Review: Airhead: Runaway by Meg Cabot

Airhead: Runaway by Meg Cabot (February 2011, Macmillan Children's Books, ISBN: 033045384X)

Review: The following contains spoilers for the the first and second parts of the Airhead trilogy: Airhead and Being Nikki.

Runaway is the final part of the Airhead trilogy and picks up a few days after the end of Being Nikki. The Em Watts version of Nikki Howard has been imprisoned by Brandon Stark along with the real Nikki Howard, her mum and her brother in Brandon's beach house in South Carolina. The real Nikki Howard has a secret that will bring Brandon's dad, the CEO of Stark Enterprise to his knees leaving the door open for Brandon to take over. She will spill the beans if she can have her own body back something which Brandon apparently agrees to.

In leaving with Brandon, Em was forced to tell Christopher, her long-time friend and boyfriend-to-be (she hopes) that she didn't love him so she's very surprised when he turns up to rescue her. However things don't go to plan and he leaves without her. A second rescue attempt is more successful and the group return to New York.

With the gang reassembled, Em has to work out the significance of Nikki's information and work out how to ruin Stark as well as preparing to be the Stark Angel on national tv in a diamond bikini set. And make Christopher love her again...

Runaway is an exciting thriller with strong female leads who are complemented by the male characters, with their technology knowledge, to form a strong team. Em is brave to the point of foolhardiness in her pursuit of the truth but is also, finally, prepared to ask for help. Runaway sees Em comfortable with her new self at last. There are some great secondary characters including Lulu, Em's best friend with her own special skill set and Nikki's brother Steven who uses his brawn as well as his brain when necessary. It's a shame that the series has ended as I enjoyed spending time in Em's world however the series is wrapped up neatly and all mysteries solved.

Review: Airhead: Being Nikki by Meg Cabot

Airhead: Being Nikki by Meg Cabot (September 2009, Macmillan Children's Books, ISBN: 9780230739376)

First Lines: I'm cold. I'm freezing actually.

Review: The following contains spoilers for the the first part of the Airhead trilogy, Airhead.

In Being Nikki, the second part of the Airhead trilogy, life really gets complicated for heroine Em Watts. In Airhead, Em's brain ended up in the body of teenage supermodel Nikki Howard. Em, a non-make-up wearing, computer games playing girl has had to become a leader of fashion, and she is juggling modeling with being at school so she can be near her best-friend Christopher whom she's in love with. Christopher thinks Em's dead and barely gives "Nikki" the time of day. But they are thrown together when Nikki's mother goes missing and Christopher offers to help. His payment is high though as he wants to bring the people behind Em's death, her boss in fact - Stark Enterprises - crashing down which will impact on Nikki, her friends and family. What should she do? And how can she shake off the men who love Nikki and attract the one who loved Em?

Being Nikki, sees Em adjusting to her situation and maturing as well. She's more open minded than before and people like this new Nikki more than the old one. I did enjoy Being Nikki but not quite as much as Airhead. Perhaps a bit too much fashion stuff for my taste and Em did get a bit annoying when she constantly repeated the same sentiments about Christopher - about how he was in love with a dead girl but she's not dead she's me etc.

Being Nikki has thrills, romance, laughter and a behind the scenes look at a celebrity lifestyle plus a great cast of secondary characters such as Nikki's room-mate Lulu who is convinced Nikki has had a "spirit transfer". It ends on a huge cliff-hanger that provides plenty of scope for conflict and confusion. I'm so glad that the final part of the trilogy, Runaway, is immediately available to me.

Review: Airhead by Meg Cabot

Airhead by Meg Cabot (June 2009, Macmillan Children's Books, ISBN: 0330453823)

First Lines:
"Emerson Watts," called my first-period Public Speaking teacher, Mr Greer, startling me from the light doze into which I'd drifted.

Well, whatever. Do they really expect us to be alert at eight fifteen in the morning? Come on.*

Review: Airhead is the first in the Airhead trilogy. Book two, Being Nikki is now available in the US (September in the UK) and book three Runaway will be out in May 2010 (US).

Em Watts is a straight-A student who couldn't care less about fashion and whose best (and only) friend is Christopher and they hang out together playing a computer game, Journeyquest. Nikki Howard is the world's most famous teenage model and the face of Stark Enterprises.

Nikki and Em's worlds collide when they both attend the grand opening of a Stark megastore in Manhattan where a bizarre accident leaves Em living Nikki's life. Though Em is less than pleased about it. Can Em cope with Nikki's busy career demands, the numerous boyfriends and worst of all not being able to be friends with Christopher whom she now realises is "the one"?

I loved Meg Cabot's 1-800-Missing series so it's no surprise that I enjoyed Airhead. Airhead has a dash of fantasy/science-fiction, plenty of romance and humour and the beginnings of a mystery plot. There are some serious issues touched on, such as where does your identity lie?, but in the main it's a 'fish out of water' romp. Em is likeable as are most of her new friends, Lulu and Brandon who are FFBFs (Famous For Being Famous) and there are some peeks at the demanding life of a model.

Airhead paves the way for the next two books and I can't wait to read Being Nikki.

Cover: Fun cover, showing this is a quite light-hearted book. I quite like the fact that there isn't a model on the front, unlike the US cover, as this doesn't give a preconceived idea as to what Nikki looks like.

*Read a longer extract at Meg Cabot's website.

Meg Cabot also has a separate UK website.