Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

I So Don't Do... #4

I So Don't Do Famous

Rate this book
Having a boyfriend in eighth grade makes me kind of a celebrity at school. I'm also known throughout the spirit world--I've helped my ghost mom solve some tough cases. And now I'm on my biggest one of all . . .  in Hollywood!
Everyone is so famous here. But there's no time for stargazing. Somehow I managed to stumble upon a mystery right on Hollywood Boulevard. Homes of young celebs are being burglarized, and it's up to me to figure out who's behind the million dollar crimes--and prove it to the Beverly Hills police. And to complicate things? The ghost of a teen star is dying to help me. One thing you never hear in the land of glitz & glamour? I so don't do famous.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

14 people are currently reading
383 people want to read

About the author

Barrie Summy

6 books109 followers
Barrie Summy grew up in Canada on a steady diet of books and tobogganing. She tries to read a book a week and always breaks for tea and cookies at three oclock.

Barrie lives in California with her husband, their four children, a veiled chameleon, and Dorothy the Dog.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
162 (42%)
4 stars
110 (29%)
3 stars
69 (18%)
2 stars
20 (5%)
1 star
16 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
57 reviews
May 26, 2017
I really love this series and I find it so cool that she can communicate with her mom, even though she is dead/ a ghost.
Profile Image for Napa Ratanabanangkoon.
5 reviews1 follower
March 2, 2016
It was really good, I would recommend this to people who likes a mystery book that isn't a classic but it is like a mystery that is a fun and easy one, but not too easy. It's a really fun and good book. I really like it. I want to read more books from the series.
1,820 reviews7 followers
February 5, 2021
Sherry wrote an article on love and submitted it to Dear Elle and she won....then the girl who wrote about love wonders what she really knows since she gets dumped by her boyfriend. But what better way to forget about Josh and try to get over the heartache other than going to Hollywood with her BFF Junie to celebrate winning the contest. Staying at the famed Roosevelt Hotel is an amazing joy. It's said that Marylin Monroe's ghost lives here....so Sherry's mom, who wants to meet Marylin, shows up.
While at the hotel, Sherry is approached by fans and finds she loves the adoration but doesn't really know how to handle her new found fame. She ends up offering free tickets to the Hollywood Girl ceremony to two fans. This causes a huge problem later on. Dear Elle herself is the victim of a crime and Sherry feels responsible. So Sherry, Junie, her mom and a new friendly ghost that they meet at the hotel work to solve the crime.
38 reviews9 followers
November 4, 2018
Eighth grader Sherry Baldwin is going to Hollywood! Her essay on true love won first place in the Hollywood Girl contest and the prize is a week in Hollywood! Sherry asks her boyfriend, Josh to go with her, but he is more interested in water polo practice than a romantic trip to the film capital of the world. So, Sherry ends up going with her dad and her best friend, Junie. This is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it! If you would like to find out more about Sherry's trip in Hollywood, than you should read this book!
Profile Image for Hannah.
315 reviews
June 1, 2024
Sherry can be such an 8th grader and yet at the same time so wise. Such a good protagonist.
Profile Image for Jennifer Wardrip.
Author 5 books517 followers
August 7, 2011
Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com

In Barry Summy's I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS, almost eighth grade Sherry Baldwin's going to Hollywood! Yeah, you heard right. Her essay on true love won first place in the Hollywood Girl contest and the prize, you guessed it, is a week in Hollywood! Movie stars, swimmin' pools, and...ghosts!

Sherry asks her übercute boyfriend, Josh, to go with her, but over an orange banana smoothie he gets all squirmy and mumbly. How can you be an expert on love when your almost ninth grade boyfriend is more interested in water polo practice than a romantic trip to the film capital of the world?

So, Sherry finds herself in Hollywood with her dad and her best friend, Junie. Her mom, who happens to have died in the line of duty a couple of years ago, plans to join her there at the Roosevelt Hotel. She'll be working on the Marilyn Monroe mystery for the Academy of Spirits, and Marilyn is known to show up in a mirror at the hotel. Sherry's hoping a week visiting places like the Walk of Fame and the wax museum with Junie, her coffee-scented mom, and her dad and his corny jokes will help her forget that Josh isn't texting her.

Instead, she finds herself embroiled in the mystery of the missing purse with the diamond clasp. To make it worse, it's all over the World Wide Web of the Dead that she was present during the robbery, and it's all her fault. Unfortunately, the detective on the case is totally clueless, so when Sherry meets Leah, an over-zealous teen ghost who smells of root beer, she has no choice but to include her in the investigation. Sherry knows that if she doesn't solve the mystery, The Academy of Spirits may not ever let her work with her mom on a case again.

Will Leah blow her cover? Will Sherry be arrested for burglary? Will she be banned from The Academy of Spirits forever? And what about Josh? Is he ever going to text her again?

Barry Summy has whipped up another wonderful paranormal mystery in I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS. She'll keep you guessing and laughing with every turn of the page. And if you haven't read the other three Sherry Baldwin mysteries, I highly recommend them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll see Sherry at the movies. And don't be surprised if the heavenly scent of your buttered popcorn mingles with a whiff of coffee and root beer!
Profile Image for Cana Rensberger.
63 reviews11 followers
September 2, 2013
In Barry Summy’s I So Don’t Do Famous, almost eighth grade Sherry Baldwin’s going to Hollywood! Yeah, you heard right. Her essay on true love won first place in the Hollywood Girl contest and the prize, you guessed it, is a week in Hollywood! Movie stars, swimmin’ pools, and…ghosts! Sherry asks her übercute boyfriend, Josh, to go with her, but over an orange banana smoothie he gets all squirmy and mumbly. How can you be an expert on love when your almost ninth grade boyfriend is more interested in water polo practice than a romantic trip to the film capital of the world?

So Sherry finds herself in Hollywood with her dad and her best friend, Junie. Her mom, who happens to have died in the line of duty a couple of years ago, plans to join her there at the Roosevelt Hotel. She’ll be working on the Marilyn Monroe mystery for the Academy of Spirits and Marilyn is known to show up in a mirror at the hotel. Sherry’s hoping a week visiting places like The Walk of Fame and the wax museum with Junie, her coffee-scented mom, and her dad and his corny jokes will help her forget that Josh isn’t texting her.

Instead, she finds herself embroiled in the mystery of the missing purse with the diamond clasp. To make it worse, it’s all over the World Wide Web of the Dead that she was present during the robbery, and it’s all her fault. Unfortunately, the detective on the case is totally clueless so when Sherry meets Leah, an over-zealous teen ghost who smells of root beer, she has no choice but to include her in the investigation. Sherry knows that if she doesn’t solve the mystery, The Academy of Spirits may not ever let her work with her mom on a case again.

Will Leah blow her cover? Will Sherry be arrested for burglary? Will she be banned from the Academy of Spirits forever? And what about Josh? Is he ever going to text her again?

Barry Summy has whipped up another wonderful paranormal mystery in I So Don’t Do Famous. She’ll keep you guessing and laughing with every turn of the page. And if you haven’t read the other three Sherry Baldwin mysteries, I highly recommend them. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll see Sherry at the movies. And don’t be surprised if the heavenly scent of your buttered popcorn mingles with a whiff of coffee and root beer!
Profile Image for Jennifer Rayment.
1,471 reviews78 followers
May 18, 2011
The Good Stuff

* Realistic relationships between Sherry and her friends and family
* Like the relationship she has between Sherry and her stepmom - very realistic but loving
* Adorable engaging heroine - you just want to hug her, going to have to check out the rest of the series
* Nice light mystery for the younger set - Perfect for the suggested age group
* Full of fun Hollywood trivia and pop culture references
* Short quick moving story will hold the interests of even the most reluctant reader
* Middle school girls will be able to relate to a lot of Sherry's emotions ( I vaguely remember them)

The Not so Good Stuff

* As an adult reading it, I wanted to roll my eyes a couple of time, but just kept telling myself this book isn't written for a 40 yr old women
* Not a lot of conflict so the more mature middle school girl might get frustrated or bored

Favorite Quotes/Passages

"Hmpf." he says. "I can think of some music that would really get this place hopping."
"Dad, Celine Dion is not the musical answer to all situations." I say.

"I can't believe I just rode in an elevator with my dad and my ghost mom. And didn't think about how bizarre it was, especially given that my dad is totally oblivious to my mom's presence."
"Lorraine, Stef and I traipse to the restroom together, because even burglary girls hit the restroom in groups"
What I Learned

* That I wish I could talk to the ghost of my dead Mom

Who should/shouldn't read

* Perfect for middle school girls, I would have loved to read it at that age
* Not for the more mature middle school girl, as it is sort of light and fluffy (and that is not a bad thing, just a heads up)

4 Dewey's

I received this from Random House of Canada in exchange for an honest review
Profile Image for Selina.
12 reviews
December 14, 2012
I So Don't Do Famous
Barrie Summy

I decided to reread this book after a couple of years after I had originally read. The book is Sherlock Holmes Baldwin but everyone calls her Sherry. Since Sherry's mom has died in the first book she has been able to talk to the ghost form of her mother and ever since they have been solving mysteries together. This time Sherry is in Hollywood after winning an essay contest. At the award dinner a purse of a famous editor is stolen and houses have been robbed. Sherry must find out who is causing all of these problems and solve the mystery with her best friend Junie and a new ghost she has met named Leah. My favorite quote was "Lorraine and Stef stole the purse. And I helped them." because this is where her mystery first starts. The book is written in Sherry's point of view. I felt the author did a good job in portraying a 13/14 year old teenage girl. I would recommend this book to those why like a lot bit of mystery or something that is girly.
Profile Image for Lana.
21 reviews
November 3, 2016
Sherry Baldwin is a teenager who won an essay contest on true love for Dear Elle's advice column in her favorite magazine. Sherry gets to bring a friend to Hollywood for the awards ceremony! But after Josh breaks up with her, Sherry decides to bring along her friend Junie. The awards ceremony is fantastic, and Sherry gets to meet all kinds of awesome people, such as Dear Elle herself and two girls named Lorraine and Stef. Sherry gives them her extra tickets, thinking that they're pretty cool. But after the awards ceremony, they discover that Dear Elle's diamond purse was stolen! After looking at various pictures on Junie's camera, Sherry and Junie come to find that it may have been Lorraine and Stef... all they need is proof!

Funny, relatable, cute, and totally girly, this book was a whole lot of fun for me. This is the last book in the series, and I think it was an excellent way to conclude it.

4 Stars. Not a perfect book, but it was still awesome.
:)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sarai.
1,009 reviews17 followers
June 21, 2011
I didn't enjoy this book as well as the others in the series, but it is still a nice, funny, entertaining read.


Product Description
Having a boyfriend in eighth grade makes me kind of a celebrity at school. I'm also known throughout the spirit world--I've helped my ghost mom solve some tough cases. And now I'm on my biggest one of all . . . in Hollywood! Everyone is so famous here. But there's no time for stargazing. Somehow I managed to stumble upon a mystery right on Hollywood Boulevard. Homes of young celebs are being burglarized, and it's up to me to figure out who's behind the million dollar crimes--and prove it to the Beverly Hills police. And to complicate things? The ghost of a teen star is dying to help me. One thing you never hear in the land of glitz & glamour? I so don't do famous.
Profile Image for Aimee .
3,073 reviews298 followers
June 27, 2011
This was a cute book and I really enjoyed reading it. It was fun and light. Sherry is an active, curious character who loves solving mysteries. The story had a good flow to it and made me smile. My favorite line from the book was, “she’s pretty old, like forty.” HA! (while I’m not forty YET, I’m closer to that age if we are rounding!) Sherry sure seemed to have a lot of free reign for a thirteen year old girl, especially in LA where things can get a bit rough. I know I wouldn’t allow my thirteen year old girl to romp through the streets of LA, day and night, unsupervised. This book has a marketed reading level of ages 9-12 which I would agree with.

You can read my full review for content at The Literate Mother. http://www.theliteratemother.org/i-so...
11 reviews1 follower
May 10, 2013
Title: I So Don't Do Famous
Author: Barrie Summy
Pages: 304
Genre: Mystery

This book is about Sherry, an 8th grade girl who is anything but ordinary. Her mom is now a ghost, and enrolled into the academy of spirits. Sherry and her friend Junie help her out of detective missions. But when Sherry's boyfriend Josh dumps her, an exclusive trip to Hollywood is just what Sherry needs. But of course, mysteries always follow her. Junie and Sherry work together to solve the mystery of the beverly hills bandits.

