Seeing Stars: A Novel

by Diane Hammond

Overview

“Diane Hammond writes with heart, compassion, and humor.”
—Terry Gamble, author of The Water Dancers

 

From Diane Hammond, author of Hannah’s Dream, comes Seeing Stars, a glorious new novel of hope, dreams, love, and ambition. Set in Hollywood—where every child wants to be a star and every grownup wants a piece of the action—Seeing Stars explores a not-so glamorous world of stage mothers, adolescent Tinsel Town wannabes, and desperate chances with warmth and wit.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061863158
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/23/2010
Pages:	459
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Diane Hammond is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Seeing Stars, Hannah's Dream, Going to Bend, and Homesick Creek. She served as a spokesperson for the Free Willy Keiko Foundation and the Oregon Coast Aquarium and currently lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her husband and their three Pembroke Welsh corgis.

Editorial Reviews

Hammond (Hannah's Dream) explores the world of wannabe child stars in this taut if sometimes melodramatic novel. At the center is Ruth Rabinowitz, a naïve but determined stage mom who leaves her husband in Seattle to move to L.A. with their 13-year-old daughter, Bethany, who is soon plunged into a torrent of auditions, rejections, and humiliations. Three other teen actors represented by Bethany's manager play tragic stereotypes in the novel and are more vividly rendered than sweet if unremarkable Bethany: Laurel is determined to achieve stardom before her terminally ill mother dies; meanwhile, Allison, a beautiful and deeply troubled girl from Houston, and Quinn, a gifted actor from Seattle, have both been abandoned by cruel stepfathers and weak mothers. Careerwise, the virtually orphaned kids fare better, but this seems incidental in Hammond's lonely, exploitative Hollywood. Though Ruth's struggle to balance conflicting responsibilities is predictably resolved, the girls' stories remain compelling amid the gritty details of the child-acting biz. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

With razor-sharp insight, Hammond grabs us by the wrist and dives into the child-actor world....[a]n untarnished look at the spoils of fame, the residue of unbridled longing and the lengths too many go to for those 15 minutes of marquee-made joy.” — The Oregonian (Portland)

From the Publisher

With razor-sharp insight, Hammond grabs us by the wrist and dives into the child-actor world....[a]n untarnished look at the spoils of fame, the residue of unbridled longing and the lengths too many go to for those 15 minutes of marquee-made joy.

The Oregonian (Portland)