Hilary Duff is almost a household name, we could argue. She's a sucessful singer and for the past decade or so has been in so many movies that I'm sure many people would actually label her with that "household" name. She's had fragrances, albums, films and fashion label - and what now? A book. Not an autobiography, but a real novel. And it was actually rather enjoyable.
I admit, I'm a fan of Hilary. I find her highly entertaining as an actress - whether playing something cute and comedic ("Cheaper By The Dozen") or something serious and interesting ("Surviving Summer") - and I adore her music ("Dignity" being a particular fantastic album). I bought the novel "Elixir" just from knowing her brand. I barely read the synopsis - I just knew instantly that I wanted to read it.
Firstly, this book was a big surprise to me. Almost all the starlets in Hollywood these days who have carved reasonably successful singing and acting careers have also released a "book", usually a ghost-written affair about the troubles in Hollywood. That's the reason why I enjoyed "Elixir" - Duff's novel was the complete opposite to what I had expected.
It revolves around Clea - a 17 year old photographer and daughter of a Senator - whose Father disappeared the year before the story begins. She has her 2 best friends - Rayna, a highly enjoyable character who provides a few laughs in the novel and Ben, a guy who was hired by her father as a bodyguard figure, but ended up becoming great friends with Clea. Ben is a little bland, I will admit, but his role is highly important in the story.
What begins as a simple fun story of 2 girls in Paris turns into a mystical, dark, fantasy and science-fiction novel. Surprised? I sure was. I never expected a young Hollywood star to write with such themes.
Without giving too much away (as I believe this book is well worth a read), the story unfolds in Paris, America, Rio and finally in Japan. These 3 characters (along with the "mystical" and "strange" Sage, Clea's love interest and possible soul mate) go on this whirlwind journey in the secret world of eternal life and secret societies.
The book builds up and up and up until it's climax, which I feel was a total letdown. Duff's writing is actually really surprisingly good, I was almost taken aback by the descriptive passages. However, the ending is too quick and lacking that explosion that I enjoy reading at the end of books.
If "Elixir" was to be continued into a series of books, or just a sequel, then I would accept the ending for what it was. But if this is all we get, then "Elixir" by Hilary Duff is an enjoyable but somewhat tainted piece of work. But for a first novel, it was a great effort and I look forward to the next piece of writing from Duff.
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