Parents' Guide to

L.A. Candy

By Stephanie Dunnewind, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Not as bad as you might expect from a reality TV star.

Book Lauren Conrad Contemporary Fiction 2009
L.A. Candy Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

CommonSenseParent
CommonSenseParent Parent
December 7, 2010
age 11+

Excellent, well-written read for 6th grade and up

L.A. Candy is a well-written guilty pleasure novel that is an enjoyable and entertaining read for 6th grade and up. I definitely allow my 11-year-old sixth-grader to read this. Kids will enjoy the fun details of the wealthy and privileged. Your children should be smart enough to realize that this is guilty pleasure fiction and should not be taken seriously. A+

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
nicoleerockss
nicoleerockss Parent of 17-year-old
August 26, 2009
age 15+

first page

i only read the first page in a bookstore and i loved it. i will definatly buy it and read the whole thing.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Nineteen-year-old friends Jane and Scarlett move to Los Angeles for a new adventure. Jane plans to intern for an event planner while Scarlett attends classes at USC. When they're hand-picked to star in a new reality show -- described as a PG-version of Sex in the City -- cameras follow them everywhere. As the TV producer tells them, "No one moves here to be a nobody." When the show becomes a hit, the friends have to discover if becoming "somebody" means losing who they are.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (10):

The draw here -- as the book jacket with the author's name twice as big as the title suggests -- is author Lauren Conrad's fame as a star of MTV's reality show The Hills. The entire back cover is a photo of her looking like a model. The book, "loosely inspired by her own experience," highlights the staging of "reality" shots but doesn't dish much insider gossip.

Conrad falls into common new author traps (telling rather than showing, lack of character motivation, caricatured secondary characters), but she's not bad with dialogue. Readers will trust her authenticity in portraying the lives of young adults testing their new independence.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why Jane and Scarlet were so willing to participate in the reality TV show. Would teens want to be followed by cameras documenting their lives?

  • How "real" is reality TV? In what ways does Conrad show how staging and editing affects what happens and what viewers see?

  • What does it mean to be "hot"? Scarlet and Jane learn that L.A. clubs are only popular for six months; "most places are in and out faster than Juicy track suits." What do teens think that says about the nature of trends?

  • Also, what do you think the consequences in real life would be for Scarlet's sexual behavior?

Book Details

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