Chasing Starlight

by Teri Bailey Black

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Pub Date Aug 11 2020 | Archive Date Mar 31 2021

Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates | Tor Teen

Teens & YA

Description

Movies, mansions, and murder in the Golden Age of Hollywood! Teri Bailey Black's Chasing Starlight is a historical mystery from the author of Girl at the Grave, winner of the Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel.

1938. The Golden Age of Hollywood. Palm trees and movie stars. Film studios pumping out musicals and gangster films at a furious pace. Everyone wants to be a star—except society girl and aspiring astronomer Kate Hildebrand. She’s already famous after a childhood tragedy turned her into a newspaper headline. What she craves now is stability.

But when Kate has to move to Hollywood to live with her washed-up silent film star grandfather, she walks into a murder scene and finds herself on the front page again. She suspects one of the young men boarding in her grandfather’s run-down mansion is the killer—or maybe even her grandfather.

Now, Kate must discover the killer while working on the set of a musical—and falling in love. Will her stars align so she can catch the murderer and live the dream in Old Hollywood? Or will she find that she’s just chasing starlight?

Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9780765399519
PRICE	$17.99 (USD)
PAGES	272

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Additional Information

Average rating from 87 members

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Featured Reviews

Andrea E, Reviewer

For the Turner Classic Movie/Veronica Mars/YA interested gal, this book ended up being an absolute delight!

The author has connection to Hollywood (since the forward mentions her grandfather being involved with MGM), which gave me a strong reason to hope that this book would be a solid read.

The writing is smooth, fluid, and the characters all have their own personalities and quirks. Kate/Katherine has been sent to live with her estranged grandfather who once used to be a famous silent movie star. Now, living in his rambled house with three other Hollywood hopefuls, she comes to learn the reasons why he was estranged and why Hollywood is no longer knocking on his door.

The movie is a love letter to classic noir and movies like Sunset Boulevard and Who Framed Rodger Rabbit by showing us the making of a film behind the scenes. It also gives nod to teen sluth novels like Encyclopedia Brown, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.

The motive/mystery/suspense was on point and I truly had no idea who was the killer until the last 10% of the book. Which, goes to show you, that's some good writing.

I think the author has a solid book here and if she wishes to explore more within this world I wouldn't mind. She has the knack for giving us a good mystery story and the fact it takes place in Hollywood, well, even better!

I most certainly recommend this book. I look forward to seeing the reviews come time for release.

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Kat N, Librarian

#ChasingStarlight
#Macmilliam
#MustReadYAmystery
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I really enjoyed this noir genre mystery for young adults. Personally, I would love to see more young adult mysteries in the coming years. I like Veronica Mars and Nancy Drew mysteries. I think many will enjoy the slow burn of this one. Old school Hollywood didn't hurt as a backdrop either.

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J. S, Reviewer

4.5 stars!!!
This book almost has it all! A kick-ass female main character, a lovely, sweet and interesting love interest, a house full of weirdos, a nice aesthetic, interesting family dynamics, a loving grandpa-granddaughter relationship that made me tear up, a murder mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat!
The only negative thing I really have to say is that it a little too straight and too white. Queer people have existed in the 1930s, I wish there was just one queer side character, that'd make this book PERFECT! But I'm reclaiming Stella Nixon and she's totally a lesbian, you can't convince me otherwise.