. Cara’s parents are ecstatic she has a friend and spoil Jen during her visit.
The next day, she goes through the lunch line with Cara, who has strict orders not to react to any mooing. Very little happens because everyone’s so shocked they’re together, and only Kirk tries to moo as they sit down, so Jen questions him and before he can go farther, a cheerleader elbows him and locks eyes with Jen, showing she does have power.
Trina’s anger at her makes her mad at Trina, and feeling especially blameful that her solution to her struggles to pass a hat to her during one of their songs is no longer working because of Trina’s anger, and when the hat lands in someone’s tuba, the teacher goes off on Jen and accuses her of sabotage and says if she won’t do things how he wants, she can leave, so she leaves and throws out the expensive dress they had to buy for their competition. She starts hiding out in the library during this class period and is terrified the office teachers will come and suspend her, but the teacher never reported her.
A bunch of the other choir members call her at night because apparently her home phone has been put back up despite her parents turning it off in frustration over all the reporters trying to reach her about Luke. They call under the guise of checking on her, which they didn’t do after she walked out due to the teacher’s cruelty, making her realize she’s the one who does that sort of thing but no one else does. Really they’re calling under the teacher’s instructions to urge her back into practice. She refuses and notes Trina hasn’t called or checked on her at all.
Usually most the choir members eat in the choir room at lunch, which Jen refused to do because she didn’t want to miss school lunch or socializing with her newspaper friends she always eats with, who prove to be her more reliable friends. The choir members appear at lunch to confront her and call her selfish, which Steve didn’t know about, as he also eats with Jen. Cara and her other friends stand up for her and she’s touched.
Another issue that’s been bothering Jen is the disappearance of unofficial school mascot Betty Ann Mulvaney, a cabbage patch doll belonging to her Latin teacher. Jen takes the class because she heard she was a good teacher, and believes the doll was a gift to her by a former class years ago because she’s a good teacher and has no kids of her own. Mrs. Mulvaney loves the doll, but Kirk roughly took it at the beginning of the book as a senior prank and the teacher hasn’t been the same since.
Her only joy was Luke’s extra kindness to her after her heard the story. Jen convinced Kirk to write a ransom note to return the doll, since tattling on him would be bad for her, but his notes just demand A’s for all the seniors and other stupid things while threatening to chop up the doll.
Jen usually rode home with Trina and Steve, but since Trina’s angry at her, she’s been going with Scott. He used to go to their school until his parents divorced and he lived with his mom and became a troublemaker until the police put him in a program where he could either do one thing or cooking, and he was the only guy to ever choose cooking, which he ended up loving. Then he decided to live with his dad and moved back here, joining their newspaper and earning the president role for his leadership skills quickly. They get along really well, and she always suspected they would because they had the same scifi book interest and his name was always above hers on the library cards whenever she checked out a book.
She isn’t aware of her massive crush on him, as he almost immediately started dating Geri Lynn, a senior who was supposed to be the newspaper president but was away at journalism camp when he got chosen. Geri marks in her date book every time they meet in a basement to kiss, but they broke up at the car wash and Geri thought she also had a chance with Luke and refused to be talked down by Jen. So now when Scott drives Jen home, it’s just the two of them and she starts to feel weird about it because Trina always insisted she should have asked him out.
She asks Scott to take her to Kirk’s house, where she convinces his little sister to bring them Betty Ann. She and her mom fix up the doll and she guards the desk the next morning once it’s returned until the teacher arrives to see her safe and sound and starts being a fun teacher again. Kirk is aware, but says nothing and seems to understand her hidden threat she told his sister that someone would tell on him and he wouldn’t be allowed to graduate if he kept the doll.
While the choir is away for their competition, Trina shows up in the library to join Jen, apologizing for things, acknowledging her mistakes, recognizing that despite her always being the lead in the school play, she should quit things she know doesn’t work for her like Ask Annie said, which threw me off a little because I thought she loved show choir. She also admits she’s now realized she does love Steve and has taken him for granted.
As they leave school to ride with Scott, the choir bus arrives earlier than expected, which means they lost. Trina is excited to see Steve, he’s fed up at her because she made him join the choir and then didn’t even show up for the competition and he’s been on the bus for hours listening to everyone sing, and he says he wants to quit and play sports. She tells him he can do whatever he wants and holds out her arms, and he happily rushes forward to kiss her.
Luke gives Steve his limo for the dance and shows up on a motorcycle instead. Him and Jen are voted king and queen, and he says he has her all figured out, knowing who she really likes and that she’s Ask Annie. He didn’t explain how he knew, adding to my inability to understand this guy, but he did claim she wasn’t unbiased, which he also didn’t explain. I would like him to offer more details to back up these things rather than them just being said to make him sound inexplicably wise.
His backstory was that he was dating a former costar, super serious, only for her to suddenly go marry some other guy. He had a tattoo of her name on his arm and was super heartbroken. I thought that was all just tabloids blowing things out of proportion and making things up, and maybe some of it was intentional for publicity. The only time it’s brought up to him, he doesn’t want to talk about it. By the end, apparently that information was all accurate and that surprised me.
Anyway, he reveals Geri was his source who he called to ask her to keep an eye on Jen and make sure she was okay as she acted different and changed the school (yet Geri still thought it strange Jen was acting different), but slowly they stopped talking about Jen and started talking about each other. It was not lost on me that while he was undercover, him and Geri argued about whether journalists and paparazzi were necessary and had all their rights for intruding in celebrity lives, but they both seemed to enjoy arguing. Jen didn’t understand it, but went on to talk about how she enjoys arguing with Scott over books. Geri was never bothered by their closeness. Luke thought she made great points and they became a couple, which was a little disappointing and I don’t think saying journalists and celebrities are symbiotic and rely on each other is a good enough reason for them to date each other. How could he ever truly trust her? But apparently he does and is finally ready to move on from his ex. He tells Jen the limo will take her wherever she wants to go while he’s at the dance.
She takes Trina and Steve to the anti-dance hosted by her friend from the newspaper club, where she had wanted to go all along. She only went to Spring Fling because Luke decided, wanting to experience the normal things he missed out on, and she hoped he would back out. Scott was gonna go to the dance with Geri because she insisted, but they broke up so he’s at the anti-dance, where Cara has gotten a boyfriend and where Scott and Jen admit their feelings to each other and become a couple. They kiss, which is a big deal to her and supposed to cement in their feelings and be romantic, but I can’t forget that he would always meet up with Geri just to kiss and so that just seems to me like something he likes doing.
Trina insulted Geri for taking Luke from Jen, who insisted to everyone they were just friends and apparently very few people believed her, including Scott. Jen had a little moment at the dance where she thought it was typical of Geri to steal guys out from under her, which was accurate because Scott then explains he had liked her during newspaper camp, but when he asked, Geri told him Jen didn’t date and was all sympathetic and took him herself, which was understandably an annoyance for Jen to discover.
Ultimately, I don’t know why this was called Teen Idol. Luke wasn’t there for long, assuming the idol is him since the synopsis does suggest he’s a bigger part of the story than he actually is. Unless there’s some hidden metaphor that Jen’s the teen idol in some way. There probably is, but it goes over my head.
The focus was not on the romance, but I figured out Scott was the love interest pretty fast, or maybe pretty slow, and I didn’t feel like there was enough behind it to make me root for that. It did achieve a lot more for their relationship than some actual love stories I’ve read though. Non-romances with romance in them seem to always work better in my perspective than actual romances.
The girls around the limo screamed and leaped for him, as if they wanted to pull out fistfuls of his hair. Which, you know, is always a good way to ingratiate yourself with a guy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2025
meg cabot knows how to write a silly little book!!!!!!
February 24, 2009
Even better than The Princess Diaries series, TEEN IDOL is the story about a girl-next-door who learns to use her influence to change the world. (Okay, not the world. But at least the people at her high school.)
