I have always been a fan of MTV’s hit show “Laguna
Beach: The Real OC.” The show follows a group of
high school kids and films their lives in Laguna Beach.
The breakout star from “Laguna Beach,” Lauren Conrad,
went on to have her life filmed when she moved to
Los Angeles. “The Hills” was born, along with another
obsession of mine.

Over the summer, Conrad debuted her first novel,
“L.A. Candy.” Jane Roberts, an intern for Fiona Chen
Events, is your typical girl-nextdoor.
Her best friend and roommate,
Scarlett Harp, is a brunette
bombshell who attends University
of Southern California. They
become instant celebrities, all in
part to the PopTV producer Trevor
who discovers them at a club.
He tells them that their show L.A. Candy will make
them famous overnight; and it does.

Along with Jane and Scarlett, Madison and Gaby
also co-star in the show. They get into the hottest L.A.
clubs, sit at the plushiest tables and are even stalked by
paparazzi. Although Scarlett doesn’t enjoy the perks of
being on a TV show as much as the other girls do, she
sticks with it for her best friend Jane.

The characters easily resemble Conrad’s friends from
“The Hills.” Scarlett is like Audrina Patridge, sexy but
way smarter. Gaby is the ditzy blonde who everyone
laughs at, resembles Conrad’s real-life best friend Lauren
Bosworth (also known as Lo). Madison is the conniving
bitch who wants the show to be all about her
and will do anything to make sure Jane goes down,
who is a lot like Heidi Pratt (“The Hills”) and Kristen
Cavallari (“Laguna Beach”). And then there’s the star,
Jane, who mirrors Conrad.

The story is similar to the experiences of the TV
stars, but Conrad gives an inside view of what they’re
really thinking, even down to the text messages they
get while filming. Producers of the show text them
to say “don’t look so depressed” or “say that again,
someone was in the shot.”

It’s an entertaining alternative to the show and a little
racier than what we have seen on TV.