The Hollywood Daughter

The Hollywood Daughter by Kate Alcott, 305 pages

Jesse Malloy grew up during the golden age of Hollywood, attempting to balance the glitz of Hollywood (her dad's a studio publicist) with the constraints of her all-girls Catholic school (her devout mother's choice) and idolizing Ingrid Bergman through it all. Most of this book is told through an extended flashback, a memory that comes to Jesse after she receives a mysterious invitation to the 1959 Academy Awards. The flashback includes several run-ins with Bergman, as well as plenty of ruminations on McCarthyism. I'm not really sure what to say about this book. It's OK, though not nearly as good as Alcott's A Touch of Stardust (which took place during the filming of Gone with the Wind). The Hollywood Daughter, while a serviceable escapist read, just doesn't have the thrill of Stardust. Kinda meh.