Goodbye, Hollywood Nobody

Sigh! It's the perfect ending to an amazing story. In Goodbye Hollywood Nobody, by Lisa Samson, Scotty and her dad are on a mission: find Babette, Scotty's mom. But the journey to Maine only seems to give another dead end. Scotty pushes her sorrow to the back of her mind as she heads to the Red River Home for Children in Kentucky to volunteer, in search of ways to be more Jesusy. Seth Haas calls and mentions that his ex, Karissa, is in trouble. Scotty, in a very Jesusy moment, invites Karissa to the Red River Home, hoping that the actress might find God herself. Scotty loves the children at the home, especially baby Silas. She feels a connection to her mother as she holds the baby. God is good. Karissa shows up in a red convertible, toting enough luggage for a European cruise. The workers at the children's home quickly put her in her place, but it's not until Karissa carelessness causes a major accident that the actress wakes up. Can Scotty do the most Jesusy thing yet and forgive the Karissa for everything? Ever since book one, Lisa Sampson has created a story that tops itself. Where this one wasn't as funny as the first, it's rightly so. Scotty is still as charming as ever, but she's discovering what's important in life. As she nears her eighteenth birthday, Scotty is proof that all a girl really needs in her life is a relationship with Jesus. Standing ovation.

This book was bittersweet for me. I loved it as much if not more than the other books in this series, but I have that nagging feeling that this is the end of the line for these characters and its like saying good-bye to a bunch of friends. This is one YA series that you should read no matter what age you are - it is not inappropriate for the younger crowd (my daughter Sarah - 12) and yet it is truly enjoyable for the mid crowd (me - 33) and the older crowd (my mother-in-law - 63). They are a good investment :-) Just as this book came in and I breezed through it and then my mother-in-law did likewise, Sarah started the first book. She couldn't hardly put it down and went immediately into the second book "Finding Hollywood Nobody". I expect her to be diving into "Romancing Hollywood Nobody" anytime now and I know she's thrilled that I have this last one so she won't have to wait to find out how everything ends. Basically my review comes down to this - I'm not sure I've read another series that I can so highly recommend to any age group - I totally love it!

You will enjoy reading this fun series of books ending with Goodbye Hollywood Nobody. Scotty is a young girl who has an "interesting" life and finds herself in situations that are not only unusual but she grows from them as well. I don't want to say too much and risk spoiling the story for you. But I will say that I would recommend this series for teens and young adults.

Goodbye Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson is an excellent conclusion to a terrific young adult series. Scotty Dawn has been through a lot in the last year, and the reader can track her maturation through the four book series. She has discovered that her mother is really her grandmother, they are on the run from the mob, her father has returned to her life after being thought dead, she's given up her snarky blog about Hollywood, and she's met a couple of cute guys. It's a lot to process for a young women, but Scotty handles it with style. Samson writes in Scotty's voice with a breezy, very teenage-girlesque style. There are a lot of loose ends to tie up with the finale in any series, and I was surprised, but pleased, that Samson didn't take the easy way out. By the end, Scotty has really grown up into a lovely young woman, with a large extended family and a huge love for God. It's been a blessing getting to know her.

What a way to end the HN saga! So much has happened in the life of our Scotty Fitzgerald Dawn that it's hard to write a review without spoilers. GHN is the fourth and final installment of the HN series. This is a wonderful series that should be read by tweens, teens, and young adult girls alike. I actually doubt you could put an age limitation on the enjoyment found in these short novels. Scotty is just a girl in an interesting life trying to figure things out. She puts it well that she "seems to collect people". All around the US Scotty makes friends in different situations and she learns valuable life lessons from all of them. GHN answers some long awaited questions for Scotty, family, and friends. It ends in a perfectly adorable fashion. In this story, at 17 you can definitely see how Scotty has aged and matured. Scotty has always been mature in some ways, but very innocent childlike in others. It is from being around Scotty that people benefit and learn things about themselves. She is a good example of a person to be. I highly recommend the Hollywood Nobody series to anyone and everyone.