Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Careful what you wish for, especially in Hollywood
The Paper Wasp
What you need to know before your trail
Abby Graven is a dreamer. She dreams her way through her small, lonely life – hiding back at her parents, working at the grocery store. At night, she collects tabloid clippings that taunt her with Elise – her best friend, now Hollywood’s hot new starlet.
When a school reunion throws Elise in her path, Abby seizes her chance. With feverish certainty, she boards a one-way flight to LA to become Elise’s assistant and enters her gauzy realm of film sets and glamorous actors.
But behind Elise’s glossy magazine veneer, she is drowning in Hollywood’s vicious social cycle. Ever the devoted friend, Abby conceals her own burning desire for greatness.
For she is smarter than Elise. More talented. A true artist. And as she edges closer to her own ambitions, Abby can see only one way to make her dream come true.
Travel Guide
Travel to the dark and light of Hollywood
Michigan and Los Angeles. Two very different places. What happens when your friend from school becomes a Hollywood star and you are left behind? How do you feel seeing her in her world where all the glam and glitz threaten to blind you? But then is Hollywood ever as it seems?
Abby sets off to see Elise:
“This was a Los Angeles I hadn’t expected: A barren,undulating terrain that appears more suited to wildcats than movie stars.”
Rodeo Drive
“Still, the place was unimpressive. Rodeo Drive was laughably short and antiseptic, a hastily constructed movie set. A few tourists stood on the sidewalk, stunned by the bright blankness.”
Redondo Beach
She drives her friends car along the coast and visits all the famous beaches like this one in a Tesla
There’s also a rather interesting retreat in the Santa Monica hills where celebrities go …
” I understood that you were no different from the red carpets – thrilling, but ultimately disposable, interchangeable. The only real sovereignty belonged to the producers, the jowly, deep-pocked men in black suits. The only real freedom belonged to the writers and directors.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Paper Wasp
Destination: Hollywood Author/Guide: Lauren Acampora Departure Time: 2000s
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