Heather Cochran, Mean Season

Mean Season

Heather Cochran

Red Dress, Sep 2004, $12.95, 304 pp.

ISBN: 037325069X

Ten years ago as a young teen, Leanne Gitlin fell in love with soap opera star Joshua Reed. A few years later she became the president of his local fan club. Leanne becomes elated to learn that her hero is filming nearby her hometown of Pinecob, West Virginia. When she meets him, she finds he is obnoxious. When she learns he got himself into a legal jam involving a stolen car, a DUI, and an injured cow, she agrees to guarantee his behavior with the court that places Joshua under house arrest at her home.

Joshua is a boorish bore as he makes it abundantly clear that he wants nothing to do with her, her home, or her town although the locals and the media have turned his visit into a wild free for all; instead he wants to return to his urban playground. Reassessing where she is and where she is going, Leanne wonders what could have been with her former boyfriend Max Campbell. As Joshua continues to be a pain in the butt, Max returns home because he misses Leanne, who is now a fifteen minute celebrity.

This is an entertaining look at fame from the perspective of an idol-worshipper who watches her flesh and blood hero behave like an uncaring Prima Donna. The storyline focuses on twenty-five-year-old Leanne who has her dreams fulfilled only to find she has landed in a nightmare as her idol, who she "slaved" for gratis as a local chapter fan club president, is an undeserving jerk. Chick lit readers will appreciate this delightful you-get-what-you-wish-for tale.

Harriet Klausner