A shy girl becomes famous after her private journal turns into a hit book. But as her bold alter ego takes the spotlight, she starts losing control of her real life and must fight to be herself again.

‘SPOILER ALERT’

Jamie Bartlett sits in her room and types her High School story in her journal, which is on her tablet PC. She believes that High School is extremely stressful and focuses her story on a seemingly made-up character named Isabella, or Is for short. Her story begins with her describing the accursed High School as a world full of warriors, wizards and witches, with the librarian being the witch.

Isabella stands as a figure who is after justice in her school. She is athletic and doesn’t waste time getting to the top of a rope during gym class. Isabella gets off the rope and lands in Marco Vincent’s arms.

In reality, Isabella represents Jamie and the life she wants to live, while Marco Vincent represents Marco Vega, a cool High School student that every girl is in love with. Jamie is instructed to get on the rope during gym class, but is reluctant because she doesn’t believe she’s strong enough. Her teacher insists that she climb the rope, but she doesn’t get very far before giving up. The bell rings shortly after, indicating that class is over, and her teacher looks disappointed by her performance.

Jamie walks through the crowded hall but is moved around by the larger students. She meets her friends Lindsay and Harmony, and Lindsay asks for their help in saving the planet. The planet is a theatre and will be torn down if they can’t help. The trio distributes flyers while on their way to their next class, but most people squeeze the flyers and throw them away.

The popular kids arrive, and Jamie’s journal describes their leader, Sawyer Sullivan, as a mean and unfriendly girl. She also names her Myrna and exaggerates that even milk cornels at the sound of her name. Sawyer speaks to Jamie and asks that she move away from her locker. While walking away, Jamie remembers her journal and how Isabella used her magical powers to zap Myrna and her friends away, causing everyone to cheer.

During English class, Miss Gallagher asks Marco to read his poem, and he walks to the front of the class. Marco reads his poem, and everyone is impressed by it. While he reads, Connor Kennedy stares at Jamie and smiles as he has a huge crush on her.

Everyone applauds Marco’s poem, and the bell rings for the end of class. Miss Gallagher reminds the students about the essay writing competition. During lunch break, Jamie sees her older brother Lenny and goes to talk to him, but he isn’t interested in having a conversation with her. She and her friends sit together while having lunch, and she stares at Marco, who is with his girlfriend, Sawyer. Connor sees that she’s staring at Marco and isn’t happy.

After school, Jamie and Harmony go to Ralph’s Pizza Shack, a pizza store owned by her dad, Ralph and her mum, Peggy. They complain about a strange and uncomfortable smell, and Ralph lets them know that he’s trying to invent a new pizza that can help the restaurant. They enter the kitchen and find that he’s preparing liver and onion pizza. The nauseating smell forces Lenny to cover his nose, and even Peggy is left uncomfortable.

Jamie tries serving the new pizza, but no one wants it. While returning to the kitchen, Sawyer stops her and doesn’t even remember who she is. She instructs Jamie to replace her drink as she doesn’t want ice in it. Jamie fantasized about what her alter ego Isabella would do, and Isabella poured the drink on Sawyer. Realizing she can’t do that, she walks away with a frown on her face.

That night, Jamie and the others have a sleepover and discuss what their essays are on. Lindsay writes about how term papers are a waste of natural resources, while Jamie writes about how she’ll adjust their break time so it’ll be more convenient for students. Lindsay and Harmony are surprised that Jamie is writing such a boring essay and ask why she doesn’t want to write anything better.

Jamie isn’t interested in writing anything better and tries printing out her essay. Unfortunately, her printer is busted, and Harmony suggests she use Lenny’s printer. Jamie rushes to Lenny’s room to use his printer, but Lenny doesn’t let her. He reminds her of how he said she should never enter his room and slams the door as she steps out.

