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After reading the first chapter of Tall Cool One, the fourth book in
Zoey Dean’s A-List series for teens, I suddenly realized how much things have
changed since I was in high school.
Seventeen-year-old Anna recently moved
from Manhattan to Beverly Hills to live with her dad. Since arriving, she’s managed to
make friends with the popular girls in school, but she’s still not totally adjusted to
the laid-back ways of Southern Californians. Unable to forget about Ben, who’s in school
out east—and disturbed by the fact that her divorced parents who once hated each other
appear to be patching things up—Anna jumps at the opportunity to travel to Las Casitas,
an exclusive resort in Mexico, to do some research for her dad, who’s thinking about
buying it.
Meanwhile, Anna’s friend Sam, the daughter of a huge
Hollywood star, is struggling with a seriously negative self-image. She’s been starving
herself for weeks, since, by Beverly Hills standards, her size-ten body borders on
obesity. She’s also dealing with her new 21-year-old stepmom, Poppy, who’s planning the
arrival of her baby (which she’s already named Ruby Hummingbird) with the help of her new
best friend (formerly one of Sam’s best friends), Dee. Tired of dealing with Poppy and
Dee, who’s moved into the guest room down the hall, Sam decides that the best thing to do
is to join Anna in Mexico—so, credit card in hand, she leaves Beverly Hills
behind.
As I said before, the times…they’ve definitely changed. I was
taken aback by the amount of drugs and alcohol and casual sex that popped up in this
book. While the issue of casual sex was handled rather cautiously, heavy drinking and
drug use seem to be the norm, and the characters who don’t drink or sleep around are seen
as inferior or ridiculously naïve. Call me a prude if you want, but I have to admit that
the thought of my teenage friends reading this book made me a bit uneasy.
Squeamishness aside, however, I did find Tall Cool One to be a
fun—if wildly unrealistic—read. Think Beverly Hills, 90210, starring Paris Hilton
and friends. It’s a good poolside read for those who are mature enough to take the
characters’ attitudes with a grain of salt.
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