Starstruck by Rachel Shukert (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Starstruck by Rachel Shukert Deborah Stevenson Shukert, Rachel . Starstruck. Delacorte, 2013. [352p]. Library ed. ISBN 978-0-375-98984-1 $20.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-385-74108-8 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-375-98425-9 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 8-12. Yearning to get out of her stifling existence as a soon-to-be-deb in 1930s Pasadena, Margaret Frobisher is thrilled to be offered a screen test at Olympus Studios, especially when it gives her a chance to meet her long-time crush, Dane Forrest. Suddenly she's starlet Margo Sterling, hastily cast by the studio into a new movie to replace the mysteriously missing actress Diana Chesterfield. She quickly learns the dirty truth behind Tinseltown facades as she's scripted into a fan-mag-ready romance with a young hoofer in order to defray (accurate) rumors about his sexuality and she watches a young colleague spiral out of control under studio-prescribed medications. Getting to know Dane only draws her closer to him, but she can't help wondering what really happened to Diana Chesterfield, and what Dane knows. Shukert has enough historical and contextual knowledge to give satisfying depth to the froth in this cinematic sudser. The book is lavish with detail about gowns and process and what's going on at other studios ("that farkakte Civil War movie David Selznick claims to be making"), but it also sharply observes the different reactions to Hitler's rise from the conservative Pasadena burghers and from the studio's German Jewish exiles. Histrionics are juicy and scandal suffuses the story at all levels, from a B plot about a stunning bit player hiding her sordid previous career to mentions of real-life indiscretions by stars such as Clark Gable and Loretta Young. Readers who adore the black and white selections in their Netflix queue will eat this up like popcorn, and they'll relish the hints at a secret about Margo's own past (does the gold pin she cherishes link her to the bit player's former madam?) that suggest an explanatory sequel may be forthcoming. Copyright © 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois