Me & Miss M (Jemma Forte)
Do you ever wish you could mix among the rich and famous at the Oscars?
Fran in Jemma Fortes’ fascinating Hollywood chick-lit read Me & Miss M (Penguin; $24.95) will take you behind the scenes of the glitz….but far from glamorous life of a celebrity PA as we follow her adventures in tinsel town.
After been fired from her PR job and dumped by her boyfriend who was cheating on her with his fiancé who is soon to have his baby…things couldn’t get any worse for Fran!
Soon enough Fran learns about the un-glamorous side to fame penning a novel; Diary of a Personal Assistant as Caroline’s true personality reveals its evil monstrous head in the form of a demanding superficial diva! Me & Miss M; quickly informs us the qualities that are needed to be a first class celebrity PA;
‘It is imperative that you have an obsession with lists, head like the yellow pages and a degree in fashion. Incredible skills in diplomacy are must, as is a built in bullshit radar, with close relations working at the airlines and all the local councils and a degree in the inner workings of mobile phones and computers’.
Just when you think Fortes’ novel is becoming repetitive, there is a nice twist in the middle leaving the reader wanting more. Author Jemma Forte has worked in the British Television industry including five years with the Disney Channel among presenting on the BBC and Channel 4 in London. Because of this I can not help but wonder could the main characters like Caroline be based on a real actress as there is no shortage of name dropping and magazine title references such as; Brangelina, George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert De Niro, Cameron Diaz, John Travolta, Donna Karen, Vanity Fair, E! Entertainment and OK magazine.
Towards the end there is also a great inside glimpse into the Oscars Red Carpet and after party.
This novel is great for anyone who has ever wondered what it’s like to be in the celebrity circle, across between Bridget Jones’s Diary and Devil wears Prada.
The theme of the novel centre’s around Fran’s notion of fame, which I’m sure is something that everyone in there lives has contemplated at one point;
‘I’ve always been a bit obsessed with the notion that being famous would be completely fantastic. And now that I’ve seen firsthand the doors that fame can open, the privilege it brings and how much there is to be had, well, I still think to some extent. But what I’m finally coming to understand is that unless you’re a very secure and happy person to start off with, then fame is only ever going to mess you up’.
If you liked this pick up a copy of Chore Whore by Heather. A. Howard (Harper Collins) another fascinating celebrity PA read!
