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.

This was a bit middle of the road for me. On one hand, I really enjoyed the narrative that followed Echo Blue as we learned about the highs and lows of being a child star, from her dysfunctional relationship with her father to her own aspirations to her descent into self medication and depression. I thought that these sections were incredibly poignant and paid a lot of homage to the terrible way that Hollywood can exploit children, taking inspiration from the likes of Tatum O'Neil (this was the biggest one) to Drew Barrymore to Dana Plato and many, many others. But Goldie's sections didn't really do it for me. I enjoyed the sleuthing she did as she tries to track down where Echo could have gone, but as a character she was just very hard to connect with. I don't need my female protagonists to be great and flawless people and I even like it when women characters are afforded the same messiness that male characters get while still being sympathetic. But Goldie was all over the place, obsessed with Echo, unethical to the extreme, and also sometimes over the top in her messiness that made her less interesting and more cartoony.

Entertaining for sure and the perfect pool read, WHERE ARE YOU, ECHO BLUE has some strengths and weaknesses. But it was hard to put down.

This twisty search for a missing child actor is a page-turner! Dual POVs chronicle Echo Blue's life before Y2K, and one journalist's search for her in the months following the turn of the century. Oh, and the journalist is kind of obsessed with Echo.

A juicy, mysterious commentary on both celebrity and fandom, Where Are You, Echo Blue delivers a heartbreaking story of a burnt-out child starlet alongside a tale of spiraling obsession. Both main characters are deeply considered and have full personalities, ambition, and heartache. The early 2000s references bring nostalgia and the friendships both characters make will have you rooting for them. This book pulled me in and had me flying through the pages to find out what happened next.

How far would you go to meet your favorite celebrity?

There are so many celebrities these days and everyone treats their time in the public differently. I completely understand their want to have private time away from the spotlight. If a celebrity supposedly disappeared, I feel many would be concerned, but would not go as so far to figure where they are.

This story walks the fine line of concern and obsession and the consequences of trying to get that headline/breaking story. The way it read was like talking out loud while reading; with your thoughts in view to validate the questions and things you were just thinking about.

I enjoyed the non-linear multiple-pov to get a full picture of the different facets each character felt, was dealing with, and discovered. It reads as very conversational and flows well.

Thank you so much to the author, Hayley Krischer, Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for this eARC of Where Are You, Echo Blue?!

Goldie Klein, Echo Blue super fan, is on a journey to uncover the truth behind the star’s disappearance.

Inspired by the true life events of Tatum O’Neal, this novel sinks into a fictional character all its own. Drugs, alcohol, and Hollywood parents fuel this salacious story set in the 90’s.

Oh boy this is a fabulous story. I was absorbed in the pages as I learned more about this child star and her upbringing. It was as I was reading a People Magazine cover story and unable to put the magazine down.

Thank you, Dutton.