Review of The Fame Game by Lauren Conrad



HarperCollins

The Fame Game

by Lauren Conrad

1 Scribble

Release Date April 3, 2012

What do reality TV Star Madison Parker, aspiring actress Carmen Price, folksy musician Kate Hayes, and TV journalist Gaby Garcia all have in common? They have all been selected to star on the new reality TV series The Fame Game about four starlets climbing the ego-slicked ladder to fame.

There is a reason why Lauren Conrad’s name is the largest thing on the cover—clearly her name, and not the riveting content is what will move this book off the shelves. Readers aware of Conrad’s background as a reality T.V. star on MTV’s The Hills might expect dramatic scenes, over-the-top scandal, or double-crosses as they trod through the chapters, but the focus of the book seems to be a somewhat slow examination of what actually constitutes a bonafide Hollywood star. Chapter titles such as "Hardly Star Treatment," and "People like Us Do Not Wait in Lines," set up the air of superiority felt by main characters Madison and Carmen, while ironically, their own struggles to bag major motion picture roles and leave reality TV reinforce their insecurity. Chapters jump from character to character without apparent structure, creating a hodge-podge of lukewarm, semi-related events that all amount to nothing. The only real conflicts worth noting emerge when Kate’s boyfriend refuses to publically acknowledge her, and when Madison reunites with her ex-con, deadbeat father. With the exception of Kate, the characters are all exasperating stereotypes obsessed with designer name-dropping, exotic foods, and exorbitant price tags. What’s worse, the book ends with no real conclusion, only 300 plus pages of unanswered questions. Undoubtedly Conrad plans to answer these questions her next book of the series, Starstruck, already slated for release in October of this year. For more satisfying reality fare readers should try The Real Real by Emma McLaughlin and Nicole Kraus.