My Liar

October 1, 2007
Friendship, Hollywood-style, is the subject of Cline's underpowered second novel (after her well-received What to Keep
). Mousy film editor Annabeth Jensen and chic, ambitious indie director Laura Katz, both in their 30s, meet at an industry party. Annabeth, who has a dark past (“the mostly absent alcoholic father, the raging mother”), is between jobs, and Laura is looking for a producer for her new project. Annabeth and Laura become unlikely friends and together begin prepping the feature, Trouble Doll
, “about a girl from the Midwest who comes to L.A. to find fame and fortune and winds up dead on the side of the road.” But as soon as the movie goes into production, the women's friendship shifts, with Annabeth feeling more like just another employee than a confidante. How Annabeth deals with a grand betrayal of their friendship forms the dramatic crux of this novel, but Annabeth's attempt to reassert control over her life may come too late; her defining (and not overly gripping) feature is her grinding insecurity, and it eventually tiptoes into maudlin territory. This novel is likely too meek to leave a lasting mark in the pantheon of Hollywood fiction.

November 15, 2007
Cline ("What To Keep" takes on the nature of friendship, female identity, betrayal, and love, when young dreamer Annabeth Jensen is drawn to Hollywood after film school. She has some initial success working with a well-known film editor who is finishing up his career and moving back to Amsterdam. Then, Annabeth runs into Laura Katz, a hot young director, at a party; Laura, who has a project in the works, is in the process of hiring. Along with trying to find a job, Annabeth is getting used to living with her boyfriend, David, who's a huge music buff and has recently been hired on at KCRW to do a late-night show. Annabeth and Laura begin work on the film "Trouble Doll" but Laura is consumed with becoming a hit in Hollywood, which inevitably leads to a crisis in the burgeoning friendship. The story is a familiar one, and no new territory is covered; other than Annabeth, the characters are a bit two-dimensional, and this makes it difficult to work up much sympathy for them. Recommended only if there is interest.Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2007
Hollywood is no place for the faint of heart, a lesson film editor Annabeth Jensen is learning all too well. Her work with well-connected independent film director Laura Katz leaves Annabeth endlessly on edge. The two women couldnt be more different. Annabeth is a mild-mannered midwesterner; Laura is an exotically beautiful control freak with a very short fuse. (When the two first get to know each other, Annabeth feels almost as if they are dating, even though Laura has a handsome husband, and Annabeth a steady beau.) The more deeply the two become immersed in their promising project, Trouble Doll, the more their personalities are at odds. Lauras flippant remarks flummox Annabeth, who repeatedly confesses to her boyfriend her fear of getting fired. The relationship reaches a breaking point when success-obsessed Laura puts the fate of the film above all else. Though her plot is predictable at times, veteran screenwriter Clines second offering (after What to Keep, in 2004) confirms her ability to expertly render complex characters entangled in uneasy alliances(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)