London Calling

by Nicole Clarke

When Olivia invited Mel back to England to visit her folks, she didnA't imagine how her parents would react to her hippie-dippie writer friend. The answer: not well. OliviaA's parents all but shut Mel out of the vacation festivities, which include setting Olivia up with a local society heartthrob (never mind that she already has a boyfriend back in the States). Too bad Sir Hottie has his eye on someone elseA-none other than Mel, herself!

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 044844464X
• ISBN13: 9780448444642
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
• Length: 223 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.8" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

A British invasion just in time for the holidays!

With Kiyoko and Alexa back from Paris, it's time for Mel and Olivia to have a little overseas fun, so the two hop a red eye and head to Olivia's home country of London. Mel is expecting everything to be perfect from the moment that she arrives; but before she has even had a chance to unpack her belongings, she can feel Olivia's mother scrutinizing her every move, and criticizing almost everything she says and does. Mel knows that, as a guest in the Cecil-Bourne's home, it's easier to simply take the coldness she's feeling; but the fact that Olivia does nothing to back her up, or defend her position at FLIRT, makes Mel long for a little consoling from her friends back in NYC. Olivia, on the other hand, is feeling the same pressure, only twofold. As the daughter of a haughty, uppity woman, Olivia can't help but feel that each and every decision she makes is frowned upon by her parents. And the fact that she wants to be a jewelry designer, and work in the fashion industry only makes them more perturbed. Between her demanding mother, and the non-stop dinner parties she has been forced into planning, Olivia is feeling similar to Mel - out of her element, and ready to return home. Back in New York City, however,things aren't going much better. Midterms are in full swing, and ever since Kiyoko and Alexa's return from Paris, things have been slightly off-kilter. While Kiyoko insists that she's no longer jealous of Alexa's budding modeling career, Alexa thinks otherwise. But between midterms and go-sees, Alexa finds that she just doesn't have the time to deal with Kiyoko's impending drama, and focuses her efforts on her career. Unfortunately, the more she realizes that her career is taking off, the less time she spends concentrating on her schoolwork, which, in the end, could lead to her destruction. Kiyoko, on the other hand, is managing to keep her head above water in the school department, and has even snagged an interview with a musical genius who could bring FLIRT into new territory. But with the numerous fights taking place between Kiyoko's very own boss and FLIRT's head honcho make her wonder whether she'll have this internship for much longer. While I obviously prefer when all four of the FLIRT girls are together, living it up in New York City under one roof, I must admit that the amount of turmoil that takes place when they are split up, and placed in different and/or new situations, is quite enticing. The descriptions of London within the pages of LONDON CALLING seem to be far and few, what with the amount of problems caused by Olivia's extremely unlikable, demanding mother; but the adorable little puppy love-esque romance Mel develops with a British boy more than makes up for it. It was heartbreaking to see the amount of fighting that took place between the four FLIRT girls within LONDON CALLING, but the fact that they are such appealing characters only made me more interested in finding out what would happen next. Nicole Clarke has done a