Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in return for my honest review. I liked this book about a girl coming of age in Hollywood in the time of McCarthyism. I found all the information woven into this novel about how the Catholic church controlled so much of the censorship around movies really interesting. I hadn't heard about much of that. The story centers on one girl and her parents and also her worship of Ingrid Bergman. I liked all the old gossip and movie history.

My mom and aunt love old movies so I grew up watching anything starring Audrey Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart, Katharine Hepburn, Bing Crosby, and of course, Ingrid Bergman. For this reason alone, I wanted to read The Hollywood Daughter and see what I could learn Bergman and her costars from this different perspective.

I grew up knowing about post-scandal Bergman but Jessica Malloy grew up seeing her as a role model. Something or someone to aspire to. She loved Ingrid's films but she also got glimpses of Ingrid in person, whether at school pickup (Ingrid's daughter went to Jessica's school) or at the studio when she accompanied her dad. Those brief interactions with Ingrid mean everything to Jesse. Ingrid represents a form of escape, an escape from stressful transitions at school and the tensions between her parents.

We first meet Jesse in 1959. She's living in New York and she hasn't been back to LA since her high school graduation. She doesn't even like to think about those days but an anonymous invitation to the Academy Awards brings the past into her present. The story alternates between flashbacks to LA in 1942 and Jesse's present.

The flashbacks slowly weave us toward the painful moment which drove Jesse away and it kept me guessing. We experience the glamour of Hollywood through Jesse's naive, innocent eyes, as her PR father perfectly times the release of Casablanca and launches Ingrid's career. We get to see Jesse go to the Academy Awards in 1946, the year Ingrid and Bing Crosby were nominated for Bells of St. Mary's.

"Mother didn't just fear bad things would happen, she was sure they would. It was part of her faith. Sin was everywhere. That's what the confessional was for, wasn't it?" p. 32

We watch her transfer to St. Ann's Catholic School, a move orchestrated by her mother's strident faith and against Jesse's wishes. Her parents disagree about how their faith should be practiced, with her mother becoming ever more devoted and legalistic and her father eventually no longer attending due to the bishop's involvement with the Legion of Decency. This tension permeates the house and Jesse is caught between them. One of the more interesting backdrops is the rise of the Red Scare and how the fear of communism needlessly decimated peoples' lives. This plays out in a very personal way for the Malloy family and I was equal parts gripped and infuriated on their behalf. I also couldn't help but reflect on what this means for our time.

When we first meet Jesse, her life hasn't turned out the way she wanted. The dream of living in New York is not so much a dream and her career has yet to take off. She also hasn't dealt with the events that led her to leave LA. The Academy Award invitation brings her back: to her best friend Kathleen, to St. Ann's which is closing, to her past.

Jesse has to face her idealization of Ingrid Bergman, too. What did Bergman represent to her and how did that change when Bergman left her husband for Roberto Rossellini? Why did it represent the end of so much for Jesse? As we get the answers to these questions, Jesse begins to see what she wants from life and from her relationships. The character growth is authentic and well paced.

I really appreciated the way Alcott addressed hero worship and the ramifications in Jesse's life. I also appreciated the way religion was treated throughout: it's a balm, it's a source of strength, it's a weapon, it's a crutch, depending on the character and place. But my favorite part was the negative impact of the Red Scare and how this story personalized it. We would do well to pay attention.

The daughter of a Hollywood publicist gets a front row seat to some of the most glamorous and most sordid real-life tales coming out of the movie business. When her movie star idol makes a very public personal choice, the girl must deal with the gap between onscreen fantasies and the harshness of real life. Author Kate Alcott delves into life behind the scenes of the golden age of Hollywood in the somewhat promising but ultimately disappointing novel The Hollywood Daughter.

Jessica “Jesse” Malloy gets to hear about the lives of Hollywood stars from a primary source: her father, a publicist for the Selznick Studios. In particular, Jesse loves the fact that her father represents Ingrid Bergman. No one else, Jesse believes, exemplifies a wholesome American woman. Ingrid is perfection personified.

Her adulation of Ingrid Bergman comes with its challenges, however, the biggest being that Jesse’s mother doesn’t approve. A devout Catholic, Jesse’s mother finds herself the sole dissenter in the Malloy household. She battles her conscience on a daily basis; while she enjoys the money and social prestige her husband’s job brings, she finds it difficult to justify what the Catholic church calls objectionable content.

Jesse does her best to ignore her mother’s concerns, but her mother insists on sending her to an all girls’ Catholic school run by nuns. Despite her initial misgivings, Jesse begins to enjoy her time at the school and meets Kathleen. The two become fast friends, gushing over everything…including the movie stars. Finally, for Jesse everything seems to come together. A new best friend and a courtside view to her favorite actress’s life. What more could a girl want?

When news breaks about Ingrid Bergman’s extramarital affair and impending pregnancy, however, Jesse’s world flips upside down. Everything she thought she knew about her idol shatters. Jesse’s father decides to fly to Italy to meet Ingrid and try to persuade her in person to come home, and at the last minute Jesse tags along. They do their best to plead their case, but Ingrid doesn’t want to come home. Jesse comes back to the States brokenhearted. Her idol isn’t so perfect after all, and her entire perspective changes forever.

Author Kate Alcott creates some charming moments in The Hollywood Daughter. Jesse’s adoration of Ingrid Bergman ring true, and readers will get a realistic glimpse into life in the movie industry’s heyday. Interesting, too, are the facts about the Catholic church’s level of involvement and influence in Hollywood during that time period.

Unfortunately the charming moments don’t carry the book. What starts as an interesting examination of a heartbroken fan turns into a lackluster story. Alcott devotes the majority of the book to the flashback that details Jesse’s first interactions with Ingrid and Ingrid’s downfall. By the time the flashback ends, readers will most likely forget where the original story arc began.

The story loses even more steam from there. Kathleen joins the story in real time, but the frame story for the flashback weakens the plot’s impact. Jesse’s mother, a main driving force in Jesse’s childhood, disappears from her life and the book after the flashback. While the idea of Jesse questioning her faith works in theory, in practice it doesn’t really do much for the book overall.

In the end the elements in The Hollywood Daughter don’t coalesce. Readers will probably want to Bypass the book.

Kate Alcott takes us back in time to the 1940's & 1950's in the heart of McCarthyism in America showing us the effects of that movement through the eyes of a young girl with a devout Catholic mother and a father who's a Hollywood PR agent to Ingrid Bergman. Family secrets and illusions converging as a result what's happening in Hollywood with the illustrious and notorious Bergman shape the young girls beliefs through her formative years. This is a historical coming of age type story set against the alluring backdrop of Hollywood woven generously with Catholic themes and understanding.

Throughout the story I found myself enamored with the glamour of it all. The way this author chose to tell a story based on these historical events through the eyes of a daughter trying to mature responsibly was fascinating. Picking up little tidbits of fact in Alcott's words led me to some interesting google searches and learning. Her way of showcasing irony made the story relevant to happenings in our current lives. Her promotion of free thinking and holding yourself high in your opinions was refreshing. Alcott was magnanimous with her thoughts and presenting both sides of the coin as this story unfolded. However a downside to this was that I never felt wholly connected to the story as it became a bit tedious through the middle. The author told me so much but never really showed me beyond the telling. A lacking tether to the main character was a result. I sympathize with Jessica Malloy as I think I'm intended to but I wanted to feel connected to her. The other characters proved to have the same result. While I found them interesting it was in a detached sort of way. They all lent importance and substance to the story though.

The writing of Kate Alcott in the The Hollywood Daughter impressed. Her structuring of sentences and dialogue and her use of carefully chose words to make understand more was thoughtful and intelligent. I enjoyed what I learned from this book and found it interesting on a educational level rather than an emotional one. This story is more for readers of Women's, Historical, or General Fiction.

Old Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s. Who doesn't love reading about that!
The story follows Jesse who has made Ingrid Bergman her hero....after being away from Hollywood for 20 years Jesse is summons home by a friend that sets the book in motion as she remembers growing up in Hollywood. Her parents love, how her dad was the publicists of Ingrid, how Jesse grew up Catholic in the Nazi era.
Bing Crosby even has a few parts and I even loved him too!! Ingrid's scandals, all of them!


This Book was FANTASTIC and I loved it!! Just read it and enjoy!
My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful. Full of all the charm and glitter of Hollywood's golden age while giving a glimpse behind the curtains to the reality of McCarthyism, the pressures of fame and religion and our own thoughts and actions.

I loved seeing this through Jesse's eyes. It allowed Ms. Alcott to touch about the history while being able to take literary license with reality. Beautifully written. I was completely invested in Jesse. I felt her confusion and pain and happiness and contentment.

I look forward to reading more books by Ms. Alcott.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the ARC of "The Hollywood Daughter" by Kate Alcott.
The genres for this novel are historical fiction and women's fiction.
The author introduces the Malloy family. Jessica is a child when we first meet her, and her idol is actress Ingrid Bergman. Jessica has seen and met with the actress. Jessica's Dad is in Public Relations at a Hollywood studio representing Ingrid Bergman. Jessica is familiar with many of the Hollywood actors and actresses. Jessica's mother is a devout Catholic and feels that going to Church is very important, and sends Jessica to Catholic school. Mr. and Mrs. Malloy are complicated and conflicted parents.

Jessica's father arranges for Ingrid Bergman and cast to film one of her pictures at St. Annes, where Jessica attends school. Ingrid Bergman's visit is one of the school's highlights.
Kate Alcott discusses that McCarthyism and the threat of Communism causes problems in the Hollywood and acting community. Jessica is older and is aware that the church frowns on sin and movies that are "sinful". She is aware that there is tension at home.
Around this timeline, Ingrid Bergman has an affair with Robert Rossellini, while she is still married. Mr. Malloy takes Jessica to Europe to try to get Ingrid Bergman to return to America. Ingrid Bergman is pregnant and doesn't return.
This is problematic for the Malloy family. There is pressure from the church to renounce Ingrid Bergman and
her movies. The school takes the plague of recognition of the actress down, and anyone associated with Ingrid Bergman is looked on with disrespect. The actress doesn't do any movies in America or come to America for years.
This is a turning point in Jessica's life. Her hero is disgraced and Jessica questions the Churches decision, as well as the government that is condemning people who are called Communists. She also questions her parent's beliefs.
Jessica leaves her faith in religion behind as she goes to College. After graduating, Jessica is writing for a Magazine in New York. Circumstances occur where Jessica has the opportunity to go back to Hollywood and Los Angeles to visit.
This visit causes conflicted Jessica to revisit her feelings about faith and herself. I find that the author describes
many of the conflicts of self-discovery, self-worth, high ideals, friendship, family, forgiveness,love, growth and hope.
I enjoyed reading about Hollywood and the famous actors and actresses, and would recommend this book. I liked the colorful way that Kate Alcott describes Hollywood .I also found this time in history intriguing and this brings many thoughts and questions to mind.

This review will be open on my website Sun., March 5, 2017.

This was such a feel-good novel that I hated it to end. Alcott catapulted the readers to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood’s finest in the 1950s. An era where scandals, murder, mayhem and old-fashioned Hollywood allure crept into the hearts and souls of so many Americans. So much so, that a young Jessica Malloy was thrown front and center of it all. Her father, a public relations executive for Ingrid Bergman, moved his family to Beverly Hills when his career took off for having known how to calculate when to make a move for Ingrid’s career—a move that proved both lucrative and, eventually, detrimental to his career.

Jessica, best known to her family and best friend Kathleen, as Jesse, was in love with Ingrid Bergman. She was her she-ro of sorts. There was no wrong Ms. Bergman could do that Jesse didn’t feel the need to honor. Before she was ripped from her uppity private school, Jesse was fortunate to ride in a limo that picked up Ingrid’s daughter, Pia. Needless to say, Jesse was star-struck and in total awe of the beautiful actress, for which, had it not been for her father’s position, she would never have been able to have brushes with her Hollywood legend. When Jesse moves to her new school, she will have a few more interactions with Ingrid. And one major interaction was a film she made entitled The Bells of St. Mary. That film made Jesse’s school the talk of the town and everyone wanted a piece of St. Ann’s.

Jesse’s mother was a devout Catholic and deeply religious. She wasn’t what you’d call a typical Hollywood wife, but as the money poured in from Gabriel’s hard work, she began to fit in quite well. They went from just the three of them, to having maids, and were invited to rub elbows with some of Hollywood’s most elite. But there was an undercurrent Jesse could feel, but wasn’t quite sure what it was about her parents. She and her father shared a special father daughter relationship, whereas Jesse didn’t always see eye to eye with her mother.

When Ingrid Bergman leaves the United States and falls in love with film director, Roberto Rossellini, that’s when Jesse’s world turns, literally, upside down. The Hollywood starlet created quite an international scandal that rocked the entire world, and most of all, Jesse. Gabriel was beside himself when Ingrid decided to leave America and take up with a man she wasn’t married to. And speaking of which, she was still married to Petter Lindstrom. Ms. Bergman had a bitter, long-drawn out nasty divorce and legal custody battle over their daughter Pia. Gabriel couldn’t understand what Ingrid was thinking? All Jesse could think about was reaching her and convincing her to come back to the states where her she-ro belonged.

And that, folks, is where the story is. What an awesome book! You know, stories like this don’t come very often. You best believe when it does, you latch onto it and don’t let go. Oh my, I was so enthralled with this story for which I never wanted to leave. I felt Hollywood’s power and prestige and felt like I was a part of it. Alcott is an amazing author. OMG, this was such a great story. I’ve never read anything quite like it.

Mello & June, gives The Hollywood Daughter all the stars Hollywood has managed to turn into icons. Wow, this was an incredible read. I loved every part of this book. It was nice to grow up with Jesse and see how her thoughts and view changed along with the times. The great lessons she learned about life, love and loss. I loved this story so much, it’s going on my all-time favorite’s list. Oh yes, that’s how much I loved this book! It goes on sale, Tuesday, March 7, 2017 wherever books are sold. If you want to go back in time, step inside The Hollywood Daughter and take a trip back down memory lane. Sa-weet!

The Hollywood Daughter, written by Kate Alcott, is an in depth look at Hollywood during the 1950's. It covers the rise and fall of Ingrid Bergman, and the effect it has on the young teenage girl that worships her.

The story centers around the coming of age of Jessica Malloy, the daughter of a famous publicist. His biggest client just happens to be movie star Ingrid Bergman, and someone that Jessica idolizes. In Jessica's opinion, Ingrid Bergman is perfect. However, as we all know, nobody is perfect, even in Hollywood.

This is an interesting story dealing with the politics of Hollywood during an era when reigion and censorship played an important role. Jessica simply adores Ingrid Bergman, and in her eyes, the Hollywood star is larger than life and can do no wrong. All of that changes when Ingrid's affair and pregnancy is revealed. Jessica struggles with her feelings towards Ingrid and her strict Catholic up bringing by her own mother.

The story is told in flashbacks, and reveals a lot not only about Jessica's obsession with Ingrid, but also about her own family and beliefs. It is the story of growing up and all that it entails. There are a few twists in the story, and it moved along at a good pace. Hollywood in the 50's is not really that much different from Hollywood today, especially considering the role politics plays in it. Overall, this was a good book! However, for me, the ending is not convincing. In my oinion, this could have been a five star rating, if it ended on a more believable note. I usually have nothing but good things to say when reading a novel by Kate Alcott, but this one just happened to fall a bit short of my expectations.

