Something, Maybe

by Elizabeth Scott Narrated by Ellen Grafton

Overview

I wonder what it would be like to do high school things. To go out on the weekends. To kiss a guy. To have a normal life. A real one.

Everyone thinks their parents are embarrassing, but Hannah knows she's got them all beat. Her dad made a fortune showcasing photos of pretty girls and his party lifestyle all over the Internet, and her mom was once one of her dad's girlfriends and is now the star of her own website. After getting the wrong kind of attention for way too long, Hannah has mastered the art of staying under the radar...and that's just how she likes it.

Of course, that doesn't help her get noticed by her crush. Hannah's sure that gorgeous, sensitive Josh is her soul mate. But trying to get him to notice her; wondering why she suddenly can't stop thinking about another guy, Finn; and dealing with her parents make Hannah feel like she's going crazy. Yet she's determined to make things work out the way she wants-only what she wants may not be what she needs....

Once again, Elizabeth Scott has created a world so painfully funny and a cast of characters so heartbreakingly real that you'll love being a part of it from unexpected start to triumphant finish.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Following the bleak Living Dead Girl, Scott returns to teen romance, populating this one with a pair of unusually noteworthy parents. It's been five years since 17-year-old Hannah has had any contact with her father, a Hugh Hefner manqué in his 70s who has a reality TV show and Web site that chronicles his comings and goings with his "special girls." Hannah's mother, one of those "girls" before Hannah's birth, now runs a Web site that features her in live chat wearing only lingerie. Although Hannah strives for invisibility, she finds herself attracting attention from two male classmates and co-workers at her afterschool job: Josh, who seems to be politically aware and sensitive, and Finn, who seems to be a football-playing clod. Readers will quickly clue into the truth, that Josh is a jerk and Finn is a gem, but Scott's spot-on dialogue and deft feel for teen angst will keep them entertained. The unusual family dynamics allow the author to explore familiar themes from a fresh angle. This is a satisfying, romantic coming-of-age story. Ages 14-up. (Mar.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Hannah spends her days trying to stay invisible while at school and then obsessing over her love interest, Josh, while taking burger orders at a fast-food restaurant in Elizabeth Scott's novel (Simon Pulse, 2009). Her father, an infamous reality TV star, is a Hugh Hefner-like character whose only contact with his daughter is designed to increase his show's ratings. Her mother, who was one of his many girlfriends, is a minor actress who has a Web show where she talks online while scantily dressed. Ever since she moved to a small town five years ago with her mother, Hannah has tried not to be embarrassed by her parents and to call very little attention to herself by wearing sloppy clothes, no makeup, and her hair in a ponytail. Remaining relatively friendless, she dreams of her first kiss (with Josh, of course) and a normal life. Things seem to turn around when Josh starts paying attention to her, but she has more in common with Finn, another co-worker. Life for Hannah has suddenly become complicated. Ellen Grafton's quirky narration gives an authentic voice to Hannah and the other characters. While all the situations are not quite believable, this very funny story will delight romance fans who enjoy a light-hearted look at the complexities of teen life.—Jeana Actkinson, formerly Bridgeport High School, TX

Kirkus Reviews

Hannah is proud of her hard-earned reputation of "invisible girl," something that wasn't easy for her to achieve, due to her infamous parents. Her estranged father, Jackson, is something of a Hugh Hefner type. Candy, her mother, supports herself and Hannah by posing for fans in her underwear. Now a senior, quiet-yet-sassy Hannah finds herself crushing on two boys: sensitive, gorgeous, perfect Josh and awkward, funny Finn. Which boy to choose, however, becomes the least of Hannah's problems when her dad calls in an attempt to rekindle their relationship. Through crushes and fights, Hannah comes to a deeper understanding of what it means to love. Hannah is neither too witty nor too empty but nicely normal, and Scott shows an understanding of the many stages of teen romance, from infatuation to breakup. This classic girl-meets-boys story will capture the whole spectrum of girl romance readers. Unfortunately, the cover depicts a blond in a tank top, where Hannah is actually a brunette who prefers to keep herself covered up-a misstep readers will notice. (Fiction. YA)

From the Publisher

"The best love story I've read in ages." — Sarah Dessen, bestselling author of Lock and Key

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172292774
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	07/20/2009
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

one

Everyone's seen my mother naked.

Well, mostly naked. Remember that ad that ran during the Super Bowl, the one where a guy calls and orders a pizza and opens the door to see a naked lady with an open pizza box ("The pizza that's so hot it can't be contained!") covering the bits you still aren't allowed to see on network television?

That was her. Candy Madison, once one of Jackson James' girlfriends, and star of the short-lived sitcom Cowboy Dad. Now she's reduced to the (very rare) acting job or ad, but she was relatively famous (or infamous) for a few days after the football game with a pre-game show that lasts longer than the actual game.

Whoo.

You might think the ad caused me nothing but grief at school, but aside from a few snide comments from the sparkly girls (you know the type: unnaturally white teeth, shining hair, personalities of rabid dogs) and some of the jock jerks (who, of course, were watching the game, and like both pizza and naked women — not a stretch to figure they'd be interested), no one else said anything to me.

