Book Review - Seeing Stars by Diane Hammond

Synopsis:  Ruth Rabinowitz believes. She believes that her daughter, Bethany, is a terrific little actress, so they have come to Hollywood, where dreams come true. Ruth’s husband and Bethany’s father, who thinks their quest for stardom is delusional, has been left behind in Seattle.

Joining Bethany Rabinowitz in Hollywood’s often toxic waters are fellow child actors Quinn Reilly, who has been cast adrift by his family and excels only on Hollywood sets; beautiful Allison Addison, who is misled by her powerful need for love; and Laurel Buehl, who brings a desperate secret to LA that makes the stakes impossibly high. As talent managers, agents, coaches, directors, and teachers nurture—and feed on—their ambitions, stars will be made, hearts will be broken, children will grow up, and dreams will both be realized and die.

First Line:  "The thing about Hollywood is it makes you doubt yourself - your identify, your judgment, your motivation, your parenting - because you are trafficking in children."

Random Quote:  "Ruth could see in the rearview mirror that Bethany's coloring was high, her eyes sparkling.  She looked at Hugh, looked in the mirror at Bethy, looked back at Hugh:  How can you think this isn't worth doing?  Look at her!"

Review:  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, was hooked from the beginning, and found myself thinking about and missing the characters once I was done.  Ms. Hammond has written a wonderful story about the pursuit of dreams, about family (born and made), and very much about consequences of all kinds.

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The writing is superb as are the characterizations, but best of all is story.  In this age of 15-second fame and reality TV, Ms. Hammond captures the desperation of those looking for their big break, their moment in the sun - that these are children whose parents are often as (or more) desperate than they are is what makes the book a worthwhile read.  Ms. Hammond has written a book that goes on the list of favorite books about Hollywood along with The Day of the Locusts and Valley of the Dolls.

Thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewers for the advance copy of this book!

Reading Challenges: ARC Reading Challenge, 2010 100+ Reading Challenge