I received an advance copy from Doubleday Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I felt as though I traveled back in time as I read each page. What a time to be alive! While some of the middle lagged, I still kept pace because my interest remained. I'd recommend this story. Easy read.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30687235-the-hollywood-daughter" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Hollywood Daughter" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474730491m/30687235.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30687235-the-hollywood-daughter">The Hollywood Daughter</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5052587.Kate_Alcott">Kate Alcott</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1913649367">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I love this book about old Hollywood.<br /><br />Set in the 1950's, Jesse's dad is a PR man at a Hollywood studio and one of his stars is Ingrid Bergman who Jesse hero worships for most of her life. The best part of her childhood was in the carpool when they stopped to pick up Ingrid's daughter, Pia, and she would get a chance to see her idol.<br /><br />With the suspicions that there were communists among the movie industry, Jesse's mother wanted her to switch schools and she began attending a convent school. The more her dad was involved in his day to day life, her mom sunk into her Catholic faith and there was much stress in the house. Jesse is a smart student and awarded the title of Valedictorian for her class. When she gave an award winning speech against the Catholic church and Hollywood, this title was taken away from her and angered her parents. By the time she graduated, she was so ready to leave her life behind and move to New York.<br /><br />After college and several years working for Newsweek, she receives an invite to the Academy Awards. Having left that life behind she wasn't sure she wanted to go but after speaking with her lifelong best friend, Kathleen, who still lived in Hollywood, she decides to make the trip.<br /><br />The story goes through Jesse reflecting and sorting out her life and it ends on a happy note. Excellent book. I didn't want it to end! :-)
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2422385-lauri-rottmayer">View all my reviews</a>

A story set in 1940s-50s Hollywood amidst the McCarthy era. Jessica, the main character is torn between her very observant Catholic mother and her Hollywood publicist father. Her father represents Ingrid Bergman, who is Jessica's idol. However, when Ingrid leaves her marriage and has an out of wedlock child with the director Roberto Rossellini, Jessica must examine her beliefs. I enjoyed this coming-of-age story, and think it would appeal to the young adult reader as well as adults who need a lighter read.

I love all of Kate Alcott's novels, and this one is no exception. A fabulous historical novel, set in Hollywood in the early 50's. A great story all around, and a fun read.

Ingrid Bergman, who could resist the mysterious woman she played in the film, Casablanca. Jessica "Jesse" Molloy, the young daughter of Miss Bergman's PR man at Selznick Studios in Hollywood, is captured by her star power. While Ingrid is filming, Bells of St. Mary's, at Jesse's all-girls, Catholic school, plus playing the pious role of a nun, Jesse falls deeper under Bergman's spell. "She's like an angel." Everything is magical in Jesse and her family's life until Ingrid leaves the U.S. and falls madly in love with Italian director, Roberto Rossellini., while they are both married to other people. This causes disgrace and a huge scandal in 1950's Hollywood, and turns American fans against Ingrid Bergman. Censorship, particularly by the Catholic Church, had great influence during that time-frame. Jesse's father eventually looses his job as Ingrid's star remains tarnished. Jesse finishes her senior year of high school questioning what's really important in her life and the tenets of the Church she was taught since early childhood.
This is great historical fiction and I do recommend it. A strong 3.5 versus a 3.0. My only reason for a lower score the length and speed in the middle. Overall great Hollywood history.

What an enjoyable book. They always say fact is stranger than fiction. Considering it was a historical piece of fiction it didn't feel that way. The book comes to life. Another author to keep up with.

If I had to hear about the strict catholic ways...

I just couldn't like or really get into this book

This is a wonderful story about a family in Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s. I really enjoyed the characters and the whole story.

Review will be posted 3/2/17
Jesse Malloy is living a normal life in New York City until one day she is invited to attend the Academy Awards. She hasn't returned to California in years and this unexpected invitation brings back a ton of memories. We flashback to her childhood where her father worked in PR at the famous Selznick Studio and worked with many celebrities, including the famous Ingrid Bergman. Jesse worships Ingrid not only because she is an incredible actress, but because she sees how much Ingrid loves her daughter. You see, Jesse's relationship with her mother falls short tremendously. Although her dad is really warm, her mother is the opposite and is pre-occupied with the Catholic Church and all of its rules. As things progress in Hollywood for Ingrid, they also progress for Jesse's family. But Ingrid, despite her pure reputation, has an affair and a child out of wedlock, which throws everyone for a loop. Plus, as Jesse gets older she starts to see things much more clearly with regards to the truth about her own family. Kate Alcott's The Hollywood Daughter is an enjoyable read that fans of Old Hollywood as well as classic movies with savor.

I was immediately interested in the character of Jesse in The Hollywood Daughter. I thought her upbringing as the daughter of a publicist in Hollywood during the 40s was interesting, especially as we learn more about what Jesse's father had to deal with. (More on that later!) Jesse was able to rub shoulders with other Hollywood children and that is how she has come to idolize Ingrid Bergman. Ingrid Bergman's daughter attends Jesse's school and all is well and good until Jesse's religious mother, worried about Hollywood's influence on her daughter, has her transfer to St. Ann's. Jesse thinks things are pretty much over for her, until she befriends a charismatic young girl and Ingrid actually comes to film The Bells of St. Mary there. I liked how the author not only made this story a coming-of-age tale for Jesse, but also incorporated Ingrid's life into the storyline as well.

The setting of 1940s Hollywood was captivating in The Hollywood Daughter. I was intrigued by glamour of Hollywood versus the censorship that was happening during this time period. I had no idea about the Catholic Church's influence on movies and found all of this to be fascinating.

I am also greatly intrigued by Ingrid Bergman's life and was happy to learn more about her in The Hollywood Daughter. I knew about her affair with Roberto Rossellini, but I didn't know how scandalous it ended up being for her, especially for the time period. One thing is for sure: Alcott really knows her classic movies. It's obvious after reading this novel how well researched this book is and how familiar she is with Ingrid's life.

While all of this turmoil is happening for Ingrid, it's juxtaposed by Jesse's coming-of-age story, which is the best aspect of this novel. So, while I didn't find The Hollywood Daughter to be as compelling of a tale as Alcott's A Touch of Stardust, I still enjoyed this foray into Old Hollywood as well as a fascinating time period in history.

Old Hollywood, is there any time period better? I love the rich descriptions of Hollywood life and normal family life mixed together. What a great coming of age story.

Lofty, and at times even needy, in its wistfulness, The Hollywood Daughter was, quite frankly, just okay; it wants to be something more than it is.

This is a classic example where the author does a LOT of telling and very little showing. The insights the main character has were not really insightful. As she watched the world around her, big and small, Jessica Malloy simply raises questions and musings on various political, moral, and ethical topics that went with or against her Catholic upbringing. But Alcott never went deeper than surface and superficial contemplations, and yet, somehow, Jesse arrives at a resolution, or so I was told.

I fell in love with old Hollywood a long time ago, I was raised on it, and I did appreciate the references and the purpose they served in the book, guiding us along and setting the timeline up nicely. Even the appearance of Ingrid Bergman felt as though she was written with precisely the exact note, to get the effect of Bergman just right.

One thing that did speak to me, though this was told in the novel's cursory tone, was that overall political climate, very much mirroring what we're experiencing at the moment. With the HUAC and the desire to forget the freedoms for which this country is supposed to stand, the overtones really resonated and wove the novel into today's blanket.

The story is given in flashback form, with the present day (1959), bookending the novel. It begins with Jessica, now living on the east coast, receiving an invitation to the Academy Awards ceremony from party unknown. She calls up her childhood best friend to inquire, setting up a date to come out that way, because—as it turns out—her old Catholic girls' school is being sold. We then fall into a flashback, with some lines about how the events leading up to her leaving Los Angeles all come back to her, which spans nearly the length of the novel.

You'd think it had been at least twenty years, not nine.

There's an emotional distance to this story; the heartbeat of this story is sedate, nearly monotonous, with the crests and dips of the wavelength barely causing any disturbance. The emotional tautness is missing, where the tops of the crests and the low points of the lows have been overlooked, misplaced, forgotten, or omitted. This results in major gaps in the story, not in regards to the timeline, but in regards to the emotional development of the character. Here again, this is where we are told how she changes instead of being shown.

Mainly, all the characters feel like shells of real people. It's hard to connect with Jessica, and hard to figure out the narrative with no emotion gravity to ground us.