But, what I missed the first time around was how that wasn't really the story. Ms. Klein is not someone who normally writes about fame, and the title of the book should have clued me in. It's about Rusty's family. Her kind of prickly older sister who is less experienced than Rusty and is resentful, her mother who is an actress who never achieved the fame she wanted and is considered past her prime at 39, and her father who didn't want Rusty to do this in the first place, is worried Rusty is doing this in order to live out her mother's fantasies, not really her own. Not to mention Rusty's own relationship with her on-again-off-again boyfriend Josh. Over the course of the book's many months, we find out that both of Rusty's parents are having affairs. Rusty and Josh's relationship is pretty volatile, with serious trust and jealousy issues, and his lack of respect for her choices. (Ah, only 16-year-olds can truly have the earnestness to dis any movies other than Ingmar Bergman's as trash.) I'm particularly impressed with the subtle way Ms. Klein writes every character's dialogue in their own voice. You never have to wonder who is talking. When Rusty's mother is talking, her lines are filled with italics and exclamation points. Her father's language is formal with bigger words and it's more thoughtful. I also loved that while Rusty says "ironical" a couple of times, her mother uses the word "ironic" correctly, as I, and I'm sure many other teens, did pick up some SAT words in her books' sophisticated language. But that specificity of character is really skillful, even more so when it's done with such a light hand that it's unnoticeable to an average reader.

This review is a part of Kid Konnection, hosted by Booking Mama, a collection of children's book-related posts over the weekend.
I have owned this book since the 1980s.
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