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_viscosity_'s review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
morethanthepages's review against another edition
4.0
If you're looking for a fun quirky read, Fame Adjacent is for you.
Roughly based off the idea off the idea of the 90s child stars like ones we know from the Mickey Mouse Club, or for me I kept getting Barney kid star vibes because I do remember Demi and Selena being on the show lol. The author created a fictional show with characters that had mostly all, but one, gone onto more fame and fortune.
I like the story because you really feel the emotions behind the main character Holly, the one that didn't become famous, and how much it affected her, but not in the ways you might think. She starts off in internet rehab determined to crash the reunion of the show she once was on and tell the truth.
It's true comedy gold, I'll give it that. Her adventure of trying to make it to the reunion is filled with obstacles that had me laughing and definitely sucked in wanting to know the outcome. There was a moment towards the end that I wish had been written a bit more dramatically since it was setting up this scene throughout most of the book, but I'm not disappointed with why it veered the way it did. I guess I would have wanted it to be longer, so I could have gotten more, but it makes sense with why it didn't.
This book is great for getting out of a reading funk, because the characters are funny, the writing is good and the story line is a fun take on what being a child star means. Puts a new perspective on "where are they now".
Roughly based off the idea off the idea of the 90s child stars like ones we know from the Mickey Mouse Club, or for me I kept getting Barney kid star vibes because I do remember Demi and Selena being on the show lol. The author created a fictional show with characters that had mostly all, but one, gone onto more fame and fortune.
I like the story because you really feel the emotions behind the main character Holly, the one that didn't become famous, and how much it affected her, but not in the ways you might think. She starts off in internet rehab determined to crash the reunion of the show she once was on and tell the truth.
It's true comedy gold, I'll give it that. Her adventure of trying to make it to the reunion is filled with obstacles that had me laughing and definitely sucked in wanting to know the outcome. There was a moment towards the end that I wish had been written a bit more dramatically since it was setting up this scene throughout most of the book, but I'm not disappointed with why it veered the way it did. I guess I would have wanted it to be longer, so I could have gotten more, but it makes sense with why it didn't.
This book is great for getting out of a reading funk, because the characters are funny, the writing is good and the story line is a fun take on what being a child star means. Puts a new perspective on "where are they now".
missy_evanko's review against another edition
4.0
A fun fictionalization of the Mickey Mouse Club and all the famous kids that came out of that, if only one person didn't become famous. Lighthearted and fun.
ljesica's review against another edition
2.0
When Holly Danner was 11, she was one of the stars of a children's show on PBS. Twenty five years later, all of her costars have gone on to be famous. And Holly has just lost her job as her sister's nanny. When a reunion is announced, and Holly isn't invited, she decides she's going to crash it.
This book was about that but not really. It has hints of what fame can do to a person, what the internet can do to a person, what missed dreams can do. It wasn't a bad book but I felt like it was trying to be too many things without actually achieving any of them. And I didn't think either of her romantic relationships seemed healthy at all. It was fine.
This book was about that but not really. It has hints of what fame can do to a person, what the internet can do to a person, what missed dreams can do. It wasn't a bad book but I felt like it was trying to be too many things without actually achieving any of them. And I didn't think either of her romantic relationships seemed healthy at all. It was fine.
hmonkeyreads's review
3.0
Ridiculous piece of fluff that I read in one afternoon. Good for beach or pool or airplane or when your brain just needs to relax and space out for awhile. It's all crazy and barely makes any sense but it was a fun diversion. That's all I was looking for.
It's a silly premise obviously based on the modern Mickey Mouse Club and how so many of the kids on that lame show turned out to be mega famous but in this case ONE did not and this is about how she's crazy jealous 25 years later that they are rich and famous and she's just a nobody with essentially nothing to show for her life.
How that ties in with a cross country road trip with a cute boy and almost no money you'll have to read to find out. That part is totally like one of my favorite 80s movies: The Sure Thing.
It's a silly premise obviously based on the modern Mickey Mouse Club and how so many of the kids on that lame show turned out to be mega famous but in this case ONE did not and this is about how she's crazy jealous 25 years later that they are rich and famous and she's just a nobody with essentially nothing to show for her life.
How that ties in with a cross country road trip with a cute boy and almost no money you'll have to read to find out. That part is totally like one of my favorite 80s movies: The Sure Thing.
brooke_review's review against another edition
4.0
The early 90's Mickey Mouse Club is perhaps most famous for launching several superstars, including Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Keri Russell, and Ryan Gosling. Sarah Skilton's Fame Adjacent imagines what it would be like to have been the only actor on a children's TV show to NOT achieve super stardom after the program's end.
This engaging, reflective novel takes a fictional show - Diego and the Lion's Den - with a cast obviously inspired by the real-life Mickey Mouse Club stars, and follows a completely made-up cast member who did not later make it big - Holly Danner. Holly, the quirky comic relief of Diego and the Lion's Den, is now in her late 30s and is feeling resentful that she never became globally famous like her peers. When she learns that the cast is planning a 25 year reunion show and she has NOT been invited, she becomes obsessed with stalking them on the Internet ... to the point of landing herself in Internet rehab. Yes, apparently there is such a thing.
