Make Me a Star Series

The first book in Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Make Me a Star series introduces six teenagers, each waiting for that first big break Open call! Now casting for brand-new prime time series. No experience necessary.   Tenth grader Miranda Newgate is visiting Los Angeles on spring break when her cousin hears about a casting call for extras on a new TV series. Miranda goes to the audition, but ends up reading for a bigger part. Then it’s back to Massachusetts, to term papers and biology projects while waiting for the call that could change her life.   Stage star Molly O’Malley is a serious actress. But she could sure use the exposure from a network show that will be seen from coast to coast.   Alison Blake is Miss Young America, but that doesn’t give her a free pass. She has to work harder than anyone else to prove she isn’t just another pretty face.   Former child star T. J. Tyler is ready for his comeback. He needs the leading role to show the world he wasn’t washed up at eleven.   Rafe Marquez has no acting experience. But he’s hot and hunky and goes after what he wants—and he wants to make it big.   Bill Douglas has been on so many TV shows, this one should be a breeze. But in this business, you never know.   Who will make the final cut and rise to stardom on Hard Time High?

Miranda, Molly, Alison, TJ, Bill, and Rafe are becoming stars on TV’s biggest show, but with fame come responsibilities . . . Can they really have it all? Miranda is celebrating her seventeenth birthday. She can’t believe it’s been a whole year since she was cast in Hard Time High. Now she just got her own car and may finally get out from under the thumb of her family. But does she really want to move in with her costar Molly and her mother—especially since she and Molly aren’t on great terms at the moment?   Miranda’s personal life starts looking up when she agrees to go on a blind date with Adam, who has a crush on the character Miranda plays on the show. The Los Angeles University senior is tall, dark, and totally un-California.   And with Alison offered the chance to move beyond her beauty-queen looks as cohost of a teen talk show, Rafe wrapping a movie, and TJ’s fan base growing, it looks like they’re all getting ready for the next big thing. Will the upcoming season bring them the fame and happiness they’ve been searching for? 

Six teenagers have been cast in prime time’s hottest new TV series—can they take their shot at the spotlight without sacrificing the things that matter most? A starring role on the prime-time show Hard Time High could give Molly O’Malley the fame and fortune she craves. But the real payoff, besides a steady income, is something the on-the-road actress has wanted for years: the chance to put down roots and live a normal life. And she’d get to celebrate her real birthday and stop pretending she’s almost fifteen when she’s barely fourteen, a fact she only recently discovered. But even fame has its price; Molly’s mother wants a job on the show. And Molly has to keep up with her schooling.   The show is giving Rafe Marquez his first taste of stardom. Maybe one day he’ll be able to buy a mansion with a pool for his folks. But he’s never going to abandon his dream of being lead guitarist in a famous band.   Things are changing faster than Molly, Rafe, TJ, Miranda, Alison, and Bill ever imagined. Will this mark the beginning of new friendships and maybe even love?

Alison, Molly, TJ, Miranda, Rafe, and Bill have been on Hard Time High for five months—but real life is a lot more complicated than any TV script could make it seem Things are changing on the set of prime time’s new hit series. For starters, the producer’s daughter, bratty twelve-year-old Susie Goldstein, now has a role on the show.   Sixteen-year-old Alison Blake, a former Miss Young America, has been wowing audiences since she was three . . . and supporting her family on her looks. Now she wants to be judged on her own merits. She gets a welcome reality check when her high school boyfriend, Seth Lewin, shows up on the set and announces he’s moving to Los Angeles to be near her. Alison has to fight for the right to date Seth while keeping a secret that could get Molly fired from the show.   Seasoned TV veteran Bill Douglas is vice president of his junior class. He wants to have it all—success, celebrity, and love. But his longtime girlfriend, Calista Hasbrouck, doesn’t seem to see things his way.   They’re all on their way to stardom. But will the limelight translate into lasting fame—or leave them with broken dreams?

On their first hiatus from TV’s cool new prime-time series, Bill, Miranda, TJ, Alison, Rafe, and Molly are looking forward to getting back to the real world—but will they ever be normal teenagers again? The first season of Hard Time High is over, and Bill, Miranda, TJ, Alison, Rafe, and Molly have three whole weeks to themselves. It’s back to high school for Bill—no more cramming in homework between takes—and spending quality time with his girlfriend, Calista.   After years of acting on the road, Molly can’t wait to share a real Thanksgiving with Miranda and her family in New England. Between a commitment to a holiday parade and a spread for a fashion magazine, Alison won’t have much time for herself. Rafe is taking his parents on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii. And TJ’s headed to Indiana to visit his mom. Then it’s on to New York to meet his East Coast fan club before he strikes out for London and Paris.   But it seems that Rafe, Molly, and TJ are keeping major, scandal-worthy secrets. In between reuniting with old friends and doing normal stuff like attending football games, they’re all trying to cope with their new celebrity and wondering what the new season has in store. 

A cast member of TV’s number-one show is about to be fired—how will Alison, Bill, TJ, Rafe, Molly, Miranda, and Susie handle the possibility of being unemployed? A bombshell has just been dropped on the cast of TV’s Hard Time High: A major new storyline is being introduced. But it means someone is going to get canned from the show.   Former childhood star TJ has lived through this before, when his previous hit TV show was canceled. Used to the steady paycheck after a life on the road, Molly makes a list of her options. Left with a mountain of debt if he gets axed, Rafe’s only hope is the movie he just filmed. If ex–teen beauty queen Alison loses her job, how will she go on supporting her family? After years of commercials and made-for-TV movies, Bill doesn’t want to lose his chance at a real career. Miranda can’t imagine being let go when she’s still learning the acting ropes. And Susie worries that she was only cast in the first place because she’s the producer’s daughter.   But one of the seven is going to be kicked off the show. The bigger surprise is what will happen next.