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.

I knew this book owned my soul when I didn't want Echo to be found!!! Protect Echo Blue at all costs!!!

Thank you to NetGally and Penguin Group Dutton for the eARC.

I have been vibing with celebrity trope novels lately and was super excited for this novel. Unfortunately this one wasn't one I really found I enjoyed and felt I never really "got there" with any of the characters.

I wanted to love it, based on the synopsis but I struggled to stay interested. The character development and plot are both lacking.

3.5 stars
I was really excited to read this book. I enjoyed the Echo Blue chapters but didn’t connect as much with Goldie’s POV. It shined with Echo’s mid-90s Hollywood vibe and I liked it better when the timelines combined at the end.
*Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley

While I love the premise of this book, unfortunately this one just didn't hit for me the way that I wanted it to. That said, it is a quick read that will have you thinking a lot about celebrity culture and the way both media and fans treat the celebrities they adore.

Where Are You echo Blue? Is a dual timeline and two POV novel about a struggling journalist and a missing child star and the ways their worlds intersect. I felt like there was a lot of potential here with the premise (love a Hollywood book!) but ultimately the pacing and sometimes the writing was off for me. I wanted to like it so much more than I did, I’d still recommend it to readers but overall this was just an okay read for me!

Echo Blue is 1990s Hollywood royalty. She’s successful, famous, and the daughter of actors. When Echo misses her scheduled tv appearance on MTV’s NYE celebration, everyone starts wondering what happened to her. She seems to have disappeared, and no one knows where she is. Goldie Klein, an up and coming journalist and one of Echo’s biggest fans, heads to LA on an assignment to find out the details of Echo’s disappearance.

Set throughout the 1990s/early 2000s, Echo and Goldie’s alternating POVs give a glimpse at how life as a celebrity isn’t always everything it appears to be.

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As someone who grew up during the 90s/2000s, I loved the nostalgia of this book! The celebrity culture of this time period is so well represented and fit right in with my memories of that time period.


Thank you Dutton Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

This story was so fun to keep up with. There are two timelines; the timeline of Echo Blue's life and the timeline of Goldie trying to track Echo down. I think the background of Echo's life helped make sense of her and why she disappeared. Goldie was a little crazy with her obsession of Echo from her childhood that carried over into her adult job. Echo was interesting with how she got into the movie industry and her journey to her disappearance. There are connections between Echo and Goldie even though they have such different lives. Overall, it was a good child celebrity story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy!

I enjoyed this story and think it would make a good mini series or movie. We see what the problems with fame and idolizing celebrities in this book are in a unique way. Check this out if you're looking for an engaging story with some mystery, lives of celebrities, and not fully likeable characters.