As part of my nostalgia year, I decided to finally look at a series that keeps popping up on Goodreads suggestions when I filter Hollywood, celebrity etc. It was for lower schoolers in the vein of Hannah Montana and such. After all these years of reading the summaries I had to find out what they were about.

Unfortunately, Cathy Hapka’s Star Power series was published so long ago (in the ye olde 2000s), I scoured cheap ebay copies. Even then two of the books are out of print and unavailable to buy.
Still the six I were able to buy were entertaining and such a nostalgia rush for the 2000s.

The series follows Star (named after her parents’ favorite Athena Quincy song) who is a rising teen pop star. She has a close circle of manager, hairdresser and bodyguard and beloved friends back home in Pennsylvania.

The one thing marring her picture perfect life is the mysterious disappearance of her family on a boat trip. She had been recording in a studio when her family’s ship got caught up in a Florida storm, presumed dead. But Star still has hope that they’re alive.

Meanwhile, she’s on her first international tour and starts experiencing the true trials of fame from smarmy paparazzi, tabloid rumors and popstar competition.

Like I said, it’s a series riding on the popularity of Hannah Montana, and maybe a little Britney Spears as Star is sweet, optimistic and kind to others but becoming a real household name has her struggling with keeping those traits in a cutthroat industry.

But I like the message it sends as Star stubbornly keeps to her values and becomes more street-smart over time. She doesn’t become less compassionate but she’s more on her guard around those that she knows will use her.

It’s more idealized as Hapka presents a PG version of celeb life where Star is able to befriend her competition, Jade, when the media and Jade’s manager try to pit against each other. Same with Star’s stalker whose threats are more creepy than unhinged maniac obsession that we know could appear in real life.

But there is still some 2000s outdatedness that leave bad implications like in book 4 where Star and fellow popstar, Sven, are at the center of marriage rumors. Or book 3 where Eddie Urbane, the bad boy of the music scene tries to use Star for a “will-they-won’t-they” romance.

Thing is Star is 14 in these books! 14! No one bats an eye at all these rumors even at the latter because Eddie is 18. The magazines speculate whether Eddie is bringing Star into the party scene. . . um what about that she’s a minor and he’s an adult? I guess they didn’t have statutory back then.

He admits as much that he’s not interested in Star that way because she’s too young for him, and not a supermodel, but these days Eddie would be roasted for trying to get a 14 year old.

There’s hints of adult allusions in the background that kids probably wouldn’t notice, but surprised me. For example, Eddie’s new girlfriend arrives at a funeral painted in gold and takes off her top to show she’s painted all over. It’s just casually thrown in there and shows how far we’ve come from the 2000s casual sexualization of minors and women in general.

The other storyline of Star’s missing family adds some drama and shows Star’s more flawed side. In book 3, she goes against her manager’s wishes to find out more answers, following less reputable sources and nearly ruining her career in her zeal. It’s understandable and such an impulsive teenager thing to do but I enjoy how it highlights Star’s new reality in trusting her newfound career family and trying not to let her hope blind her logic.

There’s also plenty of fun behind-the-scenes tidbits like seeing Star work on a concept for a new music video with a kooky Swedish director, planning red carpet outfits and learning to network within the industry while balancing her old friendships and potential romance with the boy back home. Plus there’s the travels around Europe which I always enjoy.

I also emailed Hapka as book eight was one of those out of print and I had to know how it ended. While Hapka admits it was cancelled before she could fully conclude the series in answer to the overarching question of Star’s family she liked to believe that they landed on some deserted island like Gilligan’s and were eventually rescued. She admits it’s a bit unrealistic for the series but she wanted a happy ending.

But hey, isn’t that perfect for a girl who’s tagline is, “She’s a Star!”?