Hottie

by Jonathan Bernstein

Overview

Alison Cole’s got it all: She’s gorgeous, dating a steamy surfer boy, and has just been crowned Beverly Hills High Freshman Class President. Then during a special “symmetry” surgery, a lightning bolt zaps her, and Alison instantly transforms into Hottie—that is, a totally sizzling superhero with the power to shoot fire from her fingers!

Shunned as a Pyro-Freak, Alison must adopt dorky David Eels as her crime-fighting sidekick. Worse, she’s falling for the one guy who wants to “extinguish” her forever, Junior Class President of Cuteness— and wannabe firefighter—T. Hull. But she doesn’t realize that a supervillain’s lurking. . . .

Has Hottie met her match?

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101046524
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/02/2009
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	391 KB
Age Range:	12 - 15 Years

About the Author

Jonathan Bernstein is a Scottish-born, L.A.-based screenwriter, author and journalist, and has written articles for Entertainment Weekly, Arena, Spin, Teen People, The New York Observer, Rolling Stone, and Time Out New York. Hottie is his first novel.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 7-10

After gorgeous Alison is elected president of her Beverly Hills High School freshman class, some well-placed criticisms lead her to pursue a new form of plastic surgery that promises even more beauty through perfect symmetry. A power surge disrupts the process and though she emerges as beautiful as ever, she also gains the ability to shoot fire through her fingertips. When a few ill-timed shots of flame and some backstabbing by her friends lead to the teen's fall from popularity, she teams up with the class nerd to use her powers to fight crime and assumes the secret identity of "Hottie." First-time novelist Bernstein's rather long book takes a while to get going; however, once Hottie is on the scene, the diagetic narrator moves the plot right along. No mere superhero story, the novel introduces a love triangle and a supervillain whose identity is revealed in a surprise ending. Like Cecily von Ziegesar's "Gossip Girl" novels (Little, Brown), Hottie drops brand names and Hollywood stars liberally; however, the book's funny but outlandish premise ensures that these details are not aspirational guidelines but more satirical asides.-Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston

School Library Journal

Firestarter meets The O.C. in this mindlessly fun superhero send-up. Smart but shallow Beverly Hills High freshman Alison Cole manages to convince Daddy she needs "Symmetry," a dodgy new plastic-surgery procedure. Thanks to a power surge while in the CAT-scan machine, the already stunning Alison emerges no more symmetrical than before but with the ability to shoot flames from her fingertips. Bewildered by her new power, she turns to uber-nerd and insta-sidekick David Eels, who has read every superhero comic ever written and is eager to be the brains to her blonde. Together they fight against backstabbing girlfriends, mind-bending evil stepmothers and washed-up movie stars-turned-thugs. All while looking fabulous, of course, and coming up with memorable catch phrases like "I'm Hottie. And you're fired!" Using short action-packed chapters, Bernstein, a screenwriter, faithfully details the classic superhero stages: transformation, training, performing, rejection and, finally, acceptance. Though this one-joke paperback original goes on a little too long, seasoned chick-lit readers are bound to enjoy this Malibu Barbie makeover of a traditionally men-in-tights trope. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews