Thank you so much to Dutton Books for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this one especially in a time when books are failing to hold my interest, this one definitely did!

I was so curious to learn what happened to missing star, Echo Blue! This one had a little bit of mystery, women's fiction and general fiction and I think it could be enjoyed by a wide audience!

The story is told in from two perspectives: Echo herself and Goldie who is a reporter and also Echo Blue's biggest fan!

This story had me thinking deeply about how much attention and pressure society places on our "stars" and how easily it can become toxic.

Some of the character's choices made me want to scream, but overall I enjoyed it and think it will be a hit!

I really enjoyed this book, set in early 2000 with flashbacks to the 90s. Goldie and Echo are two distinct main characters, we get Goldie as a journalist for a NYC magazine, researching when her favorite actress Echo Blue disappears from public life. We go back and forth between the beginning of Echo's acting career at age 11 and early 2000 when Goldie pitches the story idea and heads to L.A. to look for the truth and maybe find Echo.
TW for addiction, parental abuse and neglect, and grief over losing a parent. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the writing. Krischer is an author l've read before as this is her adult debut after publishing YA. The two main characters have distinct but complementary voices.

Oh, I had so much fun reading this one. Very clearly inspired by Tatum O'Neal and her father Ryan O'Neal, splashed with lots of early aughts troubled starlet vibes, this story perfectly captures that time and place when online media isn't even a thing yet and young women are still being put through the publicity ringer. I'm a sucker for novels about Hollywood, journalism, ambitious young women who are also messy, and daddy issues so I was fully sold from start to finish. I think the resolution of where Echo Blue is felt a little anticlimactic but overall this was a smart, interesting ride.

(Actual: 4.5⭐, rounded up) I loved this book. Prior to reading, I saw a lot of people compare this book to DJ&tS, except.... I don't really see that comparison here? I guess because they're both centered on famous people working within the entertainment industry? Regardless, I'd say those comparisons need to be put to rest because they're honestly not very alike at all. I find the inner-workings of the entertainment industry and how fame impacts those who start off in the business fairly young, especially women, to be extremely fascinating in all their complexities, and so WAYEB was very compelling to in that regard from the very start. The mystery aspect was also well-written and, as always, I'm grateful for dual POVs (which, sidebar, was also a really smart storytelling decision made by the author here imo, it works very well). I'd definitely recommend this book out to others and look forward to reading more works by Krischer in the future!

Child star Echo Blue has disappeared and her biggest fan, reporter Goldie, scores a shot at breaking the news story on her whereabouts. Told through alternate viewpoints, Hayley Krischer’s Where Are You Echo Blue is a nostalgic trip into 90’s/2000’s pop culture. The vibe is low rise jeans with a going out top, and MTV’s TRL with Carson Daley.

For fans of Taylor Reid Jenkins, Sloan Crosley, with a dash of TMZ.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Dutton for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

From the get go this was a page turner and the story remained good until the end! Though I wish we could have gotten more of Echo from the dual POVs, overall this was a very good read & one I’d recommend to clients looking for Taylor Jenkins Reid vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Me 🤝 books about troubled Hollywood starlets.

Maybe it’s because I’m a pop culture devotee or maybe it’s because I love books that invoke the nostalgia of cracking open a copy of Us Weekly at the doctor’s office, but any time I hear of a new book (preferably lit fic or lit fit-adjacent) that promises to delve deep into the psyche of a teen icon, my “I need to read that” senses start tingling.

(And don’t worry, I’m crafting a guide to this subgenre as we speak).

My latest in this niche? WHERE ARE YOU, ECHO BLUE?, Hayley Krischer’s adult debut. (TYSM @duttonbooks!)

When Echo Blue, a Hollywood nepo baby whose reputation is less than sterling, fails to show up for MTV’s Total Request Live New Year’s special, it’s not much of a story, until it’s revealed that no one knows where she is. Cue Goldie, a Manhattan-based journalist with a lifelong fascination for Echo. She persuades her boss to let her take on a feature story about Echo, and sets off on a chase to find her.