Lindsay sees as this happens and offers to help. She asks Jamie to email the essay to her so she can print it when she gets home, and Jamie agrees. The trio watches a movie that night, and Jamie holds her tablet pc while watching. She gets distracted by a shocking scene and accidentally sends Lindsay her journal instead of the essay she wrote. Lindsay prints out the journal, and not realizing it’s the wrong essay, she submits it to her teacher.

A month passes, and the trio goes to school, where Lindsay says they’re about to announce the winner of the essay writing competition. Jamie isn’t interested, but Lindsay mentions how she practically wrote a novel. Confused by this statement, Jamie says her essay was just five pages, and they realize that something is wrong. Connor runs to the rest of the group and informs them that Jamie won the contest.

Jamie rushes out of school as she feels embarrassed by what just happened. Connor follows her while trying to calm her and is shocked when she says that her personal journal was published instead of her essay. He calms her down and says that everyone will soon forget about it.

Days later, Peggy informs Jamie that they read her journal at the Education Times, and they think she’s a great writer. They want her to publish a book, but Jamie claims she has no more pages to add. She walks to a bookshelf, where she sees several books she has written about Isabella and her imaginative world. Isabella suddenly appears and encourages her not to walk away from such an opportunity. Jamie agrees to follow her alter ego’s lead and takes the books to Peggy, who is happy for her.

Some time passes, and Jamie’s book gets published. Several students at her school are excited to buy and even read it, and even Miss Gallagher becomes a fan of it. Miss Gallagher sees Jamie walking in the hallway and asks for an autograph. Several other students see that Jamie is signing her book and rush to get their book signed. She’s uncomfortable with the crowd that surrounds her, but Isabella feels ecstatic.

While walking down the hallway that day, Jamie is frightened by how everyone is obsessed with her book. She goes to her dad’s pizza place after school, and it’s full of customers. Everyone is there to see Jamie, and she asks her friends if they can talk about anything other than her book.

Marco walks to the counter and commends Jamie for her awesome book. This gets her excited and, at the same time, makes Connor jealous that she’s interested in someone else. He makes a snarky comment and says he’s shocked that Marco can read. Sawyer and her friends say hi to Jamie, showing that she’s becoming even more popular.

Jamie wonders what will happen when Sawyer and her friends find out that they represent Myrna and the other mean girls in her book. Lindsay and Harmony are shocked to find out and are excited when they realize Jamie uses two superheroes to represent them.

Meanwhile, Lenny reads his sister’s book while Ralph asks for some help. He complains about the book because Jamie represents him as a stinky troll named “Kenny”. Ralph tells him not to feel bad as it’s just a story and doesn’t mean anything. Back outside, business is booming like never before, and Peggy employs Lindsay and Connor to help take orders and serve the customers.

The business day comes to an end, and everyone is stunned by how many customers showed up. Jamie asks that they don’t let Ralph know that the customers were mainly there to see her. She also reminds them that tickets for their High School dance are going on sale soon, but Harmony says she isn’t going because she doesn’t have a date. They all realize that they don’t have dates and decide to go as a group. Connor says he can get his brother to drive them in his truck, and they all like his idea.

The group arrives at school the following day and sees some students recruiting members for the dance committee. Jamie is interested in joining and tries to convince Lindsay and Harmony to join as well. They eventually agree after realizing how much fun they could have.

Sometime later, Ralph gets home and is shocked to see a news van outside his house. He enters the house and finds a makeup team prepping Jamie for an interview. Peggy meets him and introduces Jamie’s new handler, Diana. Diana speaks about the interview and how Jamie needs to bear a little discomfort so she can hit fame.

Elsewhere, Connor talks to his brother Tim and begs him to take him and his friends to the dance. Tim refuses, and Connor promises to do his chores until the dance. This deal interests Tim, who immediately agrees, and they shake on it.

Back at Jamie’s house, Lindsay listens to Lenny playing his guitar and says he’s an awesome guitarist. Jamie agrees but says the only place he plays his guitar is in his room. Not long after, Jamie, Peggy, and Diana prepare to leave for the interview, and Ralph wishes them good luck.

