March 18, 2013
Pride goes before the fall, and 17-year-old Maya Morgan is entitlement personified in this first book in the Rumor Central series. Maya and her rich, glamorous, and spoiled friends are the subjects of Miami Divas, a drama- and luxury-fueled reality TV show in the vein of the Real Housewives franchise, until Maya is offered a TMZ-style show of her own. She takes the job, alienating her former costars and getting dumped by her boyfriend. On Rumor Central, Maya is paid to dish the dirt on celebrities and the elite circles she runs in; unlike in Gossip Girl, though, everyone knows who Maya is, making her an instant target. Maya’s loose lips and all-around “divatude” lead to arrests, anonymous threats, and failing grades, building to some inevitable wake-up calls. Billingsley’s dialogue is on point, and while few teens’ realities resemble Maya’s, the point of this guilty pleasure is wish fulfillment, sensationalistic scandal, and snappy one-liners. While the story holds few surprises, fans of Ni-Ni Simone, Nikki Carter, and Kelli London should eat up the drama and bad behavior. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sara Camilli Agency.