My Sibling The Mythical Being! discussion

Welcome to the Star Style discussion! Have something to say about the eighth My Sister the Vampire book? Do it here!

Please remember that spoilers ARE allowed in this topic, so if you have not yet read this book yet, look out!

Have fun! :)

I've always considered Star Style one of the most (if not the most) happy and feel-good of all the MSTVs. It's probably one of the ones I've re-read most too (I like to read it to cheer me up if I'm down) but I'm really looking forward to re-reading it this month anyway! It's so weird to read them in order, I usually just pick up a random one or one I haven't read in a while. :)

Where as I never pick a random one. I think about it a lot but I just have so much else to read I never have time to just pick up a book! lol

Yeah, well, I don't do it so much anymore, especially since we're re-reading them anyway - I've got my MSTV fix from that!

I'm loving this re-read so far! It's definitely one of the best. :)

I really loved the The Parent Trap references in this book! My all-time favourite movie! Well, admittedly I prefer the newer version and they watch the old version in this, but I do like the old version too. :D

Does anyone but me LOVE the award Olivia is holding on the cover of this book? I think it's just really cool how it looks like a pair of wings but also two swans. In fact Olivia looks really nice on the cover - love the hair and shoes!

The cover is completely awesome. I love it. Probably one of my fav MSTV covers as well as book!

I like the award too , it is awesome , creative and not traditional , I like things which related to ballet , and that award remind me of it :D

I just started reading this book 'not completed ch1 yet'
so I don't know events inside it
but what's your opinion about the dresses of Ivy and Olivia in the cover ? what do you prefer ? :)

Ooo, I probably prefer Olivia's dress.

Totally agree with you, Flowra. :) I prefer Olivia's dress, like Sophie. Ivy's is a bit plain to be honest. I usually don't like dresses like the one Olivia's wearing, but she totally pulls it off! I really like the sound of the tunic-like dress, Greek sandals and silver chandelier earrings Olivia wore at the post-premiere party for The Groves in Chapter 3. She would totally rock that look.

yes I am agree with both of you about Olivia's dress it is awesome and I like its color and how it is simple and also the earnings are so beautiful.
but because of I like the black color sooooooooooo much :D may be If I have chance to choose between the two dresses I'll pick Ivy's dress :D

Well, that's a different matter. If I had to wear one I'd probably choose Ivy's. Like I said, I don't usually like the style of dress Olivia's wearing, but she can pull it off. I would feel a lot more comfortable in Ivy's dress.

yes yes that's what I feel exactly :)
like something but feeling comfortable in something else :D

In Star Style there's a scene where an engineer does Jessica's dirty work in exchange of her number. As an engineer, I strongly disagree with this part. If we did such cheap things then goodreads, facebook, google wouldn't be running. All these things we do for people and authors make us look like some brainless bribery prone frauds. I'm so upset that I need to reconsider continuimg with the series. It's such a shame really. I was LOVING the series till this incident :( :(

Hi Shimin! That such an interesting point - I've never really paid much attention to that part before. You're totally right engineers do do a lot for our society that lots of us don't always think about.

I'm sure Sienna Mercer wasn't trying to bash on all engineers when she wrote the book. I've always thought it was intended to be an example of how persuasive and exploitative of her fame Jessica can get when she's working for her own selfish reasons, more than the engineer's shallowness. Plus given that a major theme of the book is the craziness of Hollywood (Olivia wondering whether it's really for her, Ivy being relieved to get away from it) if anything I'd say it was a comment on people working in media rather than those in engineering.

Also didn't Ivy just assume Jessica was giving the guy her phone number - so it could've been something different? I suppose that is still a bribe though, and I'm not trying to diminish your opinion or anything. I can see why it's offended you - thanks for commenting about it. I always find it interesting to hear not necessarily positive opinions on this series. :)

Thanks for understanding Daisy. I've been really enjoying all the MSTV books.. I'm just a little sensitive on some matters ;) I think I'm going to continue reading and maybe even read MBTW :)

Wow Shimin, thanks for pointing that out, I'd never thought about it before! I do like what Daisy said about it being a comment on people working in media (and in celebrity culture) rather than engineers if anything. But either way it is a plot device that could have been done differently. Thanks for sharing and I hope you have better luck with the rest of the MSTVs. :D

Hey, that's interesting, Sophie. How else do you think Jessica could have got the video on the screen that we could see? Do you think she could've used her vamp powers to sneak the video (was it on a memory stick or something?) into the equipment? Actually, how did Charlotte manage to get her video on? I really did not pay enough attention to this bit! Maybe I get too get caught up in the cute ending and cool character moments to actually focus on plot points. :D

Hmm, wait Charlotte got a video on? Was that separate to Jessica's? My memory is not good. I guess we'll come back to this discussion when we read Star Style as a group in December.

Yep, the one showing Jessica meeting a fan and seeming really friendly, then as soon as the fan left, she started insulting her. It was to show everyone how fake Jessica is.

After months of netflix and school, i'm finally back reading the MSTV books (yay).
First off, props to the ever amazing Sienna Miller for writing this book. I'm glad Olivia, despite having a mega-star bf, wasn't reliant on Jackson. She can still stand on her own and didn't let Jackson's presence alter her character. Secondly, still loving the fact that Ivy is witty and edgy as ever. Love the part when she proposed an idea to Mr Harker about having Olivia to act as both Carmina and Belinda from Eternal Sunset. Thirdly, I'm pleased that the supporting characters aren't overshadowed by the main characters. But frankly, I have mixed feelings with this book. I really enjoy reading the Operation Escape scene aka when the group worked together to distract the paparazzis (seriously, this is GOLD), but there were fluffs and romantic scenes that hindered my reading flow. Overall, I love the MSTV books, but Star Style wouldn't be the book that I would frequently re-read. No offence to anyone who loves this book, just stating my opinion.

There are noticeable references and flaws in this book. I will state the references in the Pop Culture Reference section, while the flaws will be stated here.

How do you do?’ Mr Vega asked, with a little bow. Two pink spots appeared on his usually pale cheeks as he took Lillian’s hand in his. ‘A pleasure to meet you,’ he murmured. ‘Please call me Charles.’

I thought a blush on a vampire indicates that they are shocked/about to faint? There were several mentions of Mr Vega blushing in this book(as an indication of embarrassment), so was it some writing mistake or was it intentionally written there? I still hold to the fact that vampires blush as a state of shock/about to faint, because i thought that was pretty unique :D
There were several mentions of Olivia having green eyes, i thought she had blue eyes like it was written in the first four MSTV books and shown in the covers. Another error?

Taken from MSTV #1 (Switched):
" Superior agility,” Sophia said in a high British accent.
“A keen sense of hearing,” Ivy added.

Taken from MSTV #8 (Star Style):
She sidled up to one and caught his attention. Ivy couldn’t hear what Jessica was saying, but she could see that the diva was laying on all her charms. The engineer was pushing his glasses back up his nose and leaning closer and closer.

Ivy's keen sense of hearing would have perfectly heard what Jessica was saying.


Then a video clip started of someone clearly filming through a bush. It was Aunt Rebecca’s ranch. On the huge screen for everyone to see, Jackson got out of the Daniels’ van, rushed over to Olivia, scooped her up and gave her a big kiss.


Olivia leaped up from the table, knocking over a neat stack of sliced cucumber. ‘Oh, thank you!’ She hurried over to greet the newcomers.
Jackson grabbed Olivia in a hug and Brendan came over to kiss Ivy on the cheek.

The former scene happened later in the book, while the later scene happened somewhere in the beginning. I was doubtful about including this because i wasn't entirely sure whether this was a mistake, but i finally chose to include it(because if not, this will linger in my mind for days.) Anyways, were these scenes miswritten?
These are all the flaws i've noticed, i might be including too many or have missed several from the books. So, i also wanted to include some things i found interesting.
The story in this book spanned about two weeks and the timeline is roughly like so:
Sat-Sun-Sun night-6 days later(Sat)-Mon-Sat
The book started with the premiere of 'The Groves' in Franklin Grove on Saturday.
Brendan and Olivia came over to finish their math homework with Ivy, and Lillian came over to the Vega mansion for lunch and to discuss something with Charles Vega all happened on Sunday.
The after party of 'The Groves' happened on Sunday night.
(The gang went to school from Mon to Fri and the book only mentioned six days later after Sunday night, which is Saturday.)
Barbeque on Aunt Rebecca's ranch happened on Saturday.
Olivia had her first interview and after school, the gang distracted the paparazzis aka Operation Escape on Monday.
(Time skip again to another Saturday)
The award show happened on Saturday.
End

‘OK, you two lovebats, break it up!’ Olivia was climbing the stairs from Ivy’s basement bedroom.Even without her custom-made pink dress, Olivia still looked gorgeous in a lavender knitted sweater with a flower burst at one shoulder.

