The Hollywood Daughter captures the glamour of old Hollywood while pulling back the curtain for an peek behind the scenes. The title character, Jessica Malloy, is the daughter of a publicist for the Selznick studio. His main focus was Ingrid Bergman, who was just beginning her rise to fame. Coincidentally, Jessica and her daughter attend the same school and Jessica gets a glimpse of Ingrid every morning, which leads to hero worship on her part. Jessica's mother is a strict Catholic whose values collide with Hollywood values, and by extension, her husband's. This leads to a conflict as the McCarthy era blacklisting begins, especially as Jessica's father's career advances as Bergman becomes more and more successful.
This is a book with two parallel stories. The first is the story of Jessica and her parents and their lives in Hollywood. The second is Jessica's hero worship of Ingrid Bergman and her life at school with her friend Kathleen. Jessica and Kathleen attend a Catholic school but manage to read all the gossip magazines and are thrilled when Ingrid Bergman films a movie there.
Jessica is more naive then Kathleen even as she graduates from high school, and runs away from her parents and Los Angeles. She returns to attend the Academy Awards after receiving a mystery invitation, and discovers some of what she left behind.
I enjoyed this book very much. Kate Alcott clearly loves old Hollywood, and describes it very well. The characters were well developed and the plot was interesting to the point where I couldn't put the book down. I highly recommend this book!

The following review will be available on February 21, 2017

Kate Alcott is a master story teller. She has the ability to choose a place in time, hone in on it and develop the most beautiful stories. One of my favorite historical fiction novels is her book, The Dressmaker, which follows a young woman through the tragic sinking of the Titanic and to New York in pursuit of becoming a dressmaker. It's a wonderful book - so I had high expectations for her latest novel, The Hollywood Daughter. I was not disappointed and I enjoyed this book as much as Alcott's prior work.

The Hollywood Daughter is a dazzling and emotional coming of age tale about Jessica Malloy, a young girl who is caught between the glamorous allure of the Hollywood stars and movies her father works with and the morality and rigid rules dictated by her catholic upbringing. Caught between two worlds whose morals and values seem to be ever at odds with each other, she is forced to search for her own truth during the McCarthy era in the United States.
The main character, Jesse, is the daughter of a well known Hollywood publicist and a devout Catholic mother, who from an early age develops an intense fandom for Ingrid Bergman, her father's most high profile client. For many years Jesse continues to view Ingrid Bergman's career from afar, picturing her as the pious, upright woman that she appears to be in her films. When news of Bergman's scandalous affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini reaches Jesse and her family, it serves as a catalyst for Jesse to question everything she ever thought was true about life, love and her family. Caught in the midst of such a scandal she begins to see the fault lines in her own parent's marriage and the faith she was raised to stand on, causing her to question her own values and beliefs.
I enjoyed this book immensely and loved the story of a young girl who must come to terms with her own views on morality, values and faith in the midst of an intense political environment in the United States. The novel has a steady pace, is highly readable and fun in the sense that it gives the reader a small glimpse into the glittery world of old Hollywood and its famous icons. The political and religious themes throughout the book offer great material for discussion - I believe this would be a solid book club choice. If you're looking for a great new read for Spring, check this one out!

I appreciate the author's efforts, but this novel failed to hold my attention.

This was a story about glamour, gossip, scandal, Old Hollywood, McCarthyism, and a young girl. Jessica Malloy was brought up Hollywood all around her. Her father was a PR executive and Ingrid Bergman was one of his talents. Jessica was in awe of her, she was her idol. Jessica was lucky, she got to meet her idol. Not only that, Jessica went to school with her idol's daughter. So, every morning on the way to school, she shared a limousine with Pia, Ingrid's daughter. And every morning, Ingrid would walk her daughter to the car and see her off. Jessica would continue to see her idol off and on several times over her young childhood. Her dad even told Ingrid about his daughter and her idolism for her, inviting her to say hello to his daughter, which she would.

After Jessica left high school, she was done with LA. She had lost her dad, he had died after a massive heart attack at her graduation and her mother had moved to Sacramento. Jessica was now a copy editor for Newsweek magazine. One day, she was surprised to receive an invitation to the Academy Awards. She had no idea who had invited her or how it had happened. She spoke to her best friend, Kathryn, who still resided in LA and who begged her to come out.

Jessica, with no desire to see LA again, finally decided what the heck and traveled back to the city of her upbringing. The surprises she discovered as well as some secrets made Jessica look at things a little differently on her return.

This was a story that I definitely enjoyed. I love Old Hollywood stories. It was fun reading about the stories Jessica and Kathryn were reading in the old gossip magazines about the celebrities. Stories that we now know the truth about and I could only just laugh at them. And to hear about Jessica and Kathryn actually going and seeing movies at Grauman's, oh what a time!

I know this was just fiction, but I was really into it. So if any of my comments make you say, duh, it was fiction, that's how real the author made it feel. So, in my book, she did a great job.

Thanks to Doubleday Books for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

What happens when you Hollywood idle disappoints you and ends up throwing your whole family into a downward spiral? It a treacherous time in Hollywood, with actors, writers, and filmmakers being called out as communists. There is also extreme censorship in the movies. Jessica Malloy's father is an agent for Hollywood, and his main client and Jessica's idle, Ingrid Bergman, has just sent Hollywood and their life into a spiral. A satisfying historical fiction read.