I mentioned this in Stories, but I picked the eARC of this book up a few nights ago when I couldn’t sleep and promptly devoured 40% of it in the middle of the night. It moves VERY quickly thanks to its short chapters and dual POVs. We peel back Echo’s Hollywood coming of age tale in the 1990s, and Goldie’s desperate search for the truth. Goldie is messy and cringy, but her chapters have an almost thriller-like feel as she puts together clues about Echo’s whereabouts. Most books with alternating celebrity and regular person plot lines suffer from the celebrity’s story being far more compelling, but Krischer deftly avoids that here.

This book had echoes (HA!) of Jeanette McCurdy’s I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED in that it’s not afraid to delve into the seedier sides of Hollywood, and examines the way having a famous family impacted Echo. It’s a nuanced exploration of both stardom and fandom. Even if parts of the ending weren’t my favorite, the whole thing was really well-done. Def rec this one if you like books in this vein!

I have been in my fiction moment and this was a great addition to it. I was hooked from the first page. I think examining the fasciation society and certain people have with celebrities is really current to the time we live in.

This book really examined celebrity and normalcy, humanizing all the characters. I really enjoyed it. I so identified with the main character and my fascination with certain celebrities so that peaked my interest. A

The pace of the story was great and I went through it so fast! I think this would make a great tv-show.

Looking at these two characters was really important! Humanizing Echo by telling her story through her perspective reminds us that the celebrities we put on pedestals are human. We build them up and tare them down just as fast. Looking at Goldies obsession with Echo, and Goldies need to validate herself and create herself through Echo is really important.

I wont give any spoilers! But this book really made me rethink my relationship to celebrities and the relationship society has with fame in general.

I really enjoyed the book and will be recommending it to my friends.

The cover is also soooooooo good!

I wasn't fully invested in this story, and wasn't sure that I really cared what happened to Echo. Ultimately I finished but I don't think it's one I'll remember.

3.5 stars*

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this book but I was quite pleasantly surprised! The story is told from two POVs: Goldie Klein, the journalist/mega fan investigating Echo’s disappearance, and Echo Blue herself, detailing the truth about her rise to fame. I found both POVs very interesting, and although Goldie was quite an unlikable character at times, I think it really added to the dimension of the story. I think this book did a really good job highlighting the ugliness of fame in the late 90s/early 00s, with the rise of tabloids and paparazzi, as well as exploring the nuances of parasocial relationships. I found the latter half of this book to be a little less engaging but I still enjoyed the store as whole regardless!

This novel was such an interesting look at fame and child stars. I really enjoyed the chapters focusing on Echo’s early life and her rise to fame. The dynamics with her family (in particular, her father) were tough, but were really well parsed out and developed. Unfortunately, I did not love the alternating chapters with Goldie’s POV. Goldie was an interesting character, but I found her perspective throughout the book a bit grating; I wanted her pages to end so I could get back to Echo’s pages. Overall, an entertaining read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

I’ve been so excited about this book since the first time I heard about it, and it certainly delivered! I adore books about celebrities, especially former child celebrities, so this was right up my alley. Between the two perspectives, Echo’s was by far my favorite. I could have read an entire book with just more from her. Goldie was an extremely complicated character, and while I appreciated all she went through, she did drive me a little crazy. This is quite a page turner that kept me wanting more, and a perfect pick if you enjoyed books like Honey and The Daydreams.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Dutton for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

Title: Where Are You, Echo Blue? By Hayley Krischer
Publication Date- 07/16/24
Publisher- Random House Dutton
Overall Rating- 5 out of 5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: This story is beyond incredible. I will read everything this author puts out. I hope you will give it a try. Based off the premise, I didn’t think I would love this book as much as I did. I don’t watch many movies or TV, I don’t know a lot about Hollywood and acting but I do know some about child star atrocities and abuse. I didn’t think it would be something I would enjoy reading about in fiction until I read Where Are You, Echo Blue?

