A Star Is Bored by Byron Lane

☆☆☆☆
ebook, 310 pages
Expected publication: July 28th 2020 by Henry Holt & Company
About the Book:
She needs an assistant. He needs a hero.
Charlie Besson is tense and sweating as he prepares for a wild job interview. His car is idling, like his life, outside the Hollywood mansion of Kathi Kannon, star of stage and screen and People magazine’s Worst Dressed list. She's an actress in need of assistance, and he's adrift and in need of a lifeline. Kathi is an icon, bestselling author, and award-winning movie star, most known for her role as Priestess Talara in a blockbuster sci-fi film. She’s also known in another role: Outrageous Hollywood royalty. Admittedly so. Famously so. Chaotically so, as Charlie quickly discovers. Charlie gets the job, and his three-year odyssey is filled with late-night shopping sprees, last-minute trips to see the aurora borealis, and an initiation to that most sacred of Hollywood tribes: the personal assistant. But Kathi becomes much more than a boss, and as their friendship grows Charlie must make a choice. Will he always be on the sidelines of life, assisting the great forces that be, or can he step into his own life's leading role?

This book was funny, honest and ardent. I can't believe how much I laughed reading this novel. It was exactly what I needed after all the thrillers I've read. And who couldn't use a good belly laugh right now!?

Byron Lane writes with such passion and from the heart. I felt like I was reading a memoir instead of fiction. I know the book isn't really based on his life as being Carrie Fishers personal assistant, but he did such a great job making it feel real. I could imagine all the characters very clearly.

Even though this book is lighthearted it tackles some serious issues like self esteem, abusive parents, mental health, addiction. But I love the author's way of making it seem normal...everyone has issues they're dealing with and we should be able to talk about them openly and honestly. We should be able to laugh at ourselves. That's what I am taking away from this novel.

Thank you NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company and Byron Lane for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

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