A great story with a fun plot about a regular girl swapping places with her celebrity doppelganger. I loved it and I could see it in my head like it was a movie--one that I would totally watch!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I liked the people of color representation in this book. I liked that Red was very real and went after what she wanted.
I'm just not sure that every parent would be okay with their kid just going off and being a stand in for a celebrity. I guess since she's 18, it wasn't a big deal.
I did like some of the characters she meets along the journey and how things played out for her.
I think some teens will like this one, but it didn't seem totally realistic that this could happen to anyone.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

I absolutely loved this book, Red as a character was so relatable as someone with big dreams from a small town. It was inspirational to see the things she could accomplish. This book hooked me in from the start and was hard to put down, leading to me finishing it in one day. This is definitely a book I would classify as NA and it was expertly written. You get to watch Red's character development of wanting to be someone like Zay-Zay into learning to love herself for who she is.

I loved how chaotic it became when Red accidentally told Koi about the breakup and the twists that plot went through. The side characters made this book all the more interesting from Taylor Thompson Lee and his girlfriend Issa, to the family who is nothing but supportive of Red following her dreams to sing, to the staff Zay-Zay allowed to know about Red.

There were a couple things I found a bit hard to read, one if the Brooklish translations: there were just so many of them for a bit. Another part was the poor treatment of the puppy for a bit. They are not major things but things that bothered me None-the-less.

I will definitely be reading another Dana Davis book if I am able to.

This was such a cute, romantic read! It took me a little while to get fully invested in the story, but once we hit the 90 page mark and the romance started to set in, I was hooked!

In this story we follow Red, a recent high school graduate who is fully dedicated to working on her family’s farm, which happens to be facing financial challenges. Although she loves singing, she very clearly sees her future as a farmer and nothing else.

Red manages to catch the attention of pop superstar Zay-Zay Waters, and it turns out they look remarkably alike. Zay proposes that Red pretends to be her for a week in exchange for the money her family needs. From there, this book takes off into a really fun and engaging story. It is compelling to see Red as a “fish out of water,” exploring a completely different life from her own. Accompanied by many enjoyable supporting characters, Red’s journey is sure to keep you engaged.

Where this book really takes off is the romance, which absolutely sold the book for me. Red and the love interest have amazing chemistry, and the love interest is so charming. As for romance tropes, this best falls into the fake dating category, so fans of that trope may really enjoy this book.

Fake Famous is an amazing Young Adult Romance that I would highly recommend for fans of the genre!

Fake Famous by Dana L. Davis is a breezy and quick read that tells the story of Red Morgan, a farm girl from Iowa who bears an uncanny resemblance to a global pop star. Despite her singing talent and vibrant personality, Red's knows her future is set on continuing her life on the family farm in Orange City, Iowa. Meanwhile, Zay-Zay Waters, the famous pop star, is growing tired of the pressures of fame and hatches a plan to use Red as her doppelgänger to fulfill her obligations and earn some much-needed money.

The novel explores the stark contrast between Red's small-town life and the glamorous world of Zay-Zay. Davis does a commendable job describing the hardships faced by Red's family and the strong sense of community in the small-town setting. The satisfying ending brings a sense of closure to Red's journey.

While the concept of Red being a perfect lookalike for Zay-Zay in both appearance and voice is somewhat unrealistic, it's important to remember that this is a work of fiction. Davis's writing style is engaging, and the characters are well-developed. The portrayal of Red's family dynamic is particularly strong, showcasing the importance of familial bonds.

However, some of the dialogue felt unrealistic for teenagers, and there were a few questionable moments, such as the morally ambiguous incident involving a dog, which felt out of place in the overall narrative.

Overall, Fake Famous provides an enjoyable and light read. Although it took some time to become fully invested in the story, the book serves as a form of escapism, offering a glimpse into the world of fame and the challenges that come with it. If you're looking for a quick and entertaining novel with a strong focus on family, this book may be worth considering.

3.8 rounded up to 4/5

I’m obsessed with a celebrity/real person story, and this was a fun YA themed book that looked at that trope. It was easy to read and kept me wondering what was going to happen next. Highly recommend!

a book about swapping places with a doppelganger, fun!

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Red Morgan, a recent high school graduate and Iowa farm girl just happens to be a doppelgänger for Zay Zay Waters, a Pop Star icon.

So when Red does a singing parody on a pile of manure, imitating Zay Zay, she becomes a viral sensation overnight. Soon, Zay Zay waters is knocking on her door asking for Red to fill her place for a bit.

A quick, sweet read.

What would happen if you went from an overworked farm girl to the most popular pop star? This is exactly what happened to Red in Fake Famous.

First off, I really enjoyed the description of Red's small town life on the farm and the hardships that the family faces. As the oldest, she has a lot of responsibilities she takes on as well as managing her younger siblings. A chance recording of her singing goes viral, and the world's biggest pop star, Zay Zay Waters sees it and seeks out Red.