Like in MSTV #1 and several mentions in this book, Ivy has a basement bedroom (how cool is that?!), but in the latter books (when Charles married Lillian), Ivy's bedroom is 'upstair'. Another writing mistake?

Ivy was relieved that Aunt Rebecca and her dad had put the past behind them. A few weeks ago, Ivy and Olivia didn’t even know that they had an aunt, let alone that their mother had a twin sister. When Mr Vega made a special trip to track down their aunt and heal old wounds, the reunion hadn’t been exactly warm.

Almost forgot to mention this, the twins first met Aunt Rebecca a few weeks ago....and i forgot on what book did they first met Aunt Rebecca XP

I finished this book again yesterday and I love it so much. One of my favourites definitely. Like you said above Daisy, Star Style is one of the most happy and feel-good of all the MSTVs.

I noticed again (like I mentioned on the Vampalicious discussion) how this book weaves studying and their school work into the story. Like when Olivia, Brendan and Sophia are at Ivy's house having dinner and Mr Vega mentions they have homework to catch up on. It's awesome that that fits into this story focusing on crazy fame and acting stuff, and there's also the Chillian story line. So good!

S!X wrote: "Thirdly, I'm pleased that the supporting characters aren't overshadowed by the main characters."

This was another reason I loved this book! The side characters appeared quite a lot which I loooove. Sophia getting a gig with VAMP magazine, and having her photos appear in multiple magazines was awesome. Go Soph! Charles was in this book quite a bit, and we even still got an appearance from Mr and Mrs Abbot.

S!X wrote: "I have mixed feelings with this book. I really enjoy reading the Operation Escape scene aka when the group worked together to distract the paparazzis (seriously, this is GOLD), but there were fluffs and romantic scenes that hindered my reading flow. "

That scene was great! I thought it was nice to see Olivia and Jackson spending some more time together but can totally see how you may not have liked it as much.

I also noticed that about Charles blushing. Maybe he might have felt like fainting because he was so enamoured by Lilian's presence? lol. Olivia having green eyes does sound like a mistake to me. Oh yes, Ivy's vamp powers would have enabled her to hear Jess speaking. Nicely spotted!

The descriptions of Olivia and Jackson at Rebecca's farm could have been written more similar but I wouldn't necessarily say that they don't fit together. 'Scooped her up' could be the hug and then the first time around they just didn't mention the kiss. Again though, nicely spotted!

I will refer back to your comment S!X when I write up the timeline for this book on the timeline of events thread, thanks!

We will have to pay attention to the later books to see if it mentions Ivy moving upstairs. She is definitely in the basement in the first few though like you said.

Aunt Rebecca first appears in Lucky Break (MSTV #7).

This series is great for so many reasons but Ivy and Olivia (and their friends) supportive, empowering relationships and self-belief are seriously inspiring! Like Olivia says at the end of this book...

'It wasn't just about the dresses or the hype, the crowds of fans or the glamourous hotels. It was about being true to herself.'

You guys, your comments rock! I had a lot on thoughts on this book myself while re-reading it so I think we have a lot to discuss!

Firstly, I actually think I disagree with what you said, S!X, about Olivia not being reliant on Jackson - at least to a certain extent. I kind of felt like Olivia was following Jackson's lead throughout most of the book. He was the one pushing for them to go public and making the effort for them to spend time together. However, I think this had a purpose, because at the end when Olivia was accepting her award and explaining about her and Jackson, it felt like she had finally taken control of the situation and was leading the way for sure. That was an even more satisfying moment for me, having felt like she lacked a bit of agency through the rest of the book. I can accept now that she was thrown into the unfamiliar and overwhelming world of Hollywood, and couldn't really be expected to navigate her way through it all like Jackson can, who's been immersed in it for years. Sienna Mercer had it all worked out.

One thing I loved about Olivia's journey in this book was the shark-bite skirt. That was such an original idea for a storyline and it was fun to see it keep coming back throughout the book.

