What do you think?
Rate this book
Amen, L.A.
When Natalie Shelton and her family move from Minnesota to Beverly Hills, more changes than their zip code. Natalie's mom accepts a position as pastor with the Church of Beverly Hills—and Natalie's along for the ride. Before she can blink, she's living in a mansion once owned by Ricardo Montalban, going to school with hot young Hollywood stars, and partying in the park with kids who know no limits. It's an amazing new life—but if she doesn't watch out, Natalie could find herself seriously messed up. Natalie has values . . . but how long can she hold on to them?
- GenresYoung Adult
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
4 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Cherie Bennett
135 books155 followersA popular novelist, playwright, and newspaper columnist, Cherie moves effortlessly from genre to genre, writing powerful and entertaining work, whether in literary hardcover teen fiction, mass market paperback fiction, for the stage, film and television, and for her nationally-syndicated teen advice column.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 3, 2011
Confession: Ordinarily, I probably wouldn’t read a book like this one. It looks interesting, but there are quite a lot of books out there and—to the immense relief of my friends and family—only one me. As far as Book Darwinism goes, this one didn’t really stand a chance against some of the other goodies on my bookshelves.
But luckily for me, for this book, and for y’all, I know someone who worked on Amen, L.A. This someone gave me an ARC a week before asking me to lunch, and (Sigh) there’s this thing called Etiquette that sometimes I like to flirt with when I’m feeling particularly frisky. And Etiquette told me that I couldn’t get away with pretending to have red the book. So, quite grudgingly (my flatmate can confirm this), I picked up the book and started reading.
And—excuse the bad humor—Thank God that I did! The moment I finished Amen, L.A., I added it to my modestly sized favorites shelf on Goodreads. I.Absolutely.Love.Nat. I Tom-Cruise-style, couch jumping, crazy loved living in her head. I’m sorry to say that I don’t have a couch on hand (just a roll-y chair), so I’m going to refrain from the jumping and stick to the typing.
There are a lot of authentic YA protagonists out there, but Nat went beyond that for me. By the time I had finished the book I really felt like I knew her, like we were good friends. She, her family, her friends, and her struggles had settled firmly into my heart. A lot of contemporary authors try to straddle the line between values and opulence, but end up falling too far to a certain side and getting preachy. I admired Nat for being grounded, but also being accepting and open; I admired the authors for writing a family that is super-close, but still felt genuine, and as a reader originally from L.A., I was glad to be back.
Amen, L.A. definitely succeeded at being juicy, thoughtful, and believable. I can imagine that Nat’s do-gooder attitude will grate on some readers, especially those who have problems with religious fiction. (Being the non-celebrity incarnation of Alex in high school, I too, physically cringed at some of Nat’s more clueless choices… but who of us wasn’t kind of clueless in high school?) This book is a hard sell, not quite fluffy enough for a beach read, a little too light and quick to fit with other Contemporary YA, so I can understand why it doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of attention. But for those of you who are reading this: please take my advice! Take a couple of hours, and curl up with this book. If you liked it anywhere near as much as I did--which is 5 out of 5 Stars--you will be equally as devastated that the sequel doesn’t seem to be coming out until Fall 2012.
But luckily for me, for this book, and for y’all, I know someone who worked on Amen, L.A. This someone gave me an ARC a week before asking me to lunch, and (Sigh) there’s this thing called Etiquette that sometimes I like to flirt with when I’m feeling particularly frisky. And Etiquette told me that I couldn’t get away with pretending to have red the book. So, quite grudgingly (my flatmate can confirm this), I picked up the book and started reading.
And—excuse the bad humor—Thank God that I did! The moment I finished Amen, L.A., I added it to my modestly sized favorites shelf on Goodreads. I.Absolutely.Love.Nat. I Tom-Cruise-style, couch jumping, crazy loved living in her head. I’m sorry to say that I don’t have a couch on hand (just a roll-y chair), so I’m going to refrain from the jumping and stick to the typing.
There are a lot of authentic YA protagonists out there, but Nat went beyond that for me. By the time I had finished the book I really felt like I knew her, like we were good friends. She, her family, her friends, and her struggles had settled firmly into my heart. A lot of contemporary authors try to straddle the line between values and opulence, but end up falling too far to a certain side and getting preachy. I admired Nat for being grounded, but also being accepting and open; I admired the authors for writing a family that is super-close, but still felt genuine, and as a reader originally from L.A., I was glad to be back.