After befriending a cute patient (and future love interest), Thom, who is scheduled for release, she persuades him to let her join him on his road trip back home so that she can crash the reunion show. What Holly isn't bargaining for on this mission is that it will turn out to be as much a journey of self-discovery as it is a quest for retribution and affirmation to prove to her former castmates and the world that she still exists.
As a Millennial who came of age right when the former Mickey Mouse Club castmates exploded on the entertainment scene, Fame Adjacent was right up my alley. While I never watched the Mickey Mouse Club as a kid (this was back when the Disney Channel came at a premium), I was a fan of its former stars after they entered the young adult pop culture scene, which made reading a book inspired by their lives a lot of fun!
Holly Danner is definitely a flawed character, and she will be a hard pill to swallow for some with her harebrained ideas, desperate pleas for attention, and tendency to get stuck in the past. However, her character also makes a lot of sense. As much as the lives of celebrities are constantly shoved in our faces to envy over and aspire to, it is not unreasonable that someone who nearly had that moment in the spotlight but didn't, would feel resentful and become obsessed with her former "glory days" and what could have been.
While Fame Adjacent is steeped in fictional (and not so fictional) pop culture references, it is mostly a tale of a lost and flailing woman finding meaning and purpose in her life. What happens to former child stars if they don't continue on in the entertainment industry? I imagine some might feel that they dodged a bullet, getting to lead normal lives away from the glitz, glam, and glare. But others may feel a sense of loss, that they missed out on something big. The latter is what this book is about, and it's an entirely relatable story, even for the majority of us who did not grow up on a TV show. How many of us have suffered a quarter or mid-life crisis, looking back on the years and wondering what might have been had our lives taken a different path? A lot of us, likely, which makes Fame Adjacent an accessible, thought-provoking read for the 30 and 40-something crowd.
This engaging, reflective novel takes a fictional show - Diego and the Lion's Den - with a cast obviously inspired by the real-life Mickey Mouse Club stars, and follows a completely made-up cast member who did not later make it big - Holly Danner. Holly, the quirky comic relief of Diego and the Lion's Den, is now in her late 30s and is feeling resentful that she never became globally famous like her peers. When she learns that the cast is planning a 25 year reunion show and she has NOT been invited, she becomes obsessed with stalking them on the Internet ... to the point of landing herself in Internet rehab. Yes, apparently there is such a thing.
After befriending a cute patient (and future love interest), Thom, who is scheduled for release, she persuades him to let her join him on his road trip back home so that she can crash the reunion show. What Holly isn't bargaining for on this mission is that it will turn out to be as much a journey of self-discovery as it is a quest for retribution and affirmation to prove to her former castmates and the world that she still exists.
As a Millennial who came of age right when the former Mickey Mouse Club castmates exploded on the entertainment scene, Fame Adjacent was right up my alley. While I never watched the Mickey Mouse Club as a kid (this was back when the Disney Channel came at a premium), I was a fan of its former stars after they entered the young adult pop culture scene, which made reading a book inspired by their lives a lot of fun!
Holly Danner is definitely a flawed character, and she will be a hard pill to swallow for some with her harebrained ideas, desperate pleas for attention, and tendency to get stuck in the past. However, her character also makes a lot of sense. As much as the lives of celebrities are constantly shoved in our faces to envy over and aspire to, it is not unreasonable that someone who nearly had that moment in the spotlight but didn't, would feel resentful and become obsessed with her former "glory days" and what could have been.
While Fame Adjacent is steeped in fictional (and not so fictional) pop culture references, it is mostly a tale of a lost and flailing woman finding meaning and purpose in her life. What happens to former child stars if they don't continue on in the entertainment industry? I imagine some might feel that they dodged a bullet, getting to lead normal lives away from the glitz, glam, and glare. But others may feel a sense of loss, that they missed out on something big. The latter is what this book is about, and it's an entirely relatable story, even for the majority of us who did not grow up on a TV show. How many of us have suffered a quarter or mid-life crisis, looking back on the years and wondering what might have been had our lives taken a different path? A lot of us, likely, which makes Fame Adjacent an accessible, thought-provoking read for the 30 and 40-something crowd.
lizziegoodfriend's review against another edition
Feels weird to use “He’d been my brother” and “My lover. My boyfriend” in the same paragraph to describe one person
Holly was mad and seeking vindication the ENTIRE book to just let it all go from one lousy talk with the other cast members??
I can see why this was a library book for sale at the library book sale…
Holly was mad and seeking vindication the ENTIRE book to just let it all go from one lousy talk with the other cast members??
I can see why this was a library book for sale at the library book sale…
ashbreadin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
suzyc's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes