Starstruck

Starstruck By: Cyn Balog

Rating: Not my cup of tea

Age Group: 14+

Summary (from Amazon.com):  Gwendolyn "Dough" X doesn't think she has much going for her—she carries a few extra pounds, her family struggles with their small bakery in a town full of millionaires, and the other kids at her New Jersey high school don't seem to know that she exists. Thank the stars for her longtime boyfriend, Philip P. Wishman—or "Wish." He moved away to California three years ago, when they were 13, but then professed his love for her via e-mail, and he's been her long-distance BF ever since.

At the beginning of her junior year, though, Wish e-mails that he's moving back to Jersey. Great, right? Well, except that Dough has gained about 70 pounds since the last time Wish saw her, while Wish—according to his Facebook photos—has morphed into a blonde god. Convinced that she'll be headed for Dumpsville the minute Wish lays eyes on her, Dough delays their meeting as long as she possibly can.

But when she sees Wish at school, something amazing happens. He looks at Dough like she's just as gorgeous as he is. But Wish is acting a little weird, obsessed with the sun and freaked out by rain. And the creepy new guy working at the bakery, Christian, is convinced that there's more to Wish's good looks than just healthy eating and lots of sun. He tells Dough that a mark on Wish's neck marks him as a member of the Luminati—an ancient cult of astrologers who can manipulate the stars to improve their lives. Is Wish and Dough's love meant to be—or are they star-crossed?

My Thoughts:  I’m afraid I’m not very fond of this book.  The concept is very interesting and I did like that the main character wasn’t a stunning beauty, but I didn’t like the way the story was presented.  Dough dwelt on her looks A LOT, and while I can sympathize I don’t think it should be the only think you think about.  She had such awful luck, and almost everyone in the story was a jerk.  I don’t know, it seemed to me this book was about how people are judged by appearances, and yes the end shows that this is wrong, but that doesn’t change the fact that the characters sacrificed a lot just so that they would look better or be seen as better looking.  I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like stories that dwell, and this book is filled with characters that do nothing but.  For all the reasons I personally didn’t like the book, it wasn’t the worst book I’ve read by any means.  It’s just not really my cup of tea.  All in all, I wouldn’t recommend this book. L