ARC Review: Star Struck by Jenny McLachlan

Star Struck
Author: Jenny Mclachlan
Series: Ladybirds #4
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Release Date: March 10th 2016
Book Length: 336

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Following on from Flirty Dancing, Love Bomb and Sunkissed, Jenny McLachlan's next book is perfect for fans of Geek Girl and Louise Rennison.

In a huge fantastic final hurrah to our lovable heroines - Bea, Betty, Kat and Pearl - Jenny McLachlan's latest book tells Pearl's story. Pearl is the 'bad girl' of the group - she drinks, she smokes, she swears - and she's mean to Bea and Betty. But she did fly halfway round the world to rescue Kat in Sunkissed. If there's one thing Pearl knows deep down, it is how to be a friend. And now, more than ever, she could really use a friend.

There will be laughter, there will be tears and there will definitely be kissing. Most importantly, Pearl will be keeping it fierce!

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Review

The Ladybird series is about four best friends and their journey of self-discovery and friendship through adolescence. Star Struck focuses on Pearl, the more temperamental member of the group. Throughout the series Pearl’s bad reputation precedes her, she’s bitchy and mean but while from the outside it looks like Pearl would rather be alone the truth is anything but. Star Struck shows a completely different side to Pearl and valid reasons for her actions and behavior.

            Pearl dreams of being on stage so when her school puts on a production of Romeo & Juliet she knows the part of Juliet is perfect for her. However when new girl Hoshi transfers from Japan and manages to snag the lead role, Pearls vows to steal it back; by whatever means necessary.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Pearl but I was able to appreciate her given her background and home life; I truly felt sorry for her. Pearl's character arc was slow but eventually I was able to admire her bravery and independence. What started as a strained relationship between Pearl and Hoshi soon turned into true friendship and I was happy that Pearl finally had someone to talk to and rely on. The romance was slightly messy, I had my predictions but there was a lot of back and forth that made it confusing.

            Overall Star Struck remains to be the light and quick read that Sunkissed was but it was also missing that spark that usually keeps me engaged with the story. While I enjoyed the characters the plot dragged a lot in the middle and I also found that the ending to Star Struck left me with more answers than questions and I’m not a big fan of open-ending’s, especially when they’re the last in a series. Plus after becoming concerned for Pearl and her circumstances at home I would have liked to have known what happened afterwards or if certain issues were ever resolved.