Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Ever since the network decided to go forward with her soap opera idea, LIKELY STORY, Mallory's life has been far from normal.

Meetings with the cast, the writers, the production staff, and photo shoots take up a large chunk of her time. Not to mention that, since she's still underage, she has to keep up with her school work, too. And somehow in all that frenzy and lack of sleep, she needs to find time to spend with her generous boyfriend, Keith. Keith has stayed by her side through all of the craziness, even after Mallory's best friend, Amelia, turned into her worst enemy.

The cast and crew are working long hours trying to get the first week's worth of episodes wrapped up. The show is scheduled to air the following week. The network has brought in consultants, the worst being Frieda Weiner (appropriately enough pronounced `whiner'). Frieda is trying to change everything about LIKELY STORY that makes it unique. Suggesting the kids in the show have sex puts Mallory over the top.

The cast is unhappy with the script changes. They're grumbling that the show isn't turning into the project that they had signed on for. To make matters worse, Dallas, the star, is terribly unhappy. Not long after signing his contract with the network, he was offered a chance to do Shakespeare in the Park back in New York City. Dallas is homesick, and missing his friends from Julliard.

Mallory is stuck in the middle. Her boyfriend is missing her. Her mother is driving her nuts with her requests for script changes. The cast is expecting her to defend the storyline that brought them on board.

When Dallas goes too far, Mallory finally takes matters into her own hands to get the show back to the vision she first started with.

ALL THAT GLITTERS is a fine continuation of the LIKELY STORY series. The authors are able to share the chaos that surrounds the production of a new show. Since the main character is trying to be a normal teen in an exceptional situation, the appeal of the story will reach everyone. Mallory has grown up in the soap opera world and does all she can to avoid the normal pitfalls that exist in the industry.

With the completion of the first episodes, Mallory and LIKELY STORY are gearing up for a final adventure in RED CARPET RIOT, due out in June 2009. ( )

Fun follow up to "Likely Story". Mallory's soap opera/teen drama moves ahead in production, she's still torn between Keith and Dallas, her ex-best friend Amelia is making her school life miserable, her stars are sulking about script changes, and her mother is, well, still a diva. Hmmm, perhaps her life is a soap opera/teen drama as well. A fun read, great for middle school/junior high, maybe senior high. ( )

I am a fan of this series. In this most recent installment (#2 – All that Glitters), we find all of our favorite main characters have returned.

Mallory is still ‘the boss’ of her own soap opera – and she still has to work with the insufferable Trip and his bunch of network cronies.

In the second book, we immediately get the sense that the bright-eyed optimism so keenly felt by Mallory is systematically being shot down at every turn. Mallory had high hopes for her soap opera – she wanted it to be about the everyday life of a teenager – but the networks are slowly, but surely starting to put pressure on her to add more ‘sizzle’ to the show.

Mallory is no longer ‘the golden child’. She now has to contend with pushy network people, disgruntled ‘talent’ who seem to be trying to sabotage her show, and she also has to deal with a resentful ex-bff, an egotistical mother and a whiny boyfriend.

As much as the first book was all about hope and possibility, the second book takes a sharp turn and heads right into disappointment, back-stabbing and disillusionment.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed reading the second book of the series, it left me feeling disheartened. I felt sorry for Mallory, but at the same time, I felt annoyed with her. I wanted to yell at her ‘make up your mind! You are either a teenager or a soap opera producer, but you can’t do both’. This plotline was definitely about showing us that Mallory cannot blend her two lives as she had hoped she could. The whole relationship between herself and Keith was painful and, in my opinion, somewhat pointless.

Still, what works so well for me in this series is the tenacity and brains that Mallory demonstrates. She is no wallflower and I loved, loved the parts where she FINALLY fights back with the people who are trying to sabotage her. Some of it is a little far fetched, but I don’t care – it was fun and satisfying to read.

This series is a lot of fun to read. You feel yourself rooting for Mallory and I love to hate those nasty people who are trying to ruin her show – I think for future plotlines, I would like to see more interaction between Mallory and her mother – and see Mallory ‘grow up’ and start dealing with people in a more professional manner. Also, please put us out of our misery and put Dallas and Mallory together – or kill that plotline altogether – I don’t really care either way – but this ‘does he like me?’ thing is getting a little old. Also, I kind of like Javier and Greg’s characters and would love to see these two more involved in the storylines. The scene between Greg and Mallory where they start the ‘did you know’ game was brilliant and very entertaining ( )