A Star is Bored Review

Hello, all!

I've been reading a lot of top notch books lately, and I'm living for it! I feel like the second half of the year has been full of new favorites, and A Star is Bored by Byron Lane is definitely one of them. 

Pub Date: 7-28-20
Adult - Fiction

Charlie hates his life. He has a terrible job writing the news on the graveyard shift where he never sees the sun, he lives in a small apartment, he's single, and he's depressed. When he gets the opportunity to interview to become the personal assistant to one of his childhood icons, he jumps at the chance. Kathi Kannon is a world-famous actress best known for her role in a blockbuster sci-fi film, an author, Hollywood royalty, and admittedly, absolutely crazy. Charlie will do anything to get the job, but he's completely unprepared when he does.

As a young boy, Charlie idolized Kathi as this otherworldly being, but he soon finds out she's just like any other mere mortal. He organizes her life, from her pills to her underwear, he watches her spending, and he makes sure she doesn't leave her cell phone in a department store...again. While the work may be tedious and aggravating at times, the moments alone with Kathi make it all worth it. From last-minute trips to see the Northern Lights to shopping sprees to just dancing around the house, these are the moments that help Charlie see that life is worth living. As the year's pass, Charlie and Kathi's relationship grows into more of a friendship, which forces Charlie to look inward and ask himself if he's ready to step out of the shadows and lead his own life.

This is said to have been heavily influenced by Lane's own time as Carrie Fisher's assistant and you can definitely tell. Kathi has that same acerbic wit and middle finger attitude that Fisher was notorious for. She also has some of the same mental illnesses that Fisher suffered from, which I thought were handled nicely in here. I loved her and Charlie's relationship so much and thought it was the highlight. They're so different--Kathi is boisterous and doesn't care what anyone thinks and Charlie goes into a panic over everything--but they complement one another so well. They start as strangers, but by the end are family. It was both a coming of age and a love story, but not in the traditional sense. It was funny, it was sad, it was deep, it was moving, and you could tell it came from a place of such love and respect. I just simply adored it and can't recommend it enough.

Rating: 5/5

Comments

  1. This sounds like a really excellent read. I appreciate the idea of a love story that isn't romantic for once. Will definitely give this book a read ☺️

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