Fame Adjacent

Starred review from February 25, 2019
Those who spend too much time looking at their screens will find Skilton’s fun contemporary just as addictive. It’s been more than 20 years since Holly Danner appeared on a wildly popular children’s television show. Future success as an actress, writer, and even nanny eluded Holly; meanwhile, she’s seen all her costars grow into award-winning megastars who only reconnect with her when they need a safe place to escape the paparazzi. Deeply insulted that she hasn’t been invited to a televised reunion show in New York, she goes off the deep end monitoring her costars online and winds up in an internet addiction therapy clinic, hoping to regain some perspective. There she meets handsome Thom Parker, a fellow patient who urges her to abandon her plan to crash the reunion show and, instead, find her own life. After graduating from the clinic, Thom and Holly open up to each other about their lives as Thom reluctantly helps Holly get to New York on a hijinks-filled road trip. The premise is comedic, but the underlying message about social media and stardom is serious and powerful. In addition to cheering on Holly and Thom’s romance, readers will feel abundant sympathy for Holly and hope she finds her own success. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Literary.

Narrator Karissa Vacker brings impeccable timing and pacing to this hilarious story about how people change. Holly has been reflecting on her former days on the popular kids' show "Diego and the Lion's Den"--so much so that the subreddit thread she started on the topic has landed her in "Internet rehab." Vacker's steady tone mirrors Holly's thoughts and flashbacks to "the old days" and captures her sarcasm as she faces obstacles to her plan interrupt the 25th anniversary party of the show with a fellow Internet rehab participant named Tom. For two other characters, Vacker seamlessly changes to a Southern twang and a posh British accent, but she's in her element as Tom and Holly, whose flirtatious and comedic banter will captivate listeners. A.LC. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine