Back in Black (The A-List Series #5) »

Zoey Dean's A-List is a national bestselling series. She divides her time between Beverly Hills and several small islands in the Caribbean. She is currently working on her next juicy A-List novel, at an undisclosed location.

Back in Black is the 5th guilty pleasure in this witty series that takes readers behind the scenes of the intoxicating world of Hollywood glitterati. It's time for the Beverly Hills High senior class trip to Washington, D.C. But every year the reigning A-List call in sick and do their own trip to Vegas, baby, Vegas. Anna joins Cammie, Adam, Sam, Dee, and Parker on the Vegas trip to the uber-hip Palms Hotel and Casino. During a hypnosis show on The Trip, the group is hypnotized into telling the truth. Dee is confronted with just how whack-o she's become and Adam and Cammie are forced to confess their forbidden lusty secrets. When Anna's oldest and best friend from NYC, Cyn, and Anna's long-time adolescent crush, Scott, show up in Vegas too, Anna finds out just how dangerous telling the truth can be.

Amy S. Pattee - VOYA

The fifth book in this series follows the four main characters-Anna, the wealthy East Coast society girl; Sam, the insecure daughter of an aging action hero; Cammie, the rich and gorgeous bombshell; and Dee, the petite space cadet-to Las Vegas on an unofficial senior class trip. Anna is taken aback when her best friend from New York makes a surprise appearance with her new love-and Anna's former crush-in tow while the typically superficial Cammie considers the depth of her feelings toward her new flame, Adam. Meanwhile Sam struggles with her feelings of jealousy for her new baby stepsister, and Dee becomes convinced that she can communicate telepathically with the child's spirit. All in all, it is business as usual for the A-List girls. Dean's series was created in cooperation with Alloy Entertainment, the same company responsible for Cecily von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl series, and the novels read almost exactly like those series titles would, were their settings transplanted to Hollywood. The prose is as breezy as an issue of Teen People; details of the characters' wardrobes and accessories liberally pepper the book, and readers are whisked from trendy setting to trendy setting along with the gang-not to say that the books are not enjoyable. This entry delivers a few surprises and plot twists that will keep readers engaged, and although most may profess devotion to Anna, the most laid-back character in the novels, part of the pleasure of the books lies in watching and waiting to see what Cammie-a Jessica Wakefield character for the twenty-first century-will do next. VOYA CODES: 3Q 5P J S (Readable without serious defects; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Junior High,defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Little Brown, 294p., Trade pb. Ages 12 to 18.