Red agrees to pretend to be Zay Zay as she goes off on another adventure. With very little training, but the help of a manager and make up artist, Red goes undercover as Zay Zay. This part was a bit hard to believe, given how quickly the narration moved through her transformation and moved right into Red being Zay Zay. I wish there was a little more explanation during this part.

The ending was satisfying and generally the book was a quick, fun read. I would read another book by this author!

Fake Famous by Dana L. Davis was easily one of my favorite books by Davis. I feel like Davis is one of the most underrated authors and people need to pick up all her books. Fake Famous was a books that was so good that I didn't want to end. So damn good!!

Good book, a tad unrealistic with how someone can be someone's dopple ganger with the voice as well. Defintily a YAbook
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

The book was very engaging. It is clean and can be read by younger teenagers. The plot is funny, and the writing style is good. It is only a bit unrealistic that a girl can look and sing exactly like another however it is a fiction novel. It is a quick read.

Fake Famous is a sweet romance with a strong female lead. Our heroine, Red, is chosen to impersonate a big pop star that she eerily resembles, and in the process, finds her voice (literally) and her sense of purpose in the world. I really liked the strong family presentation of Red's African-American Iowa farm family, and how that really grounded her as a person. I also liked that the love interest was secondary to Red's first purpose which is to find her place in the world, to find her self. There were no villains in this story, which meant that even the characters who made questionable choices were complex enough for the reader to understand their motivations.
I would definitely recommend this to teen and adult readers of romance.

Again, with the mixed feelings.
Is it me?
This is my trope. Famous guy, regular(ish) girl. And some of this was so sweet and I loved it.
But the dialogue. I think I finally found a YA book I am too old for. Do teenagers actually talk like this?

Still worth a read for the sweet, but you might need a translator to keep up.

I love this book so much!
I really enjoyed everything about this book: the characters, the plot, the writing, the pace. The book left me with a smile on my face and a happy feeling in my heart. What more could one wish for from a book?
I just really love this book.

Huge thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC for review purposes.

First off, big thanks to NetGalley and Dana L. Davis for allowing me early access to this ARC! Red was a great character, she was highly relatable with that oldest child turned third parent kind of way. She would do anything to help her family, which is very honorable. This was such an entertaining read and I will definitely be recommending this to my friends after its pub day!

3.5
Super sweet, if a little bit frothy, but there's a morally ambiguous thing with a dog, which seemed, I don't know, like not the right thing for the fluffy casualness of this particular book.

It took me some time to actually get invested in the book. All the various siblings and friends and neighbours were pretty overwhelming. But once I got the hang of things and characters the story took up an exceptionally special place in my heart.
I love the dynamic between Red and her family. She's such an amazingly down-to-earth and genuine person. It was refreshing without being the over-the-top "innocent" trope.
I enjoyed her journey masquerading as Jay-Jay and in all the ways her real persona shone through. It's like a dream come true vibe.
My only complaint is that the story gave a bit of a teenage drama vibe and not a very NA one; still, one of my best reads of 2023.
Thanks #netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Fake Famous is a fun, compulsively readable, totally escapist novel that would be a great read for young adults who want to indulge in their fame fantasy.

Farmer's daughter Red Morgan looks a lot like celebrity singer Zay Zay Waters - and when an embarassing video featuring Red, manure and 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' goes viral, people think she's Zay Zay herself.

Then Zay Zay shows up on the Morgan farm. She's got a proposition for Red: act as a stand-in for Zay Zay for one week while the celebrity takes a break from public life, in return for enough money to save the struggling farm. While Red's intimidated at first, she finds herself enjoying Zay Zay's fans, her house, her staff, and even her fake boyfriend. As the deception becomes more complicated, Red has to figure out how to balance the promises she made to Zay Zay with her own growing feelings - about her new friends and her newly discovered goals.

For me, the writing was what really made this book. It's fun, it's pacey, it's got a good voice and it really sucks you in. The characters are all fine, but aside from Red, Zay Zay, and a few secondary characters, they don't really stand out from teen celebrity characters I've read in other books. I liked that Red took to celebrity so well - it was refreshing compared to other books that deal with sudden fame or have a celebrity switch trope. This is also clearly a power fantasy book, which is honestly nice. I didn't want to read about the secret struggles of being rich and famous and having a private jet, and the author didn't try to convince me that it's soooo hard to have these things. Red got to have fun in this book, and so did I.

This book isn't super heavy, or super think-y, it's more the definition of feel good. I recommend for people who want to have a light read about a good person where everything turns out happily ever after.

I’ve previously read Somebody I Used to Know and Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now by Dana L. Davis and absolutely loved both. When I saw Fake Famous for request on NetGalley, I just knew I had to read it!

I absolutely loved Red! She is definitely one of my favorite characters written by this author and her relationship with Koi was too cute!

All-in-all, I throughly enjoyed the novel and can’t wait to see what’s next!