This is one of the best written books I’ve read in a while. You really get to know both Echo (child star who is missing) and Glodie (a journalist who used to be obsessed with Echo and is writing a piece while trying to find her). There is so much heart, humanity, hurt and passion in this story. There is also some damn good humor. Hayley Krischer is witty and has great timing/ pacing.

There is commentary on a lot of topics: prenatal relationships, childhood abuse, journalism, sex, celebrity culture, and so much more. Though this is somewhat a literary thriller, some people may be upset by the ending. However, I think if you are upset by the ending you should rethink what the story was really trying to say.

In conclusion, I really loved this. I can’t wait to see what else the author writes. I hope this book gets more traction, I believe more people will enjoy this than they realize.

Part mystery, part exploration of Hollywood and its effect on grown-up child actors, this book was soapy and intriguing. In this story, we follow the life of Echo Blue, a child actor growing up in her actor father’s shadow, and her complicated relationships with both her father and fame itself. When Echo suddenly disappears before she’s supposed to appear on a New Year’s Eve special, a young journalist named Goldie becomes obsessed with finding her.

The story is told in alternating points-of-view and alternating timelines between Echo’s childhood and coming-of-age, and Goldie’s, who grew up completely obsessed with Echo.

This book was an entertaining look at celebrity, its effects on young lives and those obsessed with it. It was a fun read, and I enjoyed it, but ultimately, the mystery element fell a little flat for me and I’m not sure how much of this book I’ll remember in a week or two. Still, if you like books that explore fame and Hollywood, this would be a fun one to pick up.

I came for the Hollywood setting and stayed for the mystery. This is one of the best books I've ever read, but i can't say too much without giving anything away or spoiling the ending, so i will just say...read this.

This book was very unique. I enjoyed the realistic look it gave about stardom. I was not able to guess the twists and turns. It was full of nineties nostalgia. My critique is that it did get weird to me at parts even though I understand what the author was trying to do. The ending was tied up nicely.

Who cannot relate to idolizing a celebrity as a child? You see them portraying this person designed to be relatable and you find yourself either relating or worshiping, especially when your own life is turbulent. It is something Goldie grasped onto as a child in the 90s. Her hero: Echo Blue, child star.

When Echo Blue goes missing (present day), Goldie, now a journalist, knows that she can be the one to find her. The connection she feels to Echo Blue is something she knows gives her an edge over others, especially when others don't seem to care that a washed up child star has gone missing.

Between past and present timelines, between both Goldie and Echo, we begin to see the full picture taking place. We see how Echo's picture perfect life was ANYTHING but. We also see Goldie as she maneuvers through dangerous situations in her search for the truth.

This was quite interesting, but still felt a bit fetish-y to me. I liked all the discussion about the power struggle within the entertainment industry, the treatment of children and women in the field of work. I thought the writing was good, but was weirded out by the amount of unnecessary masturbatory instances with no purpose at all. Sex positivity is wonderful, but these occasions were all unimportant to the story and felt weird.

Aside from that, this was a solid mystery and I enjoyed it.

There are many things to love about this book. Both Echo and Goldie are fascinating and well developed characters who have a unique point of view. The plot very much mirror’s Goldie’s eventual story in that the interesting thing about this story is not where Echo Blue is but the search for her. I really enjoyed the look inside the life of a child star in the late nineties and the almost psychotic nature of fandom and fan culture (which has only gotten worse.) As the book progressed I really could not put it down. I highly recommend this book and I will be on the lookout for Hayley Krischer’s future work.
Thank you a Netgalley and Dutton for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I started reading this, but I couldn't get into it. I think the market is oversaturated with novels inspired by late 1990s/early 2000s pop stardom right now. I totally understand why, but I've already read some novels in that vein and I enjoyed them and preferred them to this.