Amen, L.A. definitely succeeded at being juicy, thoughtful, and believable. I can imagine that Nat’s do-gooder attitude will grate on some readers, especially those who have problems with religious fiction. (Being the non-celebrity incarnation of Alex in high school, I too, physically cringed at some of Nat’s more clueless choices… but who of us wasn’t kind of clueless in high school?) This book is a hard sell, not quite fluffy enough for a beach read, a little too light and quick to fit with other Contemporary YA, so I can understand why it doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of attention. But for those of you who are reading this: please take my advice! Take a couple of hours, and curl up with this book. If you liked it anywhere near as much as I did--which is 5 out of 5 Stars--you will be equally as devastated that the sequel doesn’t seem to be coming out until Fall 2012.
February 14, 2012
Review originally posted on Heise Reads & Recommends
When Natalie Shelton's family moves to Beverly Hills from Minnesota, they don't really know what they're in for. Why the move? Because Natalie's mother is a well-known church pastor. During the family meeting to decide whether to go, Natalie is the only one who voices a no vote. When they arrive they find they're unexpectedly living in a former star's mansion, partying with kids who have very different values, going to school with Hollywood royalty, and her mom is heading a church with people used to throwing their money around and getting their way. Natalie doesn't know how to feel - until she meet a girl from church who could be a friend - and then meets another girl who is a friend, although she has a disreputable past. Natalie meets more kids from schoool, including a boy who she's not sure about, and her Midwestern views about people start to change. When Natalie's friendships test her faith, trust, strength, and morals - and her family members start to get corrupted by the Beverly Hills lifestyle, the choice comes down to staying to see it through or heading back to the familiar back home.
Based on the premise of this story, I thought it had a lot of potential, but only lived up to some of it. Personally, I wasn't a big fan of the writing style - there was lots of name/label dropping, at times it turns to second person as Nat talks at the reader, and there seemed to be many instances of telling so the setting was not an naturally developed. Every time there was a new setting, the story seemed to pause to explicitly describe all of the details (maybe because the author has a screenwriting background?). As a midwesterner myself (Wisconsin), I felt that the Minnesota references were a little cliche and overdone. Unfortunately, for me, the good messages from what Nat learns and how she decides what kind of person she wants to be (and whose opinions she should trust) get lost a little bit because of feeling out of touch with the writing style. There were, however, some things that I really liked: the mother as a pastor aspect juxtaposed against Beverly Hills values, Nat's relationship with her parents, their parenting style, and the authenticity of Nat's relationship struggles and beginnings with both her developing girl friendships and the boy romantic interest. I liked Nat a lot though - she's genuine, smart, non-judgmental, thoughtful, and caring as she looks for true friends and real relationships in a sometimes inauthentic city.
When Natalie Shelton's family moves to Beverly Hills from Minnesota, they don't really know what they're in for. Why the move? Because Natalie's mother is a well-known church pastor. During the family meeting to decide whether to go, Natalie is the only one who voices a no vote. When they arrive they find they're unexpectedly living in a former star's mansion, partying with kids who have very different values, going to school with Hollywood royalty, and her mom is heading a church with people used to throwing their money around and getting their way. Natalie doesn't know how to feel - until she meet a girl from church who could be a friend - and then meets another girl who is a friend, although she has a disreputable past. Natalie meets more kids from schoool, including a boy who she's not sure about, and her Midwestern views about people start to change. When Natalie's friendships test her faith, trust, strength, and morals - and her family members start to get corrupted by the Beverly Hills lifestyle, the choice comes down to staying to see it through or heading back to the familiar back home.
Based on the premise of this story, I thought it had a lot of potential, but only lived up to some of it. Personally, I wasn't a big fan of the writing style - there was lots of name/label dropping, at times it turns to second person as Nat talks at the reader, and there seemed to be many instances of telling so the setting was not an naturally developed. Every time there was a new setting, the story seemed to pause to explicitly describe all of the details (maybe because the author has a screenwriting background?). As a midwesterner myself (Wisconsin), I felt that the Minnesota references were a little cliche and overdone. Unfortunately, for me, the good messages from what Nat learns and how she decides what kind of person she wants to be (and whose opinions she should trust) get lost a little bit because of feeling out of touch with the writing style. There were, however, some things that I really liked: the mother as a pastor aspect juxtaposed against Beverly Hills values, Nat's relationship with her parents, their parenting style, and the authenticity of Nat's relationship struggles and beginnings with both her developing girl friendships and the boy romantic interest. I liked Nat a lot though - she's genuine, smart, non-judgmental, thoughtful, and caring as she looks for true friends and real relationships in a sometimes inauthentic city.
January 19, 2013
Author Cherie Bennett has a wonderful way of tackling the moral dilemmas of teens without resorting to melodrama. What she has previously done for weight and self worth issues and bigotry, she now does with values and faith.
