Star Island

By Carl Hiaasen

For the record...I just want to say that Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich are the only two authors who have ever written a book that made me laugh so hard, milk came out my nose!! Carl Hiaasen uses sarcasm to the extreme in his latest novel. He makes fun of everyone in the entertainment world including, but not limited to actresses, actors, agents, body guards, and especially the paparazzi. While I didn't enjoy this novel as much as his previous works, it was a funny, light read that kept me entertained.

The novel follows a once popular singer as she attempts to release a new album and put herself back on the charts. Her parents have hired a double to keep the paparazzi from finding out and publicizing her many overdoses and partying ways. When the double is accidentally kidnapped by a disillusioned paparazzi, chaos ensues as everyone scrambles to cover up their cover ups. Characters include the once governor of Florida who now lives in the swamps, a scarred body guard with a weed whacker in place of an arm, and a set of parents who occasionally want the best for their self-destructive daughter/money maker!!

~~~~~

Similar Novels: Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen and Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich

Length: 337 Pages

Copyright: July 2010

One for the Money

By Janet Evanovich

This is book one of the Stephanie Plum novels. The fourteenth novel in this series was just published in June of this summer. I found this novel on the shelf at the Hastings Bookstore when I was in college. I actually had to stop buying the novels during the school year because I wouldn't read my assigned reading for my classes. Instead, I would stay up and read Stephanie Plum novels.
Stephanie Plum used to be a lingerie buyer for a major department store until they downsized and laid her off. Because desperate times call for desperate measures, Stephanie begs her cousin Vinny to give her a job and now she's a bounty hunter. In the novels, she actually turns out to be a decent bounty hunter, but only because of luck. In most novels, she manages to destroy a car, usually by fire, and taser herself. These novels actually make me laugh out loud when they describe her family (a typical New Jersey Italian family) at Friday night dinners. Her grandmother acts like she's 25, her mother is a closet alcoholic, and her father just shuts up and eats the food. I'm looking forward to more Stephanie Plum novels in the future.

Warning: There are a few four letter words used in this novel. In some of the Stephanie Plum novels there can be detailed sex, but in this novel she abstains.

Similar Novel: Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen
Length: 287 pages
Copyright: 1994