They arrive in New York after a long flight, and Jamie goes on the interview. Diana and Peggy cheer her on from behind the camera while Isabella also motivates her. She begins going on tours around the country, where she meets various fans and book lovers. Ralph gets excited every time he sees Jamie on TV and even broadcasts it so his customers can watch.

Jamie and Peggy attend a party with Diana that night, and Diana advises that they go around and have fun. There, Jamie sees some famous actors and actresses that she never thought she would see. Peggy suggests that they go over and say hi, but Jamie refuses, saying you can’t just walk up to a famous person. Peggy reminds her that famous people are also just humans and is excited to see George Jackson, a famous musician.

Jamie jokingly asks Peggy to walk up to him and talk, and Peggy doesn’t hesitate to do so. Isabella appears and asks Jamie to find someone to talk to since she’s all alone. Jamie decides to play with a cute dog she sees, but her hair gets stuck in Amber Tiffany’s tiara. Annoyed by this, Amber instructs that they move to the makeup room before anyone spots them or takes photos.

In the makeup room, Jamie eventually untangles her hair and frees herself from Amber. Amber acts rudely towards Jamie, and Isabella advises her not to tolerate her behaviour. While they talk, Amber’s friend walks in and says she’s a fan of Jamie’s book. Amber realizes that Jamie is also famous and tries to talk to her. This makes Jamie realize that Amber is no different from Myrna.

Jamie returns to the dance floor and bumps into Writer Donovan, another famous actor. He commends her for her book and says he’s a big fan. Jamie tells Lindsay and Harmony about her night over the phone and how crazy it has been. The girls also tell Jamie about how Sawyer and Marco had a huge fight during lunch and broke up. Connor takes the phone and tries talking to Jamie, but Diana interrupts, saying they have some things talking points to review before their next interview.

Later, Connor returns home and does Tim’s laundry. He is forced to wear a mask because of how bad it smells, and Tim shows up to add more clothes to the pile.

Not long after, Jamie returns home and goes to school, where everyone treats her like a superstar. Harmony and Lindsay meet up with her and remind her of their animal rights rally. Jamie says she’ll be there and promises never to disappoint them. They go to have lunch with Connor, and Jamie bumps into Marco.

Everyone stares as Marco smiles at Jamie and walks away. Lindsay and Harmony tell Jamie she just had a moment with him and are excited. Surprisingly, Sawyer and her friends invite Jamie to their table and are interested in hearing about her travels. Her friends allow her to go, realizing they’ll have to share her with the rest of the world because of her newfound fame.

While Jamie talks to Sawyer and the others, Marco takes his lunch and has to find a free seat. Lindsay wonders if Marco can take Jamie to the dance since they’re both single, and Connor says he can’t. He reminds them that they’re meant to go as a group, but Harmony says they’re going as a group if no one asks them out. The girls ask Connor if he knows anyone else who is interested in taking Jamie to the dance, and he says he doesn’t. Connor is disturbed because he doesn’t have the confidence to ask Jamie to be his date for the dance.

While walking home, Jamie tells Lindsay and Harmony about how it feels to sit with the popular kids and how it’s not very interesting. She also informs them that she quit working at her dad’s pizza shop, and they’re both shocked. Jamie is also surprised that they aren’t aware because Diana was meant to inform them. She tells them that she doesn’t need the money and walks away.

That night, Ralph puts prunes on a pizza in an attempt to invent something new, but Peggy says it won’t work. He claims that his innovative pizza ideas are saving the business, but Peggy answers a call. The caller books a reservation and is interested because Jamie’s parents own the store. Ralph realizes that Jamie’s influence is contributing the most help and confirms this when he tastes the terrible pizza he just made.