When minister Marsha Shelton is called to lead the Church of Beverly Hills, the whole family packs up and leaves small town Minnesota. While the two younger children, Gemma, 15 and Chad, 13 are estactic about the move, seventeen year old Natalie isn't so sure. When the church van - a stretch limo - picks them up at the airport to take the Sheltons to the parish house on Rodeo Drive, Natalie know she's in for a wild ride.
In the first two weeks, Natalie must learn to balance her values with the rock and roll, excessive lifestyles of her new friends. How do you stay true to yourself, especially when hiding a secret, in the world of self promotion and one upmanship?
The family dynamics of the Shelton family are nicely done, reflecting their faith without being preachy. While Gemma and Chad are fully realized characters, it is Natalie's story and she shines. Bennett has written her as a bit overwhelmed in her new environment, but not naive. She wants to do what is best by her new friends, but struggles with the etiquette and unspoken rules of her new home.
When minister Marsha Shelton is called to lead the Church of Beverly Hills, the whole family packs up and leaves small town Minnesota. While the two younger children, Gemma, 15 and Chad, 13 are estactic about the move, seventeen year old Natalie isn't so sure. When the church van - a stretch limo - picks them up at the airport to take the Sheltons to the parish house on Rodeo Drive, Natalie know she's in for a wild ride.
In the first two weeks, Natalie must learn to balance her values with the rock and roll, excessive lifestyles of her new friends. How do you stay true to yourself, especially when hiding a secret, in the world of self promotion and one upmanship?
The family dynamics of the Shelton family are nicely done, reflecting their faith without being preachy. While Gemma and Chad are fully realized characters, it is Natalie's story and she shines. Bennett has written her as a bit overwhelmed in her new environment, but not naive. She wants to do what is best by her new friends, but struggles with the etiquette and unspoken rules of her new home.
September 30, 2013
Even though the topic (conflict between wholesome Midwestern values and Hollywood-land materialistic-fame driven ones) was not of particular interest to me, I read this because I loved the co-authors' last book, A Heart Divided. But this one felt pretty flat to me. The combination of a too-good to be true family and the glitzy/empty/druggy life in L.A. just didn't appeal to either one of the polar sides of my brain. I yawned through the endless descriptions of the high life, and skimmed the earnest churchy ponderings. None of the characters had much depth, fitting neatly into categories like the recovering drug addict best friend you know will ultimately let our heroine down, the TV star boyfriend she falls for, etc.
Probably a worthy book, exploring worthy conflicts and attitudes, but somehow lacking in ooomph. (Like this review!)
Probably a worthy book, exploring worthy conflicts and attitudes, but somehow lacking in ooomph. (Like this review!)
July 21, 2012
This book shows how a small-town girl with good morals (Natalie) can get caught up in the drama of Hollywood. Despite her mother's position in the church, Natalie still manages to explore her own teenage dreams in this realistic coming-of-age novel. The issue of peer pressure is presented in a sensitive manner that will capture the attention of most teenagers. This book is impossible to put down!
January 25, 2012
Overall a fast, cute, read. I've been a fan of these authors, Cherie Bennett in particular, since my teen years when Cherie's Sunset Island series was one of my favorites. The book is truly Beverly Hills 90210 meets 7th Heaven, with a bit more Hollywood thrown in. In other words, my dream life as a kid!
June 22, 2011
"Amen, L.A." is a Gossip-Girl-style expose on celebrity church life, following Natalie, whose mom has just been appointed the head pastor of the Church of Beverly Hills, and her not-so-saintly friends. Dip into this guilty pleasure!
--Review by Lauren
--Review by Lauren
October 6, 2011
Although this book opens with a quick and nondescript scene in which Natalie loses her virginity before she moves to L.A., this is actually a pretty wholesome...(click here for the full review http://storysnoops.com/detail.php?id=...)
September 20, 2012
This is one of my fave authors. I enjoyed this book. It was a throwback to earlier types of Bennett novels. Simple and fun but the writing is quality and there's some depth behind it that I really enjoyed. I'm looking forward to the next one!
December 29, 2012
It started off promising, but then the writing turned slow and simplistic about halfway through. I also got tired of the name and label dropping and the way the author would stop the story in order to shoehorn in some description.
May 25, 2011
Really interesting concept and absorbing from the very first page - can't wait for the next book in the series!
Read
May 9, 2012I won't rate this because I didn't complete the book. The story could not keep my attention nor could I connect with the characters.
November 1, 2011
3.5 stars. A good,light read.
Read
February 17, 2013Yuck! Ick! Not my kind of book AT ALL! Would not recommend to anyone
May 11, 2013
Not my favorite..
August 6, 2014
good YA read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews