For the Love of Football! Interfence

Interference
by Kay Honeyman
Arthur A. Levine Books
2016
352 pages
ISVB: 9780545812320

Available September 27,  2016

 

Review

Advance Praise for Interference

"I loved reading about Kate, who uses her street smarts and political know-how to go after what she knows is right. With its winning combination of football, politics, and a swoony small-town romance, this story stole my heart." -- Miranda Kenneally, author of Catching Jordan and Defending Taylor

"If you've ever messed up big time and yearned to hit restart, you must read Interference. Kay Honeyman's big-hearted exploration of life after a scandal reveals the true meaning of love, forgiveness, and courage." -- Justina Chen, author of North of Beautiful and A Blind Spot for Boys

"Kay Honeyman scores a touchdown with Interference, a fabulous read about new beginnings and family politics, freshly spun with humor, scandal, football, and a little romance." -- Elizabeth Eulberg, author of The Lonely Hearts Club and Better Off Friends

 

My Review:

 

Refreshing and light, a true winner!

 

Fleeing Washington, D.C.,  and a scandal, Kate's family travels back  to Red Dirt, Texas, where her career politician and Congressman father is  the local legend and is known as the town's best high school star quarterback. For Kate, Red Dirt can help her get community service hours she needs. She also wants to work on her photography portfolio for entry to college. What she finds to photograph is red dirt and lots of it! A boy she meets  helps her see the beauty of he west Texas sunset.

 

Kate's parents are so involved in politics and spinning the story, they don't think of anything else, including their own daughter and living in the moment. At first, Kate decides to opt out of her father's race and concentrate on her photography and classes.

 

Kate takes a volunteer job with her curmudgeonly Aunt Celia at the animal rescue where she  works with   Hunter who seems like he's only trying to help. To Kate, his "interference" bothers her; she wants to be independent and show people she's strong. She does not need or want a boy helping her or sticking up for her. Hunter gets exasperated that Kate is so stubborn.

 

When Kate tries to play matchmaker for Ana and Kyle, she makes a big mess of things and almost loses the high school football team's hopes for a championship  and her dad threatens to send her back to Washington. Even in a small town, politics can get dirty and Kate will have to use her smarts if she wants to make it in Red Dirt.

 

Interference is that small town, feel good book where boy meets girl, football is KING and Friday Night Lights, politics are dirty, and gossip travels faster than  a Texas brushfire.

 

Readers will embrace Kate who is clever and creative. She does not act like a pampered Washington debutante. Shoveling pig stys and birthing calves is not exactly glamorous, but Kate pitches in like a champ. Kate has moxie by the boatload. This girl is a real winner! Hunter is swoon worthy and the perfect "burr" under Kate's saddle (for those not from Texas, that means he's a pain).

 

Recommended grade 7 and up. No profanity, no sex. This Scholastic book will probably be on fall or spring middle school book fairs.

 

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Non-Fiction Pick: Shooting Stars: My Unexpected Life Photographing Hollywood's Most Famous

Shooting Stars: My Unexpected Life Photographing Hollywood's Most Famous
by Jennifer Buhl
Sourcebooks
2014
352 pages
ISBN: 9781402237007

Visit the author's website and learn more about her adventures in Hollywood

Jennifer Buhl, like so many starry-eyed dreamers,  moved to Hollywood to find fame and fortune on the silver screen. Just like the thousands of others, she finds herself waiting tables and counting her pennies not her job offers. A chance encounter with a mob of photogs convince her that she's in the wrong business. Instead of waiting on customers and picking up tips, she could be following celebrities and picking up "tips" about their whereabouts.

She convinces Richard, a nice looking paparazzi, to allow her to ride along with him on his next adventure. They follow Britney Spears up a steep canyon road to her house. They're not alone--about 25 other photogs are in the convoy of tinted windowed SUVs. They leave empty handed but Buhl is fascinated. She finds a news agency online and talks her way into a job--a sort of job. At first using borrowed camera equipment, Buhl learns the ins and outs of celebrity "shooting."

Shooting Stars reads like a gossip-y reality show or an episode of E News. There's plenty of name dropping and some name calling--take that, Seal! Readers learn that Seal does not have very nice behavior toward a female photographer, Nicole Richie secretly likes the paps, Paris Hilton will always pose and she drives slowly so the paps can get their best shots. Some celebs are not so nice--Seal, for one according to Buhl and Keith Urban and wife  Nicole Kidman are private people who don't take kindly to a photog sneaking pictures of them.

The inside scoop on the paparazzi is detailed throughout the book. Most of the paps live and work in L.A. which has the highest numbers of stars. Most of the seasoned paps are British--they started their careers as news photographers. Now, many of the paps are from Mexico or South America. Most are male; very few are female. Buhl learns to pay for tips and has a grocery clerk tip her off when a celebrity is sighted in his store.

There are some cardinal sins to shooting photos: don't take pictures of celebrities' children or at their school, don't ever take a photo of a celebrity inside her home or in the back yard, ask if you may take the photo, make eye contact, if you can make a celebrities  laugh, they will always allow you to take a photo.  Also, ugly pictures don't sell. The public wants to see pretty pictures of celebrities doing normal things: walking the dog, shopping for groceries, or driving a car. They don't want to see their favorite celebrity in a compromising shot. No one ever "outs" a celebrity until the celebrity comes out of the closet on his/her own.

Buhl clears up the misconceived notion that celebrities hate the paparazzi; most celebrities realize the paps help keep them current and in the news. If their pictures aren't out there, the public soon forgets them and they are no longer relevant. In fact, it's a well known fact that many stars call the paparazzi to let them know they are going to an event: a Christmas tree lot or a pumpkin patch or even shopping. The paps get their photos, the photos are paid for, and surprisingly, the paps sometimes even give a percentage back to the star.


The relationship between the paparazzi and celebrities can get heated but for the most part it is symbiotic--each needs the other in order to make money and have a career. Buhl gives readers what they want: a chatty book about a young woman trying to make it work in Hollywood and chasing the dream of working in entertainment. With the onset of Twitter, the paps now know exactly where celebrities are located. If a celebrity posts that she's getting her hair done, the paps knows exactly where she is. Instagram makes it easy for celebrities to post their own images and control what pictures of them are out in the public eye.

Recommended grade 9-up. Language, mature situations.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the arc from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)