Jamie talks to Lindsay over the phone and apologizes because she won’t be able to help them with their preparations for the dance. She mentions how she has a lot of fan mail to read, and Lindsay is happy for her. Lindsay also reminds Jamie about her animal rights rally, but Jamie is interrupted by a call from Sawyer and gasps.

Isabella, who has been sitting on a chair and reading the fan mail, says the call is an opportunity for her to become High School royalty, and Jamie hurriedly ends her call with Lindsay. She gets on the phone with Sawyer, who asks if they can go shopping that Saturday. Jamie agrees to her request, and Sawyer is excited that she’ll go shopping with a famous person.

Days later, Jamie goes on a shopping spree with Diana and Peggy. She says she’s hungry and wants to enter Ralph’s pizza place but sees Lindsay and Harmony sitting at a table. She also sees Sawyer and her friends sitting at another table and doesn’t want to meet anyone. Jamie tells Peggy and Diana that she has changed her mind and isn’t hungry anymore. They listen to her and continue walking without entering the store.

Meanwhile, Connor returns home, and Tim shows him how clean his truck is. Connor tells him how Marco plans on asking her to the dance, but Tim doesn’t want his brother to quit. He motivates Connor by saying there’s still time for him to ask Jamie first and reminds him of all the chores he had to do to get a cool ride. He then instructs Connor to find Jamie and ask her to go to the dance with him.

Connor rushes to his room and tries calling Jamie but can’t reach her. She keeps sending him to voice mail while continuing her long calls with other people. He’s forced to call her house’s line, which Peggy answers. Connor asks Peggy if he can talk to Jamie, but Jamie says she’ll call him back later, which she never does.

He arrives at school the following day and searches for Jamie, but doesn’t find her. During class, Lindsay and Harmony tell Connor that Jamie was excused from class because of a meeting. Shortly after, the trio waits for her arrival, as she’s meant to participate in Lindsay’s animal rights rally.

Jamie arrives at school, and Marco goes to talk to her. Connor also rushes to speak to her, but falls to the ground while Marco is speaking. He tries to stop Marco from asking Jamie to the dance, but Jamie steps on him in a bid to keep him quiet. Marco asks Jamie if she’ll be his date to the dance, and Jamie agrees, making Connor very sad.

After this, she rushes to put her books in her locker, and Lindsay and Harmony meet her. They ask if she’s ready to go, but Jamie doesn’t even remember what they’re talking about. They remind her about the rally they’ve been planning for months, and Jamie’s excuse is that Diana didn’t remind her. She asks if they can move the rally to that weekend because she has an interview to attend. Realizing that she isn’t even remorseful for letting them down, Lindsay and Harmony walk away, leaving Jamie alone.

Later, Jamie prepares for her interview and decides to call Lindsay to see how the rally is going. Her alter ego suddenly appears and doesn’t let her make the call. She tells Jamie that she needs to prioritize becoming even more famous and reminds her that the only reason Marco asked her out is because she’s a star. Just then, Diana walks in and says it’s time for the interview.

Meanwhile, Lindsay and Harmony attempt to host the rally themselves, but it isn’t successful. They’re disappointed in what their friend has become and wish she were back to her old self. Back at the interview, Jamie answers some questions asked by the host and accidentally talks to Isabella, who isn’t actually there.

The host ignores this at first, and Jamie talks about her inspiration for writing her book. She accidentally reveals that her book is based on real events and the character represents students from her High School. Everyone watches as she accidentally says that Sawyer is the main antagonist of her book. Jamie begins freaking out upon realizing her mistake, and the interview comes to an end.

The next day, Jamie arrives at school in disguise but is quickly spotted. Sawyer confronts her for tagging her as an evil witch in her book. All the students are annoyed because most of them are portrayed terribly. Isabella advises Jamie to run away, and Jamie runs while everyone yells at her.

That night, Jamie tries writing but can’t concentrate because of Lenny’s guitar practice. She begins arguing with Isabella, who believes that Jamie wouldn’t have become famous without her. She also tells Jamie that she doesn’t need friends because of her fame and that she should prioritize selling her book. Jamie decides to put an end to Isabella by stopping her writing career, but Isabella stops her.