I love what you said about Ivy being witty and edgy, S!X. At the premiere afterparty, when Harker was introducing her to his colleagues and they were openly critiquing her, it was so cool how she kept shooting comebacks at them. "The fashion is current," commented another, like Ivy was a store mannequin. "You know it," Ivy retorted. :D Also this bit is like my favourite of the whole book, when Olivia, Ivy and Brendan are discussing Charles fancying Lillian:

Brendan chuckled. "Mr Vega needs to work on his game." He pretended he was boxing, bouncing and throwing imaginary punches.
"I suppose you're the world champion, lady killer?" Ivy asked.
"There's only one lady for me," Brendan called after her. "And I've got her, haven't I?"

I also noticed Charles blushing. I like to assume that they blush when they're embarrassed AND when they're about to faint?? I remember Olivia having blue eyes as well - I agree I think it's an error. As for Ivy not hearing Jessica, it's a possibility that the auditorium/studio/wherever it was had so many other sounds that Ivy couldn't make out Jessica's voice. But I think I agree with you, with vamp hearing that shouldn't really be an issue. I've never thought about that moment before - nice find!

I'm with you on the kiss thing, Sophie, I think the "scooping up" is the hug and they kissed afterwards. I feel you on the obsessing over small details though, S!X - I dedicate an embarrassingly large amount of my time to pondering insignificant stuff in MSTV!

Sophie wrote: "I noticed again how this book weaves studying and their school work into the story. Like when Olivia, Brendan and Sophia are at Ivy's house having dinner and Mr Vega mentions they have homework to catch up on. It's awesome that that fits into this story focusing on crazy fame and acting stuff, and there's also the Chillian story line. So good!"

^I love this! It's one of my pet peeves in Middle Grade books where they just ignore the fact that the characters are in school. Either include it or made them home-educated or something!! Sienna Mercer, however, exercises the school setting to her advantage really well, for instance with the media studies project in Fangtastic (MSTV#2), science hall bathroom in Switched (MSTV#1) and the Homecoming storyline in Puppy Love (MBTW#2). Oh, and I loved the Chillian storyline, too. Clever how SM brought back a familiar character and cast her in a new light, instead of introducing someone new and us only ever seeing her with Charles. I think this book could have easily become all about Olivia, but this storyline, and Sophia's new job, helped widen the focus to all the gang.

The development of Amy was really well done in this book, I feel. She's always been quite (humorously) over the top in her stress, and I like how SM, when bringing her character more into the spotlight, didn't play this down to make her more realistic, but instead played up her enthusiasm and praise to balance it out. She's a bit of a handful no matter what mood she's in, which is why she's made such headway in Hollywood, in my opinion.

One of the funniest parts of this book for me has gotta be where Ivy stands up in cafeteria yelling "STOP!" to prevent Olivia sitting with them. Then to cover it up she shouts at Brendan to stop stealing her ketchup: '"You know how much it means to me!" Sophia sniggered and Brendan dropped the three fries that were halfway to his mouth.' So funny!

And finally, I had this random thought... When Jessica goes to the Bloodmart to get a snack before the premiere, it says 'Jessica's entourage had followed her downstairs so there was a little breathing room.' Isn't it kind of risking the Blood Secret for loads of paparazzi to go rushing into the basement of the FoodMart?

I think that Olivia isn't reliant on Jackson in the sense that she is completely her own person. Yes maybe he took the lead in this book a little (like you said Daisy, Olivia is new to the overwhelming world of Hollywood) but still she is utterly herself with and without him. I agree with what you said here S!X...

S!X wrote: "She can still stand on her own and didn't let Jackson's presence alter her character."

There were so many witty and funny moments throughout this book. I didn't remember that one about Brendan being a 'champion lady-killer' - so cute!

The fact that the place was busy could excuse Ivy not hearing Jessica. She has super hearing, not magic. There probably were hundreds of other people speaking there, although maybe not backstage.

Oh my goodness. That is so ridiculous. There were definitely bunnies working on the movie who probably would have noticed if one of the main actors and a bunch of the support disappeared, lol.

That's a great point about Olivia. This book is a lot about being true to yourself and I think Olivia is such an excellent role model for that. And so is Ivy, actually - she stayed sassy and individual even in the pressured world of Hollywood.