But then, no one really talks to me. That's good, though. I've worked long and hard to be invisible at Slaterville High, an anonymous student in the almost 2,000 that attend, and I want it to stay that way. (The school website actually boasts that we're larger than some colleges. I guess overcrowding is a good thing now.)

However, the ad has caused me nothing but grief at home. When it aired, traffic to Mom's site, candymadison.net, tripled, and she worked to keep it coming back, giving free "chats" (where she sits around in lingerie and answers questions about her so-called career and Jackson), and pushing her self-published autobiography, Candy Madison: Taking It All Off. We actually sold ten of the twenty-five cases of the thing stacked in our garage.

And the press coverage? Mom loved it. The ad only ran once, because some senator's kid saw it and...you know where I'm going, right?

Of course you do, and naturally, the ad became extremely popular online. Celeb Weekly magazine did five questions with her, and Mom pushed her website and book and then talked about how she was always looking for "interesting, quirky character roles."

The week it ran, Mom bought ten copies of the magazine at the grocery store and wandered around the house grinning and flapping the interview at me. The phone rang almost hourly, her brand-new agent calling with offers (mostly for work involving no clothing, which Mom turned down) and an invitation to appear on a talk show.

Not a classy talk show, mind you, but still, it was a talk show. She said yes until she found out the show was about "Moms Who Get Naked: Live! Nude! Moms!" and backed out. Not because she objected to being called a mom. Or because she knew — because I'd told her so — that I'd die if she did it.

It was the "nude" thing.

"I've never done any nude work!" she said to her agent. "I'm an artist, an actress — all right, yes, the ad. But I was wearing a pizza box! I want to be taken seriously. What about getting me on the talk show with the woman who says 'Wow!' all the time and gives her audience free cars? I could talk to her."

The "Wow!" lady wasn't interested, Mom's new agent stopped calling, and today, when we go to the supermarket, Celeb Weekly doesn't have her picture in it.

"I don't understand," she says. "I got so much e-mail from my fans after that interview, and they all said they'd write to the magazine and ask for more. Do you think I wasn't memorable enough?"

I look at her, dressed in a tight, bright pink T-shirt with CANDYMADISON.NET in sequins across the front, and a white skirt that barely skims the tops of her thighs. Her shoes have heels that could probably be used to pierce things.

"You're very memorable, Mom. Did you get the bread?"

"I don't eat bread." Is she pouting? It's hard to tell. She's had a lot of chemicals injected into her face.

"I know, but I do," I say, and take the Celeb Weekly she thrusts at me.

"Sorry," she says. "I'm just in a bad mood. They could have at least run one picture!"

"I know, but they..." I say, and trail off because there's Mom, in the back of the magazine under "Fashion Disasters!" The picture of her they're running was taken at the premiere of a play she did way (way) off Broadway a week ago. The play ran for exactly one night. She played a nun (now you see why the play lasted one night) and wore a dress with what she called "strategic cutouts" to a party afterward.

The caption under the picture reads, "Note to Candy Madison: Sometimes pizza boxes ARE more flattering!"

"What?" Mom says, trying to look at the magazine again. "Did I miss something? Is there a picture of me? Or, wait — is Jackson in there?"

"Um...Jackson," I tell her, and she looks at me, then pulls the magazine out of my hands and sees the picture.

And then she starts jumping up and down. Never mind that everyone in the grocery store is watching her even more than they usually do, most with resigned "Oh, why must she live HERE" expressions on their faces, and a few with "Oh, I hope she jumps higher because that skirt is covering less and less" grins.

"I'll go get the bread," I say, and get away. She'll be done jumping when I get back because she'll have seen the caption. At least this means we won't have to buy ten copies of the magazine. I would rather have food than look at pictures of celebrities. (Call me crazy, but I just think it's a better choice.)

I am glad it was a picture of Mom (though I wish it was a better one) because I would so rather look at her than Jackson James, founder of jacksonjamesonline.com, the home of JJ's Girls, and current star of JJ: Dreamworld. He's 72, acts like he's 22, and once upon a time Mom had a child with him. Check out any online encyclopedia (or gossip site) if you don't believe me. The photo you see — and it's always the same photo — is of me and Jackson. It was taken when I was a baby, but still. It's out there.

When I get back, Mom has seen what they said about her, but still wants a copy of the magazine.

"I don't think that many people look at the captions, do you?" she says as we're heading out into the parking lot, stroking the glossy cover of Celeb Weekly. "I can't believe I'm in here again." Her smile is so beautiful, so glowing. So happy.

Mom almost never looks happy. Not really.

"I bet plenty of people will see the picture," I say, which isn't a lie. I'm sure plenty of people will. But I bet they'll read what's under it too. She doesn't need to hear that, though. Not now. I put the last of the groceries in her car and say, "I'll see you after work, okay?"

She nods, and when she hugs me, I tug her shirt down. Copyright © 2009 by Elizabeth Spencer

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