Airhead By Meg Cabot

I am currently reading my way through the Airhead trilogy and I really enjoyed the first book, simply called Airhead. The book is a few years old, but is a very enjoyable read, and is still incredibly relevant.
Airhead is set in New York, where a mega-coorporation called Stark is opening a new entertainment store, like Future Shop or Best Buy. Emerson Watts, the main character, a tomboy who is not a supporter of Stark, but is forced to take her younger sister to the store opening, to see her new favourite musician Gabriel Luna. Unfortunately, there is an accident at the store opening and Em is killed.

Stark however, has a major secret that will change Em's life forever, as her brain is transplanted into the body of Nikki Howard, the "Face of Stark," and teenage supermodel. Em is forced to not only step up as a supermodel in order to keep Stark's secret, but she is also trying to keep connections to her old life and follow her own dreams and desires. Em also finds out that Nikki's life is not nearly as perfect as people think, and Nikki just might have a few secrets of her own.

The book is a great book by Meg Cabot. Cabot has a history of well written young adult fiction, including books like the 1-800-Where-R-You series, the Avalon High series, and the Princess Diaries along with stand alone books like Jinx and Teen Idol. Cabot writes books with vivid characters, full of quirks and faults, making them very realistic and relatable. She also has a knack for creating very interesting plot points and situations for the characters to face, like gaining psychic powers, getting caught up in magic, a brain transplant into a supermodel or a retelling of King Arthur and Camelot.

The main character in Airhead, Em, is a strong young woman, who as firmly held beliefs and ideas. She does not bow to celebrities, in fact, she thinks that they are overly popular and they should not weild the power that they do. She does not bow to established ideas of female beauty and perfection, until she is thrust into the body of a supermodel. In Nikki's body, she learns that modeling and fame are not nearly as easy as they look, and they are in no way shape or form comfortable.

The secondary characters in the story are also very well written, as they grow and change, instead of being static or only following the changes in main character.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good young adult read, that has well developed characters, as well as a well established plot with twists and turns to keep you reading and engaged. Also, if you are a fan of any of Meg Cabot's other books, I can tell you this one won't disappoint.

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde