Absolutely True Lies

March 15, 2015
A struggling writer suddenly finds herself at the center of a young starlet's world.Life in Los Angeles has taken a turn for the worse for entertainment writer Holly Gracin. After losing her job at Westside Weekly when the magazine suddenly folds, she briefly dedicates her life to self-pity and binge eating. She's just about ready to pack up and move home to upstate New York when she's offered an exciting and somewhat terrifying opportunity: the chance to ghostwrite the memoir of Nickelodeon teen star Daisy Mae Dixson. Though Holly questions her qualifications for this task, which is well outside her comfort zone, she's easily persuaded by the promise of a payday that would dwarf her yearly income. Daisy Mae is famous for her squeaky-clean good-girl image, but the facade quickly begins to fall away as Holly is swept into her world. While it might seem great to live like the Hollywood elite, Holly begins to see the real Daisy Mae, who is struggling with overbearing management and impossible standards and has an attitude that would horrify most of her young fans. Still, Holly is supposed to write a cheery and vapid memoir, a job that becomes increasingly difficult the more she gets to know the Dixson family and staff. Soon, Holly, who couldn't get past security with her press credentials for Westside Weekly, finds herself in the tabloids as part of Daisy Mae's entourage. When Daisy Mae's outrageous behavior creates a scandal poised to destroy her career, the memoir gains new weight as part of her packaged atonement. While Daisy Mae feels like a composite of some familiar Hollywood starlets, the novel, with its frequent twists and turns, still feels fresh. Stuhler uses her own experience as a ghostwriter for the Hollywood elite in this fun and satisfying behind-the-scenes debut novel.

April 1, 2015

One only needs to tune in to the evening news or check out the cover of a magazine to see yet another teen celebrity go from America's sweetheart to a hot mess in no time flat. Stuhler's debut tells one such story. Tapping in to her personal experience working in Hollywood as a screenwriter and ghostwriter, the author crafts a salacious world in which Holly Gracin, mid-20s and struggling to make a name for herself as a gossip writer, is hired to ghostwrite the autobiography of Daisy Mae Dixon, a teenage pop star who is nothing like the Goody Two-shoes she portrays in public. Despite the rampant corruption and evildoers in their Hollywood milieu, Holly soon finds out the truth behind Daisy's manufactured persona and is thrown into a world of sex, drugs, and plenty of misery. When Holly flies to Italy for an on-location shoot, Daisy teeters on the edge of self-destruction and Holly must find the strength to stay true to herself. VERDICT An enticing glimpse into the celebrity lifestyle, this first novel is a solid beach read that will cause readers to feel sympathy for child stars. Stuhler's personal experiences add an extra layer of intrigue that is sure to draw in readers.--Chelsie Harris, San Diego Cty. Lib., CA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2015
Screenwriter Stuhler takes readers into the world of a struggling writer in Los Angeles in her first novel. Twenty-five-year-old Holly Gracin finds herself jobless when the floundering magazine she works for finally folds. She is saved from complete destitution when she is hired to ghostwrite the memoirs of 18-year-old television pop star Daisy Mae Dixon. Holly quickly discovers that Daisy's sweet, squeaky-clean reputation is just an illusion. Daisy is actually childish and prone to temper tantrums. She pops pills and drinks behind closed doors, and her manager is a controlling Svengali. Holly is whisked off to Miami and Italy for the filming of Daisy's television show, and she grows close to two members of the crew: a charming, cute producer and a drop-dead-gorgeous production designer who wears his heart on his sleeve. But when Daisy has a meltdown in Italy, Holly's job and Daisy's career are both put in jeopardy. A truly winning debut that peels back the layers of the glamorous life of a young star as well as those in her orbit.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)