Article contributed by Isabella Haberstock
Everybody born before in the 90’s or early 2000’s has memories of their favourite child stars from shows like Lizzie McGuire, That’s So Raven, and Hannah Montana, but our memories of those child stars post-fame are the ones that we remember the most. More specifically, we seem to remember their worst moments once they were no longer in the spotlight. We may also remember the child star who we never really heard from again. Every once in a while, we may briefly think of them, but they are not relevant enough today to hold the public interest. The novel Fame Adjacent by Sarah Skilton explores the life of a 90’s child star named Holly Danner who has been pushed out of the spotlight by her now-thriving former costars. Her journey to meet them all at the 25th anniversary of their show, Diego and the Lion’s Den, is one that results in an endearing and meaningful story about relationships, righting wrongs, and finding peace in your life.
The story opens with Holly Danner, a woman whose only claim to fame was starring in a popular television show as a child. After many failed attempts to gain any kind of celebrity status back, Holly found herself checked into a program aimed at reforming internet-addicts. While many readers may scoff at the idea of being addicted to the internet, this book portrays the serious mental and physical health issues that can result from this. While in rehab, she meets a recovering addict named Thom, who she is able to hitch a ride with across the country to the Lion’s Den reunion in New York City. Throughout the road trip, the reader will learn more about Holly’s life after fame and why she and Thom were in rehab. The story culminates with Holly’s crashing of the reunion followed by many realisations that allow her to finally make peace with her past and live her current life.
The most compelling part of this book is Holly’s relationship with her former costars. The ways they took advantage of her throughout her career and her life after fame are very relatable to anyone who has put more effort into a friendship than what they got in return. Her desire to catch up with everyone who left her behind as soon as The Lion’s Den ended is also very relatable to the reader because of the dreaded possibility of being a “late bloomer” into adulthood. Holly seems to be so stuck in the past that she is bitter that she had to grow up and lose her childhood reputation. Something that a lot of people are afraid of is that their moment came too early and that they might never experience similar moments in the rest of their lives. Holly’s fear of this and how she tries to overcome it are the most poignant and well-written parts of the whole book, and it truly shows the amount of sadness and regret underneath Holly’s dry humour and optimism.
Another win for Fame Adjacent is the humour. Excluding the cheesy 90’s era jokes meant more for nostalgia than laughter, the actual humour in this book is very sarcastic. This type of humour makes any conversation sound more organic, and Holly’s various jokes and comments were clever and actually funny. The humour of other characters also came through in the story, especially for Thom. While Thom initially seemed like a more stoic character, his own sarcasm became a balance for Holly’s as the book goes on.
Holly and Thom’s relationship is one that the reader will be rooting for because of how well they balance out and need each other. The only pitfall of their relationship is the physical aspect of their romance. Many of the love scenes in the book read more like a fanfiction than a novel, and the writing in these sections didn’t really fit into the rest of the book. Having a significant portion of their relationship being physical detracts from their bond, and the amount of times that sex is brought up in the book makes the reader think that is one of the few reasons that they are together. All of this heavily distracts from Holly and Thom learning more about each other’s lives and growing closer emotionally, but their relationship persisted despite of this.
Another way that this book fell short was the length of the climax. The majority of the book was building up to Holly finally confronting her former costars after years of silence, but the climax itself didn’t really satisfy the reader. Instead of really listening to Holly, the other actors from Diego and the Lion’s Den listed the reasons why they had also suffered since the show’s ending. While their misfortunes are just as valid as Holly’s, none of them were directly attributed to Holly’s actions against them. This effectively made Holly’s woes seem insignificant and the overall scene less emotional, even though the whole reason that she found them was so they would stop ignoring and overshadowing her.
Aside from this, this book clearly communicates that there is a way to make peace with your past that doesn’t involve enacting some form of revenge on the people who wronged you. Even though revenge and fame was the easiest route for Holly to take (and she completely intended to go through with her plan), she realised that gaining a following wouldn’t compare to what she would lose in the process. Fame Adjacent is a funny and heart-warming book full of 90’s references, the rebuilding of relationships, and a lot of lessons about adulthood, and it gets a 7/10 from me.
Fame Adjacent is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
The child star that was left behind is about to get her moment to shine in this swoony romantic comedy inspired by a unique, beloved facet of pop culture history: The Mickey Mouse Club.
Holly Danner has a complicated relationship with fame. It’s not easy being the only cast member of a 1990s song-and-dance show who didn’t become famous. When she was eleven, she used to do anything for a laugh (or at least a laugh-track) on “Diego and the Lion’s Den.” If she talked about it–which she almost never does–Holly might explain how her childhood best friends came to dominate the worlds of pop music, film, and TV while she was relegated to a few near-misses and a nanny gig for her niece. She’d even be telling the truth about making peace with the whole thing years ago.
But when she finds out there’s a 25th anniversary for the show planned–a televised reunion, clip show, and panel–and she wasn’t invited, it’s time for an impromptu road trip to crash the event and set the record straight. Three problems: she’s currently in Internet Rehab (perhaps she’s not quite as well-adjusted as she believes…), she has no cash, and the only person who can get her across the country in time is Thom Parker, a handsome, infuriatingly level-headed patient who doesn’t think she should confront her famous ex-friends.
FAME ADJACENT is a contemporary, realistic, and humorous look at love, friendship, and fame, as seen through the eyes of a girl who lived it–from the sidelines.
