'We're So Famous' not flying to fame

by Holly Schreiber
For The Post

The new book by Jaime Clark, We're So Famous, has its charming moments, but it isn't famously well written.

The story revolves around three young girls, Paque, Daisy and Stella, who are trying to find fame in Hollywood through outlandish means. All three girls are obsessed with their favorite '80s pop group, Bananarama, and want to start a band of their own by following in Bananarama's footsteps.

Stella has a peculiar obsession with Hollywood murders, suicides and mysterious deaths. She has notebooks devoted to each category, which include the famous person's name and story of his or her death.

Stella eventually loses interest in the band and seeks out an acting career instead. Paque and Daisy are then left behind to create the band. They meet Rick, Elliot and Hunter who have recording devices in their home. When Paque and Daisy go for a visit, they get high and record a couple of songs.

A few days later Paque and Daisy see on the news that Hunter is the son of a senator, and he, Elliot and Rick all have been murdered. The girls' recordings are evidence in the murder and immediately are played on the radio.

Meanwhile Stella is performing for a dinner theater that performs the deaths and murders of famous Hollywood people. Away from work, Stella is the member of a Hollywood Death Pool, which consists of members who enter the names of the next Hollywood deaths, according to predictions. Stella has chosen rock star Bryan Metro as the next to die. With rumors floating that Bryan Metro has died, she sets out on a search to find the truth.

The book is divided into three chapters according to the three characters. Although Clark tries to be experimental in presenting each new character, eventually the chapters flatten out and each girl ends up having the same narrative quality: annoying, flat and very little self-reflection. Readers only get a small amount of the girls' background information, which is the typical lonely and deserted home life. But there's not enough information for the readers to devise a sense of who the characters are and the reason behind their outlandish antics.

The book does have the quality of a fast-paced '80s flick and silly characters doing stupid things, but this one does not rank with the classics.