From the woman famous for ‘The Princess Diaries’ comes a new series about a washed up teen idol who finds herself, for the first time in her life- a size 12. Without any career prospects and completely on her own, Heather
Wells takes a job as the assistant director of a college dorm (excuse me, residence hall,) at New York College. She thinks that she’s settling into a normal life, only to find that Fischer Hall is anything but ordinary. And when young college girls start dying mysteriously, Heather broadens her job description to include murder investigation.

Heather Wells was a teen pop sensation. She had it all- fame, fortune, a gorgeous body, and a handsome, as well as rich fiancé (son of the music executive who signed her). Busy planning her upcoming wedding and writing her own songs for the first time, Heather thinks her life is perfect, until she discovers her fiancé, Jordon Cartwright, cheating on her with her pop princess rival, Tania Trace. Crushed, Heather feels like things can’t get any worse, so she takes a risk and plays some of her own music for her fiancé’s father Grant, determined to start her music career over with her own creations. Laughing, he tells her to leave the song writing to the professionals. Soon after, her mother runs off with her fortune, and Heather is left broke and alone, without a record contract or any
discernible job skills.
Her ex-fiancé’s black sheep brother, Cooper, takes pity on Heather and offers her free room and board in his New York City brownstone in exchange for accounting services for his PI business. Heather gratefully accepts and
gets a job just a few blocks away working in a college dorm (sorry, residence hall). Soon, the only difficulty in her life is that she has fallen head-over-heels for the incredibly dreamy Cooper, who sadly sees her only as the washed-up has-been that his brother dumped. She is relieved to find that she’s rarely recognized for her embarrassing stint as a singer and, free to start her life over. She quickly settles into a comforting routine,
but things suddenly take a turn for the complicated when young college girls start turning up dead.
When the first young woman plummets to her death in a Fischer Hall elevator shaft, most of the staff and residents brush it off as elevator surfing gone bad. But Heather is convinced that no girl who wears Hanes-Her-Way is
stupid enough to risk her life standing on top of an elevator while it races to the top of the shaft. She tries to persuade the police of her conviction, but they believe that the death was accidental.
However, when another girl’s body is found at the bottom of an elevator shaft, it’s difficult to deny the connection. Heather is warned away from the investigation by friends, the police and her PI roommate, but with an insatiable curiosity and a few lucky clues, she is convinced that she can and must discover the killer, before another girl is pushed to her death.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book as well as its sequel, ‘Size 14 Is Not Fat Either.’ Meg Cabot creates a completely lovable character that any woman can identify with. It’s not just a clever murder mystery, but also a
fun and humorous story. And beneath it all is the message that size 12 is not fat, merely the size of the average American woman. Having actually worked in a NYC college dorm, Meg Cabot’s depiction of the environment is
based on personal knowledge, which lends an air of credence to the often wild and bizarre occurrences that pepper the book. It’s a fast paced, diverse and easy to read book and I recommend it to all mystery lovers, as
well as to anyone who wants a funny and interesting read.
Sarah Jane Marshall, Butyoudontlooksick.com, © 2007