Dollhouse (2011)

Kamille, Kassidy and Kyle Ramero are three beautiful sisters modelled - of course - on the real Kardashian sisters. They are smart, funny, sweet and caring but also bitter, vain and flawed. For the most part, they are your average family living in Hollywood, struggling to make ends meet after their father dies and their mother remarries. Things change, however, when Kamille lands a modelling job and becomes an overnight sensation. She soon starts attending star-studded parties and dating a hot baseball player named Chase. Though her family dislikes him for many reasons, Kamille decides to marry him. However, things are not what they seem. When Kamille's older sister, Kassidy, falls pregnant and her younger sister, Kyle, starts getting into hardcore drugs to hide the pain of her father's death, will Kamille come down off of her pedestal to help her family or will she abandon them for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood? Though the book is cliched in many ways, it does have some heart and a few good moments. That being said, the bad moments are more frequent than the good and the plug of Kim Kardashian's Midori endorsement is just plain lame (the characters are drinking Midori sours in one chapter and the word Midori is mentioned quite a few times). In addition, it is interesting that in light of Kim's recent divorce and wedding backlash, there is a sham wedding in the book. It actually says "sham wedding" in the text, and portrays Kamille (who is obviously mirrored after Kim) as the victim of a no-good, cheating fiancee who just happens to be an athlete. Coincidence? Probably not. After all is said and done, this book is a lot like the reality show in which these sisters became famous. It has all the trademarks. It's shallow, superficial, scandalous and shameless. If you love reality TV and all the drama that comes along with it, then this book is for you. But, if you're looking for characters and a story with some depth, then you might want to pass. (AS)

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