COMPETITION REVIEW
Are You Going To Kiss Me Now - Sloane Tanen (2011)
While many of us have spent time daydreaming about being on an island hideaway with our favourite celebrities, Francesca Manning gets that chance - but she can't wait to get the hell out of there. Though she previously spent her afternoons digging through the tabloids and reading up on celebrities, she never thought she'd actually meet them. However, when Francesca sends in a (faux) essay to Seventeen magazine in an effort to win the trip of a lifetime with five celebrities - and to take her mind off her father's betrayal - she is amazed to be picked as the winner. Soon, she finds herself taking flight with a celebrity pilot - think John Travolta - and four non-airbrushed, but still gorgeous, celebrities. They're off to Madagascar to promote literacy in children but unfortunately, they never make it, as Joe, the pilot, crash lands them on a deserted island somewhere in the southern hemisphere. At first, most of the celebrities aren't too concerned with being lost at sea, so sure they are that they will be missed and searched for by their assistants, managers and legions of adoring fans. But, after a day on this tiny island with no food, water or other necessary supplies, Francesca and the A-list celebs she's been so anxious to meet, realise they are not going to be rescued anytime soon - if at all. So, to keep busy Francesca starts "texting" her best friend Jordan, more out of habit than anything else, even though there is no reception while sitting in the middle of an uninhabited island. The celebrities, which include a seemingly drug-addicted actress, the world's hottest actor and the lead singer of a Christian boy band, start to show their true colours and while some of them are really quite vain, for the most part they are funny and crazy in their own individual ways. As the five stars bicker and trash each other, Francesca just wants to go home and get back to her normal life. When trapped on an island full of famous faces, is it possible for an unknown girl to come out as a hero? With tons of hilarious celeb mockery and characters that seem like they were ripped off the pages of US Weekly, this is a phenomenal read that will make you think twice about picking up a tabloid and admiring (or worshipping) those who inhabit its glossy pages. If you read only one book this year, make sure it's this one. (AS)
