More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet (review)

Former drug addict and teen star Morgan Carter is now living "out" in Fort Wayne, Indiana, having had her identity exposed by a jealous classmate in True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet (BCCB 2/06). She decides to stay and finish her junior year in as much obscurity as she can muster, partly to continue her so-far-successful recovery, and partly to see what, if anything, will become of her fledgling romance with the very down-to-earth Eli. The stalkerazzi are back, though, and the publicity, combined with Eli's mother's fears that Morgan's problem with drugs is not in the past, proves too much for their relationship, which founders most of the year. Meanwhile, Morgan is trying to come to terms with unfinished business, namely the unreported rape that continues to haunt her, even more so now that her agent stepfather is using her to court Harlan Darly, her rapist, as a client. Morgan's stepdad orchestrates publicity that portrays actor Harlan as a scorned suitor with a broken heart, and Morgan is forced to play along, knowing that it is her fault that her stepfather's career needs the boost in the first place. Finally, though, she decides to tell her story without naming names, hoping that it will help other girls just as her story of addiction and recovery has. In general, this sequel lacks the emotional depth and complexity of its predecessor; Morgan's compelling need to get back at the girl who outed her is overdrawn nearly to the point of chick-lit banality, and the process of facing up to her rape is not as well depicted as was her rehabilitation. Readers will also be disappointed in Eli, who never emerges as the hero we want him to be, though that's probably more realistic than not. Still, Morgan continues to be an effective and believable voice for the insecurities, small victories, pain, and perseverance of those in recovery, as well as for the humanity of the celebrities teens choose to worship.