Nice girl Jenny Greenley has a secret position on the school newspaper: she's Ask Annie, the unofficial school psychologist who gives advice to anyone who writes in. Only the school administrators and Scott Bennett, her friend and the newspaper's editor-in-chief, know about her extra job. Jenny is good at keeping secrets and not making a big deal out of things; that's why the administration chooses her to be the student guide for Luke Striker, a famous teen actor who's going undercover at Jenny's high school in order to research how normal high school students act for his next movie. If it had been anyone else being the guide, “Lucas’” secret would have been out and at the mercy of the high school’s extremely silly girls, including Jenny’s best friend, super-devoted fan Trina.
Through unforeseeable circumstances, Luke's real identity is exposed, and he jets it back to Hollywood--and safety. Before he goes, however, he gives Jenny a challenge: everybody likes her, why not use her power to inflict social change at her high school?
Doubtful, Jenny nevertheless tries to speak up more. The results are incredible. She gets Trina mad at her, helps turn a class laughingstock's life around, and stands up for herself for the first time in her life. The only problem is that with her newfound courage, she realizes she might be falling in love…with Scott.
As with all of Meg Cabot's books, TEEN IDOL has romance, humor, a bit of ridiculousness, and a happy ending. Jenny is a likeable protagonist, while Scott is a sweetheart. Fans of her other books will by no means be disappointed by this sweet tale.
Nice girl Jenny Greenley has a secret position on the school newspaper: she's Ask Annie, the unofficial school psychologist who gives advice to anyone who writes in. Only the school administrators and Scott Bennett, her friend and the newspaper's editor-in-chief, know about her extra job. Jenny is good at keeping secrets and not making a big deal out of things; that's why the administration chooses her to be the student guide for Luke Striker, a famous teen actor who's going undercover at Jenny's high school in order to research how normal high school students act for his next movie. If it had been anyone else being the guide, “Lucas’” secret would have been out and at the mercy of the high school’s extremely silly girls, including Jenny’s best friend, super-devoted fan Trina.
Through unforeseeable circumstances, Luke's real identity is exposed, and he jets it back to Hollywood--and safety. Before he goes, however, he gives Jenny a challenge: everybody likes her, why not use her power to inflict social change at her high school?
Doubtful, Jenny nevertheless tries to speak up more. The results are incredible. She gets Trina mad at her, helps turn a class laughingstock's life around, and stands up for herself for the first time in her life. The only problem is that with her newfound courage, she realizes she might be falling in love…with Scott.
As with all of Meg Cabot's books, TEEN IDOL has romance, humor, a bit of ridiculousness, and a happy ending. Jenny is a likeable protagonist, while Scott is a sweetheart. Fans of her other books will by no means be disappointed by this sweet tale.
October 16, 2016
Ugh, I very much didn't enjoyed this one, after finishing I tried to think any redeeming qualities to it, but I couldn't come up with any. If you want a story about a popularity in high school told by Meg Cabot I suggest you go with How to Be Popular, which touches in the same high school problems and is a much more fun and light read.
This one wasn't fun and light for me because the characters of this story are terrible people, like all of them except maybe two or three and I dare say that it was only because they had such little lines, this is a exaggerated version of high school stereotypes - slut-shamming, fat-shamming, a romance that has so many people involved and miscommunication, popular people that are horrible bullies but worshiped anyway, mean teachers - and how Jenny, with the help of a teen actor helps solves all these problems.
I didn't really understood the reason why we needed to have a celebrity in the middle of this story either, it was so random and it didn't added to anything, Jenny could have gone through the same journey with or without this dude. Maybe his character could have been substituted by the other counter part of the real ship and we would have them together for most of the book and actually ship them, just an idea.
Also, that whole Ask Annie thing was so bad, most of the time her counsels were terrible and I don't know who would let it be published, and Jenny is supposed to be this supper people person but she doesn't seem to have that much tact.
Oh well, when you're trying to catch up with old works of one of your favorite authors some will be bad, some will be good. Unfortunately this didn't worked out for me, on to the next adventure.
