Review: Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson

Catch a Falling Star

By: Kim Culbertson

Pub. Date: April 29, 2014

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Pages: 304

Source: Netgalley

Nothing ever happens in Little, CA. Which is just the way Carter Moon likes it. But when Hollywood arrives to film a movie starring former child star turned PR mess Adam Jakes, everything changes. Carter's town becomes a giant glittery set and, much to her annoyance, everyone is starry-eyed for Adam. Carter seems to be the only girl not falling all over herself to get a glimpse of him. Which apparently makes her perfect for the secret offer of a lifetime: playing the role of Adam's girlfriend while he's in town, to improve his public image, in exchange for a hefty paycheck. Her family really needs the money and so Carters agrees. But it turns out Adam isn't at all who she thought he was. As they grow closer, their relationship walks a blurry line between what's real and what's fake, and Carter must open her eyes to the scariest of unexplored worlds - her future. Can Carter figure out what she wants out of life AND get the guy? Or are there no Hollywood endings in real life?

I received this galley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Scholastic.

Carter lives in a small town in California where nothing exciting ever happens. But then Hollywood former child star and heartthrob, Adam Jakes begins shooting a movie there and everything changes for Carter. Her family needs money, and Adam hires her to be his pretend girlfriend so he can get some positive press, instead of all the negative press that usually follows him. I really enjoyed watching the fake relationship between Carter and Adam grow into a real relationship. She's the perfect small town girl who does no wrong and he's the stereotypical actor who can definitely be a dick sometimes. The more you get to know him though, the more you realize what a sweet guy he is.

I know that Catch a Falling Star is a short, sweet contemporary but I was hoping for a little bit more. This story, or variations of this story has been done so many times, so I was hoping for a different spin on it. Unfortunately, it was the same exact story that I have read before. Which left me with feelings of disappointment.   

I did enjoy the posts written by a mysterious person. It's pretty easy to figure out who was actually writing them, but I thought they were really interesting to read. I learned some things about space that I did not know. 

Overall, this was a cute story, I was just hoping to have more of a connection with the story and the characters.