Will the Real Abi Saunders Please Stand Up by Sara Hantz – a Review

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Description:
Abi Saunders might be a kickboxing champion, but when it comes to being the center of attention, she’d rather take a roundhouse kick to the solar plexus any day. So when her trainer convinces her to audition to be the stunt double for hot teen starlet Tilly Watson, Abi is shocked—and a little freaked out—when she gets the job.

Being a stunt double is overwhelming, but once the wig and makeup are on, Abi feels like a different person. Tilly Watson, to be exact. And when Tilly’s gorgeous boyfriend, Jon, mistakes Abi for the real star, Abi’s completely smitten. In fact, she’s so in love with her new life, it isn’t long before she doesn’t have time for her old one.

But when the cameras are turned off, will she discover running with the Hollywood A-list isn’t quite the glamorous existence she thought it was?

Review:

Will The Real Abi Saunders Please Stand Up by Sara Hantz is a YA novel that caught me by surprise.  Most YA books I read are usually dystopian, or other strong types of stories.  Though I have read Sara Hantz before, I did not expect to love the story as much as I did.  This was a simple sweet, entertaining story of Abi Saunders, an 18 year old girl, who is not comfortable around people, as she stutters. Abi is our heroine, who works out in the local gym, being an award winning young female kickboxer.   Abi has two great friends, Liv and Matt, whom she is totally comfortable with.  The three of them are inseparable, and Abi never stutters with them.  Abi also has a crush on Matt, whom she feels only sees her as a friend.

We spend time early on with this wonderful friendship, and then Abi is offered a chance to become a stunt double for a well-known actress, Tilly Watson during a movie shoot.  It is Liv and Matt who convince Abi to take the job, since it would be good experience for her, and help her become more confident in herself.  After the first audition, Abi makes friends with the crew, and each passing day, she becomes more confident, since she truly is one of the best, and stunt work seems to be perfect for her.

At first Abi would run home to tell her friends about the work behind the scenes of a movie, and meeting all the actors and director.  Slowly, as her hours increase, Abi becomes too comfortable playing Tilly.  She meets Jon, an actor and boyfriend of Tilly.  Soon Abi becomes hooked, & begins spends more time with her new found friends, ignoring Liv & Matt.  She thinks she is doing nothing wrong, as it’s a job.  She also finds herself becoming more and more attracted to Jon, and fancies that he too is beginning to care for her.

What follows is an excellent story, allowing us to see Abi’s confidence build, as she garners the respect of the crew and director with her ability.  We watch her as she slowly changes, totally caught up in the world of movies and fame; seeing herself giving up her kickboxing, and life at home to become a full time stunt person.  Will Abi give up her life at home and her friends? Is Jon really as nice as Abi thinks?

Sara Hantz proves herself to be a wonderful writer, as she grabs our attention from the start with this fast paced sweet story, that was a very enjoyable and fun to read.  We find ourselves totally in Abi’s corner, rooting for her; worrying about her; as well as shaking our head at times.  Hantz has also done a fabulous job creating the wonderful secondary characters, as I loved Liv, Matt, and even enjoyed the different faces of Tilly. This was a nice, quick, and fun storyline to read, and I totally recommend reading this book.

Reviewed by Barb

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