This one wasn't fun and light for me because the characters of this story are terrible people, like all of them except maybe two or three and I dare say that it was only because they had such little lines, this is a exaggerated version of high school stereotypes - slut-shamming, fat-shamming, a romance that has so many people involved and miscommunication, popular people that are horrible bullies but worshiped anyway, mean teachers - and how Jenny, with the help of a teen actor helps solves all these problems.
I didn't really understood the reason why we needed to have a celebrity in the middle of this story either, it was so random and it didn't added to anything, Jenny could have gone through the same journey with or without this dude. Maybe his character could have been substituted by the other counter part of the real ship and we would have them together for most of the book and actually ship them, just an idea.
Also, that whole Ask Annie thing was so bad, most of the time her counsels were terrible and I don't know who would let it be published, and Jenny is supposed to be this supper people person but she doesn't seem to have that much tact.
Oh well, when you're trying to catch up with old works of one of your favorite authors some will be bad, some will be good. Unfortunately this didn't worked out for me, on to the next adventure.
June 29, 2016
Well. This was pretty.... "Meh" feeling. You know what I mean?
I shelved it under "realistic fiction" but that might be a BIT of a stretch.
I found "teen idol" far fetched and silly. Which might have been the point, but really, I mostly just found it tedious and dull. The romance seemed forced with little chemistry. Both Scott and Luke were ok as far as Young Adult male characters go (so many are creepy stalker asshats) but both were pretty underdeveloped and bland.
Seriously? Why is he called "sensitive"? He was only doing what any decent person would do, and that was feel bad about those jerks being mean to Cara & Ms. M.... But he still didn't do anything for them did he? He told Jen to do something. Not what I would call sensitive.
& if he eats fish & whatever was in that food Scott brought for lunch, then he's not a fucking vegetarian! Wtf? Why even say that? Sorry. I'm a vegan, so this kinda thing really ticks me off.
Jen's voice really irritated me. For some who claims to be as well read as her, she sure usually a lot of junk words. Like, you know, I mean. The sorts of words and phrases that teachers always tell you leave out of your essays?
Seriously, I almost didn't finish the book because of it. It doesn't read well.
And why the hell is she taking Latin and French classes?
Was there anything I did like? Well, I did like mentions of famous books and writers. That's always fun. And the dear Annie letters in between chapters were really nice.
And the book wasn't Terrible.... Just not great. It was kinda cute, but it was more boring and Annoying then it was entertaining. At least for me. Maybe younger tweener fangirls might enjoy this more, but it simply wasn't for me.
I look forward to trying "Avalon high" though. :)
I shelved it under "realistic fiction" but that might be a BIT of a stretch.
I found "teen idol" far fetched and silly. Which might have been the point, but really, I mostly just found it tedious and dull. The romance seemed forced with little chemistry. Both Scott and Luke were ok as far as Young Adult male characters go (so many are creepy stalker asshats) but both were pretty underdeveloped and bland.
Seriously? Why is he called "sensitive"? He was only doing what any decent person would do, and that was feel bad about those jerks being mean to Cara & Ms. M.... But he still didn't do anything for them did he? He told Jen to do something. Not what I would call sensitive.
& if he eats fish & whatever was in that food Scott brought for lunch, then he's not a fucking vegetarian! Wtf? Why even say that? Sorry. I'm a vegan, so this kinda thing really ticks me off.
Jen's voice really irritated me. For some who claims to be as well read as her, she sure usually a lot of junk words. Like, you know, I mean. The sorts of words and phrases that teachers always tell you leave out of your essays?
Seriously, I almost didn't finish the book because of it. It doesn't read well.
And why the hell is she taking Latin and French classes?
Was there anything I did like? Well, I did like mentions of famous books and writers. That's always fun. And the dear Annie letters in between chapters were really nice.
And the book wasn't Terrible.... Just not great. It was kinda cute, but it was more boring and Annoying then it was entertaining. At least for me. Maybe younger tweener fangirls might enjoy this more, but it simply wasn't for me.
I look forward to trying "Avalon high" though. :)
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