I couldn't help but wonder if this is a cash cow read? I know in the back it stated that she was writing this before the Me, too Movement but it felt forced out into the world.

I won't deny that this book is something we should all be aware of. Maybe make something with a more likable character. She laid the blame on everyone else except who really deserved it. The way the main character treated her family and husband just tore my heart apart.

It was an okay read and it had its many issues. It was a very important and heavy read. It was definitely an eye-opening experience.

The Comeback by Ella Berman is published by the Berkley Publishing Group. The novel follows the life of 23-year -old actress Grace Turner. From a young age, she has been on the silver screen, tied to a director who views her as his muse. She has everything anyone in L. A. would kill for; fame, money, status, and beauty. However, right when she was about to become a household name, she disappeared without a trace for a year.

It is within this year where readers start to learn who Grace Turner is. We find her secluded at her parent’s house in Anaheim. She comments that she is there to hide from her life as Grace Turner. She wants to shed her Hollywood persona and become Grace Hyde again. Grace Hyde is the person she was before the fame and before her life crumbled under the weight of her mental health issues. Berman’s layout of Grace’s disconnection of self in The Comeback provides subtle context to clue readers into Grace’s depression. Quickly, I can see that not only myself but a multitude of other readers will be able to relate to her. We are consistently in her head. All Grace is striving for, while away from the life she’s created, is normalcy and peace. However, there is a weight always bringing her back down to tears and emptiness.

I found that even though the troubles of this teen star aren’t directly stated, it is clear to see that Grace is a victim of intense manipulation at the hands of her long-time director, Able Yorke. When her mother asks her when she will leave their house to return to her stardom, the mention of Able strikes immediate fight or flight responses within her. Her sense of safety is overridden by her desire to drown out every feeling connected to memories of him. The back and forth storytelling helps the audience piece together the complex relationship that she has with her abuser. Since she was a kid, she felt inadequate with the attention she received from her immediate peers and her parents. One day when she auditions for a role in a film trilogy and gets it, all of her desires for more attention are met. Imagine you’re deprived of attention and care from your parents, and you have one person consistently telling you that they would do nothing but protect you, care for you, and that no one else understands you. That is how Able Yorke trapped Grace.

It’s harrowing and raw having to read instances of Grace being manipulated by Able. If she expressed uneasiness about a scene, Able would sigh and convince Grace that she was overthinking everything. He would say that her anxiety is unfounded. She is privileged to be working with him and he never lets her forget it. She’s so special, so beautiful, and so selfish for causing him harm and putting a film on pause because she is acting out. These flashbacks to Grace’s past made feel so sick with the way that I remembered similar words being spat to me as I was involved with someone who used power dynamics to manipulate me. The intense ease and straightforward nature of this dialogue hit way too close to home. It’s no wonder that present-day Grace wants to do nothing but forget. I, too, also wanted to forget who I was and wished the skin I breathed through wasn’t my own.

The Comeback continues to become a harder read as we discover that by the age of 16, Able starts to sexually assault Grace. Usually, if there are graphically written scenes of assault that are gratuitous, I will put a book down. However, I applaud Berman’s approach to discussing this difficult subject. Berman does not write in any scenes aside from letting readers know that these instances did occur. Instead, her entire focus is on Grace’s internal struggles and feelings. Not only does this allow for a more personal understanding of Grace but it does not alienate readers who have also experienced similar things. I hurt so much for Grace because it is so clear to see how her abuser has controlled her life for years. The privilege she receives as his film muse also leads her down the path of alcoholism and substance use. She does not want to be this person. She does not want to be in her skin because Able has tainted her sense of safety and dignity. He even goes so far as to gaslight her and convince her that all of this was occurring because it’s what she wanted.

Power dynamics are so well-written that it seems obvious that Berman researched very thoroughly the ways people cope with the abuse. If you strip Grace of her fame, status, and substance abuse, her reality is distressing. She saw that she needed to go away, to not be tied to him, to not be his muse and the real heart of the novel emerges. As the story progresses, Grace attempts to get her life back on track. This includes fixing all of the relationships she abandoned on her year-long absence; her publicist, her sister, her best friends, and most importantly, a man she married thinking that he could save her but he didn’t. It is jarring for her to come back to the “real” world. In the land of Hollywood, her chance at recovering in private is riddled with paparazzi wanting to get exclusives on her comeback. Her year away as made her forgotten how bloodthirsty and invasive fame is and how toxic it has been for her.

Grace’s path to becoming whole again is tough and Berman does not keep the mood light. But, there is so much heart put into this story. I would not recommend this book to everyone necessarily. With a topic as personal and triggering as sexual assault, I think it would be easy for people to say it does not encompass their experience accurately, it did not do enough or it did not say enough. However, I believe that Berman crafted a very great fictional character work that resonated deeply with me. Her deep dive into Grace Turner’s psyche and her coping skills was intricate and well researched. Reading The Comeback felt as if I was breathing a breath of fresh air. Through Grace, I saw myself despite the lifestyle differences. With incredible characterization and empathy, The Comeback struck a chord that a lot of women’s fiction I’ve read hasn’t. Releasing everywhere on August 11th, 2020 be sure to preorder it through Penguin Random House.

This was an intense story of a young actress who falls prey to the influence and manipulation of an older, trusted adult.

I am pretty interested in books about fame and actors and actresses. Surprisingly, there aren't many of them. I found this to be an incredibly rich and insightful character study of a young actress named Grace Turner. It was at once a coming-of-age tale as it was a call-to-action book. It was a book of finding oneself and building one's true identity.

I felt like Turner's character was masterfully developed. I really was able to get inside of her psyche. I felt close to her and was sad to depart from her thoughts once the book was over. This was an exploration of a troubled woman who comes into her own.

I would highly recommend this!

What powerful and beautifully written book with heart and gut wrenching soul. The Comeback is the book that all woman should pick up and tear into. A searing rendition of all young woman trying to be actors in the harsh seedy world of Hollywood. Yet this book is soo much more. It's about growth and how NOT to be a victim. How to face our demons and oppressors. The Comeback spoke to me on so many levels, and I could not recommend it enough.

I wanted to like this book, but I ultimately had to DNF at the 30% mark. I was really disturbed by the "relationship" with Able, and felt the plot was all over the place. I would start to get interested in the story, and then it would jump to a flashback that was less interesting. It did not hold my attention because of this. There is promise here, and the writing itself is good. I was curious about a few things plot-wise, but not enough to get through the rest of the book. Thank you to the publisher for giving me a copy to review.

I’m not sure what my expectations were with this one, but whatever they were, The Comeback far exceeded them.

Berman treated the subject of sexual assault with such care while still portraying the complicated ramifications accurately.

This was my first novel by her and it certainly will not be my last.

5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced digital copy. I will post a longer review on my ig account closer to publication date.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧. Thanks to @netgalley and @berkleypub for the e-arc for an honest review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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Grace is a teen star who is now back in LA after being “missing” from the scene for a year. As Grace steps back into the celebrity world, we examine why she left, how she was hurt, and how she is going to fit back into the scene and fight back. ⁣
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This book started off strong, but I did start to lose interest toward the end. I loved the back and forth of the present and the past, learning of her past tragedies and how they are affecting her. It was interesting to see how she reacted to paparazzi and the media’s attention. I would have liked to read even more about the before period. This book is important during the “me too” movement and culture and examines recovery at the individual level. This is a unique perspective; a childhood star. The relationship between Grace and her sister Esme was also important to the plot, as Grace had her own trauma to work through. Overall, an important read but I felt it could have been a bit more at times. ⁣
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“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦; 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦”. ⁣
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⁣The Comeback is out in August

3.5 stars

The Comeback is a #MeToo story very reminiscent of the Harvey Weinstein stories we've heard in the media but this story is less about the predator and more about the impact it had on his victim - Grace. Grace was a star with her career soaring, but following abuse by her director Abel, she quietly fades into anonymity. Aiming to make a comeback and also face reality, Grace must admit to herself what happened and how she wants to see justice served - but Grace doesn't know what that looks like.

The Comeback is an interesting story, but I never really felt connected to Grace. Her story broke my heart but it was hard to picture her off the page and truly feel for her. I heard this book compared to Daisy Jones and the Six but aside from the celebrity limelight and drug use, I wouldn't put these two books in a comparable vein.

Being the mom of two teenage daughters, I was really excited to read this book. I went in thinking this might just be a fictionalized version of some of the things you hear in the news -sexual allegation, alcohol and drug abuse and other psychological damage.

The author has done an amazing job of fleshing out the characters, especially the main character, Grace. To follow her path from what she deals with with her parents and her instant celebrity, you can see what could and does happen to some stars, especially those thrust into the spotlight at an early age.

Extremely well written and eye opening, this is a book I would highly recommend.

I don’t think this was what I was expecting, but none the less I was entranced in this heart wrenching book. It was so well written, characters were developed flawlessly, and pulled emotions out of me I didn’t know a book could pull! While it did have themes of the #metoo movement, it did so by telling a tale of a child star and those who abused her and how she chose to heal herself. Intense, dark, heart wrenching, but important is how I would describe this book! Highly recommend, but remember to prepare for some soul shattering pain!
Will make sure I buzz this up on all the different platforms!

After abruptly leaving her career, her husband, and the director her made her a star, Grace is returning to LA and reckoning with her past. This book is an impressive, slow-burn on the PTSD that comes with sexual assault and an investigation on systems that keep the assaulter safe.

The author does a really beautiful job of writing the relationship between Emilia (Grace's assaulter's wife) and Grace. I found myself constantly guessing whether they were really friends or whether Emilia was complicit in her husband's schemes.

This book really surprised me! Even during small plot turns I found myself gasping aloud in excitement.

My only critique is that the pacing is a bit odd. I didn't need any of the story in Anaheim to be honest, but I was sold when she returns to LA. I think there are a few too many b-plots to get attached to the secondary characters. The heart of the story really is Grace looking at her past and understanding what she needs to move on.

Ella Berman does such a good job of describing the ways Grace was psychologically abused by the man who plucked her out of nowhere at the age of thirteen, turned her into a star, but repeatedly tells her she’s messed up in the head and he knows her better than she knows herself. Like any abuser, her cuts her off from family and friends and anyone who might advocate on her behalf. At any age, there are people out there who can make you doubt your talent, but when you’re only thirteen, you’re especially vulnerable.

According to the author’s note, she began writing this novel before all the #metoo revelations about powerhouses like Harvey Weinstein were finally being revealed openly. Movie stars and other women with celebrity like the women at Fox “News” propaganda were mostly what made the news, but it’s hard for me to imagine any woman who doesn’t have some stories about men who held conversations with our breasts and not us or being held down and raped and then not been believed by cops and endlessly being told to smile when we’re just walking down the street, as if it’s our job to bring sunshine and happiness to all, especially men.

This is a well-written novel, although it’s not fun or happy. The main character Grace is flawed but relatable even if her story is different than the majority of us who aren’t naturally Hollywood-style beautiful and famous.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES AUGUST 11, 2020.

As soon as you grab this book, you think this is just about #Metoo movement and cursing more to the guy leaned on a walker throughout trails, dropping his Crocodile tears. But this book is beyond sexual allegations, psychical and mental tortures women have been enduring to take a leading role in LaLa land.

This is amazing, realistic portrait of a childhood artist facing with the realities of the biggest industry of the world, learning how to survive without getting any emotional support of her loved ones, forming fake, artificial relationships, put herself on her a spiral, loses in a dangerous rabbit hole of alcohol, drugs, self-destruction.

This is Grace’s heart wrenching and thought-provoking story: a child star became famous almost overnight. You think it lasted in fifteen minutes as Andy Warhol said but unfortunately she didn’t get away so easy. She was manipulated by the man she worked for and suffered from his hot-cold manners, instable emotional turmoil. The man forced her to work on the stunts she never wanted to but she did it anyways to get his approval. After her sister’s born, she already lost her own parents’ interest and now she was swimming in the ocean full of sharks and she needed a life buoy to hold on to for surviving, but she chose the wrong guy to trust.

Yes, the guy’s name is Able in his forties, married with children, playing mind games with Grace and Grace turned into mild Fatal Attraction kind of obsessive, stalking Abe’s wife and children, befriending them.
And of course at her 21, she is married with Dylan who is the only kind and decent character of the book (One of his kind and he is hard to be found in Hollywoodland.) Two young guys are still children but they tried so hard to act like adults and ruin everything with their relationship.

Grace gets lost and turns back to Anaheim to live with her parents (that’s where the book start and we go back and forth of her journey between past and present to know how she lost herself and struggling to find her place on this earth!) but as you may imagine, her self-absorbed mom and her dad didn’t welcome her with open hands or ask her what is happening to her. One year later they kick her out. And she turns back to Hollywood but she doesn’t know what she’s doing, how she’s going to cope!

I enjoyed intriguing writing, realistic approach of movie industry and struggles of young actress. This is amazing book how women fight for their way to land meaningful behind the camera gigs, how important for them to speak and raise their voices, support each other to get the praise they fully earned.

The characterization is satisfying, complex, layered. Pacing is good, keeping your interest intact.

The only thing I didn’t like the epilogue and vague ending. I was so ready to give five stars but that indecisive ending didn’t work so well for me! And I have to admit, I’m so surprised this is a debut novel but I’m also happy we have a brand new talented writer on the board . By the way she has great choices about eating places at Abbott Kinney. (Grace meets with her friends at my favorite cafes.)

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sending me this unique ARC and congratulations to Ella Berman for her writing journey and this amazing book.

TW: sexual assault, substance abuse

The Comeback was an excellent read, relevant to the last few years’ news of the systemic abuse of young women in Hollywood and to any young woman’s journey of establishing one’s self in a world that can feel stacked against us.

The main character, Grace, is clearly flawed and deeply traumatized, but you root for her throughout the book. The author cleverly reveals the other characters through her developing lens, and as a result, they get richer through the book as the main character is able to better understand them.

This book had some twists and turns, but it’s more of a character study than a thriller, and that’s just how I preferred it. Highly recommend.

Can you go home again? Can you erase mistakes from your past? Grace goes home to find herself and love from her family, but it’s not what she expected. Her family causes complications and nothing is simple. Her drug use and prior instability, make her a target. Her problematic sister causes a great deal of trouble. She is literally driven to the edge.

This perfect story for the ME TOO. era since all her issues stem from the relationship with Able. As we have seen in the headlines, we can relate to the backstory of Grace and Able, as well as Emilia.

This is a very interesting novel and actually quite satisfying as Berman has brought the headlines into the context of this novel. Grace is a fine symbol for this time in the film industry.

I enjoyed this and found it timely and engaging.

Thank you Netgalley for this opportunity.

In the Author's Note, Ella Berman shares that she started writing The Comeback before the #metoo movement took hold in recent years, and while she wasn't directly inspired by what has happened in the wake of the accusations against prominent public figures, it can be said that this is absolutely a novel for the times. Telling the story of Grace Turner, a young starlet who quickly rose to fame as a teenager only to disappear suddenly and unexpectedly after many years of success in Hollywood, The Comeback by debut author Berman is an intimate, poignant portrait of a young woman trying to put together the pieces of a shattered life.

Grace turned to drugs and alcohol to help her cope with the atrocities that happened to her as a teenager on film sets and behind closed doors, in places and spaces she assumed she was safe, with people she thought she could trust. Now in her early 20s, Grace's life is essentially a mess. She disappeared on the eve of her first Golden Globe nomination, showing up at her parents' house with no explanation, and has been trying to muddle her way through life ever since. It's been a year since Grace was on the Los Angeles scene, and she feels ready to return to her old life, her old friends, her old career, or is she? When Grace is asked to present a life-time achievement award to the very man who sent her spiraling into the depths of hell, she quickly learns that you cannot cherry-pick the pieces of your past you want to bring with you into the future.

They say the comeback is stronger than the setback, and that is exactly the theme explored in Berman's intelligent and reflective novel, The Comeback. Just how much does your past define the person you are today, and how much control do you have over your future? Berman's portrayal of Grace as she comes to terms with the damage that has wrecked her life is introspective and profound, revealing the fragile nature of humans, and our tendency to make our worlds smaller when our lives fall apart. But what is truly beautiful about The Comeback IS that struggle, the very thing that Grace is fighting so hard against. The Comeback is as much a novel of discovering your inner self, as it is about standing up against abuse. Readers will not have to have experienced trauma in their own lives to connect with Grace on an emotional level. Berman's writing touches on the personal and private areas of a public figure, and shows that on the inside, we are all just people.

Recommended for those who enjoy stories that are about a sensational subject, but still manage to maintain a literary quality and feel.

The Comeback found that place where you can wake up feeling last night's bad decisions in the back of your throat but still have some sense of your own autonomy...eventually.