book

By Kayla Cohen

The biggest words on the cover of the book are the name of the author, “Lauren Conrad” rather than the title. Really?

“The Fame Game” is a spin-off series from Lauren Conrad’s trilogy, “L.A. Candy.” The story follows four girls on a new hit reality show, showing lies, betrayal, and abnormal amount of alcohol consumption, and drama. But what else could be expected from a book about a reality show.

From the beginning, it is extremely evident that Lauren Conrad is writing about what she knows, because she lived it: Reality television. She took her experiences and friendships from ”Laguna Beach” and “The Hills,” and put it into a story.

The majority of the story takes place in night clubs where they are conveniently seated away from everyone else, and coincidentally, other characters the girls don’t like show up.

L.A. has way too many clubs for that to happen every night.

To add to that, what the main characters say that most of what they say and do is edited to make it appear as something else. If they smiled at a cute boy months early, they crop it into the new episode to scandalize something that really is minuscule. Is that what MTV did to you, LC?

Madison Parker, the main character, seems to be a not-so-fictionalized version of Lauren Conrad’s ex-BFF, Heidi Montag. The fake platinum blonde hair, fake acrylic nails, and countless plastic surgeries could just be innocent similarities if it weren’t for the fact that in the previous series she gave scandalous pictures of her friend to the tabloids causing them to go viral making her BFF/roommate  move out. Sound familiar? Madison even has an alcoholic sister, who somehow always returns to her distasteful ways. Holly Montag, anyone?

Madison‘s relationships even resemble Heidi’s. Instead of having problems with an alcoholic, overbearing, and controlling boyfriend (Spencer Pratt,) Madison has the same relationship with her father. Like Spencer, her father would never make a full commitment to be in her life, and would disappear into the crazed lifestyle of alcohol and the consequences that go along with it. It makes the reader feel sorry for with Madison, creating a love/hate relationship with her. The reader despises Madison for the way she treats her friends, but sympathizes with her due to her crazy love life and far from perfect family situation.

Surprisingly, the novel is decently written. The details of what the girls are wearing, feeling, and seeing are sensory-driven and make the reader feel as if they are with them experiencing it. The reader really connects with the characters and feels for them, making them feel like they personally know them. On numerous occasions, I caught myself wanting to talk to the characters and empathize with them about what they’re going through. LC knows how to make her characters relatable, just like she makes her self appear.

Overall, “The Fame Game” is a relatively good book.

Is she a New York Times Best Selling Author because of the quality of her books or because of her name? Read “The Fame Game” and decide for yourself.

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