• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 15, age appropriate for kids over 17; suggested age 15.

• Is it any good?

  2.0

• Common Sense says

  Not as bad as you might expect from a reality TV star.

Why We Rated This for Ages 15–17

What to watch out for

• Messages:

  Producers assess women based on physical traits such as "big boobs." When Madison says she thinks Jane has an eating disorder because she threw up in the bathroom, a magazine editor says, "That's not an eating disorder, that's a diet." Jane runs away from her problems rather than face them and tell the truth. Characters' clothing is always described; shopping trips to Melrose Avenue and Target are featured in detail. Jane buys a $400 pair of Miu Miu heels as a "splurge" for the show. The young women go to a spa for various treatments. Scarlett's disdain for all this -- she only wears jeans (albeit sexy ones, of course) -- helps balance the focus on superficial qualities somewhat.
• Role models:

  Jane and Scarlett are negative role models with their drinking, but have positive traits as well. Scarlett is smart and eschews what she considers shallow, such as fashion. Her favorite mug features a Descartes saying, "Cogito, Ergo Sum." She is a loyal friend. However, she can be judgmental and feels superior because she thinks she is smarter than everyone else. Jane sticks with her job even when she keeps making mistakes. One of the other young women on the show gets jealous that Jane is the break-out star and takes revenge by leaking photos of Jane having sex.
• Sex:

  Scarlett gives young men false names before sleeping with them during one-night stands "so she wouldn't have to see them again." Jane wakes up with one of Scarlett's conquests sleeping next to her (he confused their rooms in the middle of the night). Two girls make out in a bathroom. A mention of Jane sleeping with her high-school boyfriend, "something she had held out on doing for exactly six months, one week, and three days from when they met." Jane sleeps with Braden (despite both of them sort of having other boy/girlfriends), and gets photographed through an open window. It describes kissing and taking off her shirt, but nothing more.
• Language:

  Some language, not excessive, including "bulls--t," "s--t," "mierda" (s--t in Spanish), "pissed-off," "hellhole," "f'ing," and "bitch."
• Consumerism:

  Many name-brand mentions of electronics, magazines, cars, bands, apparel, stores, bars, food, and alcohol. The book itself come with a QR code, which "allows a camera on a mobile device to scan and connect directly to the mobile Internet and access content like videos and podcasts" from a phone.

• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Pervasive, casual drinking of various types of alcohol by underage (19) young adults in restaurants, bars, clubs, and home. They drink Dirty Shirleys, apple martinis, vodka sodas, margaritas, tequila shots, and name-brand alcohol (Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphire). As far as the book portrays, no one cards minors in L.A. The four stars get drunk while partying with a group of young men. An adult producer sends a bottle of champagne as a gift. Jane says she likes to drink anything with vodka. The girls remember how they swiped a bottle of Ketel One from a liquor cabinet. Scarlett takes an unknown pill from another young woman. Jane's boyfriend has a drinking problem.

What Parents Need to Know

About L.A. Candy

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