Beautiful World

By Anastasia Hollings

Amelia Warner will stop at nothing to get what she wants: everything. Seventeen-year-old Amelia Warner is always on the outside. Moving from boarding school to boarding school with her brother and their father, the untenured professor, doesn't help. Amelia lives inches from the sons and daughters of the elite, forever looking in on the beautiful people. A natural-born charmer who doesn't lie so much as rework the truth to her advantage, Amelia is well-versed in the art of faking a high-society identity to get limited access to the luxe life, but she's never figured out how to truly belong. Then she meets Courtney Moore, the Upper East Side heiress who needs a friend as badly as Amelia wants to be that friend, and suddenly a world of opportunity opens up for her. Parties, shopping, her own wing in the Moore mansion--it's all hers for the taking, as long as she can keep her real life a secret, especially from the new acquaintance who's been asking way too many questions. Can Amelia stay one step ahead of the doubters to secure her place in the beautiful world?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061435325
• ISBN13: 9780061435324
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.5"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Amelia (ok, it's really Ann, but only her dad and her brother can get away with calling her by her real name) wants so much more out of life than her current lot. Her father is a professor who can't seem to acquire tenure during any of his teaching jobs. And her mother has run off to live an extravagant lifestyle, cutting all ties to her and her brother. Amelia has heard rumors that her mother is currently the mistress to a wealthy French man. It's on a working trip (for her father) to the resort island of St. Bart's that Amelia and her brother, Zach, meet Courtney Moore. Courtney is everything Amelia wants to be. Fate must be watching out for Amelia, because Courtney's parents invite the two of them to join the family for brunch at their table. From that moment on, Amelia and Courtney are inseparable during the vacation. But too soon, Courtney's family has to return to New York. Amelia has spun a web of lies about the posh life that she and Zach live. Courtney is fascinated with the adventures that they have (supposedly) experienced. Courtney hopes to meet up with the two again in the future. Amelia, an excellent manipulator to get what she wants, knows exactly how to play Courtney to be able to enjoy the perks that a rich lifestyle can bring. It's only when Amelia finally is introduced to Courtney's best friends, Piper and Geoff (yes, with a "G"), that she has to really step up her game and remember which lies she's said to whom. BEAUTIFUL WORLD is the start of a new series by Ms. Hollings. The author has taken the "sad little poor girl" theme and tweaked it. Instead of having to suffer through the agony of a poor girl looking in (think Reed Brennan in the PRIVATE series or Jenny Humphrey in the IT GIRL series), Amelia is determined not to let her lack of funds stand in her way. Amelia is a conniving and manipulative girl, determined to wend her way into the world she feels she should've been born into. The story leaves the reader hanging, as it seems Amelia has met her match in Piper. Will the two battle for Courtney's friendship, or will they become tight and forget that Courtney even exists? Reviewed by: Jaglvr