She reminds Jamie that her family’s business is only alive because of her, and it’ll crumble once she quits. Realizing that she has no choice but to keep being a star, Jamie agrees to continue working with her alter ego, who is slowly taking over her life. They shake hands but get annoyed by Lenny’s continuous guitar playing.

Jamie bangs on Lenny’s door and tells him he isn’t making music but noise. She asks him to give up his dreams of being a guitarist and slams the door. This makes Lenny feel bad, and he drops his guitar before lying on his bed.

The following day, Jamie arrives at school and sees several news articles written against her in the school’s newspaper. Marco sits beside her and is happy to hear that he’s represented as Marco Vincent in her book. After class, Connor talks to Lindsay and Harmony and asks if they’ve spoken to Jamie. The girls aren’t interested in talking to her because of her attitude.

Just then, Jamie walks to them and asks for their help. She asks if they can generate positive publicity for her, given how tarnished her image has become since her slip-up during the interview. Lindsay can’t believe what she’s asking for and tells Jamie to ask Diana to handle it. They all walk away and leave Jamie standing on her own.

After school, Diana is shocked that no one has shown up for Jamie’s book signing and mentions that she placed ads in all the local papers. Peggy reminds her of what happened during Jamie’s last interview, and some teenagers rush to the restaurant’s entrance. The teenagers use a marker to vandalize Jamie’s picture, making it look hilarious.

Meanwhile, Lindsay meets Harmony and reveals that she has an idea of what will be inside the whale sculpture. She shows Harmony a flyer that encourages people to save the whales and also opens a container of seaweed. Harmony loves her idea and believes it’ll be a better way to express her art to everyone.

Later that day, Jamie talks to Isabella while walking home and laments how terrible her day went. She mentions how no one likes her anymore and blames Isabella for this. While walking, Jamie sees Lenny’s guitar in the trash and sees that it’s broken. She realizes that he has given up on his dream because of what she said and rushes to his room.

Jamie tries talking to Lenny and apologizes for what she said. Lenny refuses to listen to what she says and instead listens to music in his room. This makes Jamie feel bad, and she walks away. Later that night, she gets on her computer and sees that everyone has unfriended her on social media. The only person left is Connor, and Connor says he only hates what she has become. Jamie admits that she also hates what she has become, and this inspires Connor to write a piece for their school’s newspaper.

Sometime later, Jamie sees the piece that Connor wrote for her in the newspaper and is happy to have one positive piece among the tons of negative ones. She meets Connor after school and, unfortunately, thinks Marco wrote the piece because it matches the poem he read to the class. Jamie thanks Connor for being there for her when she had no one else.

Marco walks into the cafeteria during lunch, and Jamie meets him. She thanks him for the piece he wrote about her, but Marco doesn’t have a clue what she’s talking about. He accidentally calls her Isabella when talking to her, but Jamie corrects him.

That night, Jamie returns home and overhears her parents discussing the possibility of shutting down their pizza restaurant due to a lack of sales. She’s devastated by the news but doesn’t know how to help. Later that night, Jamie prepares for the dance and sees all the photos of her friends hanging around her room.

Isabella appears and tells her not to be sad because she has gotten everything she asked for. Jamie asks about her friends and her parent’s restaurant, but Isabella says she’ll be fine because she has enough money in her trust fund. Annoyed by this statement, Jamie decides to stop working with Isabella but is cut short by her parents, who ask if she’s ready for the dance. She says that she is and leaves the room.

Jamie arrives at the dance with Marco, who continues calling her Isabella. Miss Gallagher commends their looks, and they enter the building. Everyone goes to dance as a band plays some music while Harmony and Lindsay prepare their shocking surprise.

Shortly after dancing, Marco tells Jamie that he’s happy that someone as smart and talented as her agreed to be his date to the dance. Jamie is also happy and says she’s happy that Marco is a good writer. Hearing this, Marco admits that he didn’t write the poem he read to the class and also didn’t write the piece in the newspaper. He says he paid Connor to write the poem, and Jamie realizes that she messed up badly.

Isabella tries butting in by saying it doesn’t matter because Marco is hot. Jamie asks her to stop talking and says Marco isn’t the one she’s meant to be dancing with. Marco is confused by what’s happening, and Jamie drags Isabella while walking away. They begin arguing while Miss Gallagher gets on stage and addresses the students. Jamie realizes that Connor sees her for who she is and realizes he has feelings for her.

Miss Gallagher commends those in charge of the decorations, and instead of calling Lindsay and Harmony to the stage, she calls Jamie. Jamie is shocked that she’s called to the stage, but the students aren’t happy to see her. Lindsay suggests they carry out their plan immediately, but Harmony stops her and says they should listen to what Jamie has to say.

Jamie receives a flower bouquet when she gets on the stage but all the students boo at her. Miss Gallagher asks her to say a few words, but Isabella suggests that she advertises her sequel. No one is interested in hearing that she wants to release another book, and Jamie wonders what she can say in response. They realize that Lindsay and Harmony have rigged the large whale statue to cover the dance floor with flyers.

She suggests that Jamie should reveal their plan and get them kicked out of the dance so it doesn’t get ruined. This might make everyone like her, but it also risks her losing her friends forever. Jamie suddenly screams their names and stops them from pulling a rope that controls the whale. She suddenly apologizes to them for her behaviour and also apologizes to everyone for the things she said about them.

She lets them know that she accidentally published her private journal, and no one was meant to even read it. Jamie asks Harmony and Lindsay to come on stage and tells everyone that they deserve the praise for the successful dance, not her. She then runs to the rope and prepares to pull it, but Isabella tries to stop her.

Having had enough of Isabella’s control in her life, Jamie pulls the rope as she yells, “Save the whales”. As she does this, the whale’s mouth opens, and flyers fall out. It suddenly begins swinging and sends seaweed flying everywhere. The students panic as they run around, and Jamie asks her friends where Connor is. They inform her that Connor left when she got on stage, and she runs outside to find him.

Outside, Connor prepares to enter Tim’s car, but Jamie yells his name. She rushes to him and apologizes for all the terrible things she put him through. She also reveals that she liked Marco because she thought he was a good poet but was wrong. Jamie holds Connor’s hand, and he decides to forgive her. He goes back to the dance with her as his date, and Tim is proud to see that his brother has finally gotten together with the girl he likes.

Jamie and Connor enter the building, and Miss Gallagher prepares to scold her for her actions. The students suddenly begin clapping because Jamie did what was right and apologized to everyone. Seeing this, Miss Gallagher lets her off the hook, and Lenny decides to play a song for her. The dance continues, and everyone has the time of their lives.

Later that night, Ralph and Peggy prepare to shut down the store, but Jamie walks in, and a lot of students follow her inside. Realizing that there’s still hope for his business, Ralph rushes back to the kitchen and prepares pizzas for everyone. While making the pizza, Lenny accidentally drops some seaweed on it, and they serve it to the customers. The customers love the pizza, and Ralph is happy that they’ve finally found their signature pizza. Everyone is happy as they eat pizza, and Isabella no longer has control of Jamie’s life.

Jamie lived a boring life as a High School student and was also an unpopular student. Her life took a drastic turn as she accidentally published her personal journal, which contained a story portraying everyone in her school as different characters. This mistake changes her life for better and worse as she becomes a famous author but slowly loses those who are closest to her. Her alter ego and journal’s main character, Isabella, tried all she could to dominate. Still, after realizing what mattered most, Jamie chose to have her friends and family over fame and fortune. Do you think she made the right decision?

Read It And Weep 2006 .