I really enjoyed this book. I have read all the books in the series, and they are all very good. I rated it four stars because I really liked it, but I took a star off because it could get a little confusing at times. but overall, I recomend this book to anyone who likes mysteries.
8 reviews
April 21, 2013
Good, but you kind of would have predicted the ending. I mean, when the detective said, "theres always something that goes wrong" its kind of obvious there will be something. However, Leah becoming sherrys partner is weird because I thought that sherry was going to be with her mom. But Josh and Sherry getting back together is so... Happily ever after. I wish Josh wouldve seen Sherry with Mark and then try to get her back, but she wouldnt take him. Happily ever after in that sort of thing is just boring.
And you can still read it if you are mature. Reading horror doesnt make you mature and reading a light teenage tone book doesnt make you immature.
Profile Image for Dominique Aguilera.
211 reviews10 followers
Read
September 2, 2016
Okay... I was interested in reading this...
I read and was enjoying it up until the main character, Sherry, talked about her mom's afterlife: Being a cop in an Academy for Spirits and the two of them becoming partners in mystery-solving.
That was just a big, "Wait, what?" for me. I know this is supposed to be fiction, but, that just seemed way too silly for me to even take seriously. Since this is a mystery novel involving a smart, 13-year-old girl being the detective in Hollywood, I had expected it to be a bit more run-of-the-mill, not...having a ghost by your side to help you out!
Profile Image for Brett.
1,759 reviews14 followers
November 14, 2011
Sherlock Holmes "Sherry" Baldwin is back, & this time she's headed to Hollywood - her essay on true love won the competition her favorite magazine sponsored. Now she's off with her dad & best friend, Junie, to attend the award ceremony &, oh yeah, solve another big mystery. Ironic, considering her dreamy boyfriend Josh - off to high school in the fall - just broke up with her. But hey, maybe solving the mystery of the stolen purse with the diamond clasp will keep her mind off just how little she knows about true love. Another fun, entertaining read.
3 reviews
March 11, 2012
I so don't do famous is written in 1st person, which makes the story more like a diary.
The main character looses her Mum after and car accident, but is still able to speak to her spirit.
At times, the story can be a little long leading and looses track of what it's main point is about. Overall the book
is fantastic, and is a mystery book in finding who stole certain celebrity goods. I recommend this book to girls ages 10-16 ,
as it is more of a girly book that includes things that a girl would do in her life.
Profile Image for D.s.
2 reviews
November 8, 2014
I really loved this book it has both mystery and supernatural. So here is a bit about the book without spoilers: It is about this girl who's mother is dead and is a ghost. she can't really see her but can hear her and smell her. Her and her mother goes to solve mysteries and one mystery is in Hollywood and she and her mom and a new ghost friend are on the case.
If you kike it give it a chance I got it from book outlet:
http://bookoutlet.com/Store/Details/i...
It took me less then an hour to finish this book.
Profile Image for P.J..
Author 41 books393 followers
January 29, 2011
Book 7 for 2011. This is my favorite of the series so far. Barrie Summy does a great job of placing Sherry in perilous but so fun situations and making sure all ends are wrapped up perfectly. Middle school girls and up will be wishing they could be Sherry as she makes her way to Hollywood, mingles with celebrities, and manages to meet a cute boy while doing so. Highly recommended for girls fifth grade and up!
Author 6 books735 followers
August 5, 2012
Read this as part of my researching-agents project. Strong, funny female main character -- lots of female characters of all ages, in fact, including a police detective. Just realized how admirable that is: Summy manages to make a primarily female cast seem as natural and unforced as do the primarily male casts of so many movies and novels. The plot twists were handled expertly, and the paranormal premise is engaging.
219 reviews2 followers
July 3, 2015
Another mystery for Sherry and her mom. Sherry wins a true love contest for a magazine (even though her no high school boyfriend wants to break up). While at the awards ceremony Ask Elle's purse is stolen. Sherry and her best friend have picture evidence to prove that the girls they invited in with Sherry's extra tickets did it. Sherry the sleuth puts the pieces together and helps a young ghost along the way.
Profile Image for Lauren.
107 reviews
February 5, 2011
All of these books are a little... Overly girlie. But, I like the concept.
Although Sherry is a makeup-loving, boy-crazy girl, she is also a member of the Ghost Acadamy. She assists her mother in mysteries that her mother herself cannot do because of her form... A ghost.
Profile Image for Joan Enders.
Author 5 books14 followers
August 11, 2011
Another fun book for the younger teen set. I always look forward to reading them. Relaxing and funny.
Profile Image for Maria.
72 reviews2 followers
October 6, 2012
this book is one of my favorites. it is so good, i read the second book and the fourth one.
150 reviews2 followers
January 28, 2013
An interesting end to the series.Not the best one, in my opinion.
Profile Image for Joelle Anthony.
Author 4 books85 followers
May 21, 2013
I think this one was really fun, especially if you're interested in Hollywood. Nice set up for a new book, but is there one?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.