Pop Princess by Rachel Cohn Review

 Hi ForeverBookers,

How are you all today? I hope the hot weather isn’t bothering you too much if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, like me! 

I’ve just finished Pop Princess by Rachel Cohn and I enjoyed it. It was a reread. I remember this because the book was part of a book fair at school and I had to be 13 years old to buy it because of the content. I was 12 at the time, though nearly 13 so I got a friend who was 13 to buy it for me! I don’t suggest lying to get a book by the way. Anyway, Pop Princess tells the story of a 16 year old girl (for the majority), Wonder, and her quest to become a pop princess. She’s lost her sister through a car hitting her before the story starts. Does she enjoy the quest for stardom or is she surprised by certain aspects? You’ll need to read to find out! 

I read Pop Princess for a few readathons/book challenges. They were:

Cardcaptor-a-thon - The Song - Read a book to do with music! Pop Princess fits perfectly as it’s about a girl wanting to become a singer.

Reading Rivalry - A book with gold, silver or bronze on the cover - My edition of Pop Princess has a girl’s tanned or bronzed stomach on it. She’s also got a silver belly button ring too.

Pop Sugar Reading Challenge - A book by an author who shares your Zodiac sign - I'm a Sagittarius and so is Rachel Cohn, so this is perfect!

As this is a contemporary story and a YA, though older YA one at that, I’m not going to go very in depth in this review. 

There’s bullying, one incident of drug use, a bit of bad language, and talk of sex in Pop Princess!

Spoilers Below...

Wonder works at the Dairy Queen, a restaurant chain in America. There she’s singing when a talent scout sees her. 

“Do you have a demo tape?” Musicians and singers struggle for years to hear a major talent scout ask them that question. I got it over a mop and pail with no desire for it whatsoever.

“Oh sure,” I said. “i made one while I was singing in the shower this morning. Let me just have my people FedEx it over to you.”

Tig, a ‘major talent scout’ likes what he hears of Wonder’s voice. Wonder has a cheeky remark to him asking her for a demo tape because she doesn’t think she’s that good. Tig goes on to explain that he’s in town to escape his ex wife and thinks it would be fun to work with Wonder and introduce her to stardom. 

“...so what better way to hide out than by discovering a new pop sensation during the off-season? C’mon, it’d be fun; help an old guy have some fun in this beautiful boring town.”

This starts Wonder’s and her mother, Marie’s fascination with a pop career and thinking at first that she’s all that! However as the career gets off the ground she’s left thinking is it worth it? She’s got no friends, no school, since she quits to be a pop princess. Her dad wants her to take an exam, which she refuses to do as she thinks her pop career is far more important. She has no real hope of anything else other than her pop career, which could end at any moment the record company no longer wants her! Is it worth it? What does she decide to do? What’s best for her? You’ll need to read to find out.

I enjoyed the characters in Pop Princess. While the plot was quite simple, the characters bought the story to life, especially Wonder and Kayla, the girl who’s already a pop princess, Wonder’s mentor or protégé if you like. Kayla was a little madam in that she was selfish, and only thought about herself, for a lot of the story, though, as is seen in,

“When was Kayla not happy? When through her bedroom door she could hear ‘Bubble Gum Pop’ from the speakers in the front of the bus, particularly on Top 40 countdown Sundays when it turned out ‘Bubble Gum Pop’ was number one. Again.”

This is an example of Kayla being selfish. This happens towards the end of the book, when Wonder is on tour with Kayla, as her start up act and her hit song, “Bubble Gum Pop” is number one on the radio AGAIN! Kayla can’t stand to be second best.

Another significant character is Liam, who becomes the eye candy to Wonder. Liam is her first in so many ways. Does he become her first boyfriend too, or is there someone else? You’ll need to read to find out!

Overall then, I enjoyed Pop Princess for what it was. Do I think it’s stood the test of time? I’m not a huge YA contemporary fan so I can’t judge it that well but for me it had bits I laughed at as well as the serious bits and a romance plot too, which I always LOVE in books! However, you can certainly tell it was written for an older YA audience! That's the main reason why I'm giving "Pop Princess" three stars!