Just Like Me, Only Better

February 15, 2010
A divorced Orange County suburbanite's life gets a delicious jolt in Snow's superb romantic comedy. After Veronica Czaplicki's husband leaves her for a mega-rich realtor, she scrapes by, substitute teaching at her son Ben's elementary school and renting a guest house from an overbearing couple. In a fun twist of fate, Veronica's resemblance to young superstar Haley Rush (think: Miley Cyrus meets Lindsay Lohan) attracts Haley's manager, who offers Veronica $100 an hour to pretend to be Haley for photo ops. At first Veronica loves getting a makeover and “dating” Brady Ellis, Haley's hot ex-boyfriend and co-star. The good times, of course, can't last, and romantic treachery lurks. Snow (Here Today, Gone to Maui
) turns what could've been just another single mom mope fest into a wonderfully witty reminder that celebrity always carries a price tag.

April 1, 2010
Veronica did want to marry and have children at a young age. But she never imagined that her husband would find his soul mate in an older woman, leaving her alone with her Ben, struggling to live on a substitute teachers salary. As she sleepwalks through life, Veronicas resemblance to tween star Haley Rush gives her a unique opportunity to become Haleys celebrity double. The money is too good to pass up. So Veronica becomes a sprayed-tan blonde, with hair extensions and unlimited entr'e into the glamorous life of a star, complete with an amazingly hunky ex-boyfriend, all the while trying to maintain her regular life as a mom in the unfashionable Los Angeles suburb where no one in Hollywood would dare to tread. Its getting harder everyday for Veronica to keep fantasy and reality from colliding, and maybe all that glamour is not what it is cracked up to be. An immensely fun read that skewers the celebrity lifestyle with wit and humor that makes Snow an author to watch.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)