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Star Island

3.33 of 5 stars 3.33 · rating details · 7,128 ratings · 1,344 reviews

Meet twenty-two-year-old Cherry Pye (née Cheryl Bunterman), a pop star since she was fourteen—and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster.

Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her “undercover stunt double,” Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too “indisposed”—meaning wasted—to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for...more

ebook, 352 pages

Published July 27th 2010 by Vintage (first published 2010)

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Mar 13, 2012 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Actual rating: 2.5 stars.

I dunno. Carl Hiaasen used to be one of my favorites, but his recent novels seem awfully light. Carl's schtick is to infuse specificity and detail into an almost endless series of wacky incidents, some plot-related, some thrown in just for fun, like this: "Jack Bogsworth was decapitated in mid-sentence while arguing with a former spouse on an iPhone in the driver's seat of his 2009 convertible Corvette while driving on Interstate 95 by a flying miniature dachshund which...more

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May 18, 2013 Abbey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, humorous

Hiaasen, among many other things that he does well, is a master of creating the characters that readers love to hate (or at least scorn mercilessly).

The unlikely heroine of Star Island is a young actress named Anne, who is employed as a body-double for a talentless, spoiled, brainless rockstar, Cherry Pye. Regularly OD-ing, Cherry rebels against her frequent forced trips to rehab and her whereabouts are often unknown to her parents and publicity staff. Enter Anne, who makes public appearances, a...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, humor, mystery, man-books

Not my favorite Carl Hiaasen book, but I really liked it. Cherry Pye has been a pop star since she was fourteen-and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster or was it just some more bad seafood?

Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her "undercover stunt double," Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too "indisposed"-- meaning wasted -- to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed pap...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Josh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-legal, humor

If you've never read Hiaasen before, then you need to understand: this is exactly what he does. he does not hold back, he ramps up the zany to just short of implausible, he takes no prisoners, and he runs the filth all the way up to 11.

And it's almost always a heck of a lot of fun.

This time out he's got his vicious pen focused right at celebrity culture, paparazzi, the excess of the manufactured and useless people and he loads up on all of them with unrelenting glee. You get all of the horrible...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Diana Hockley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It took a page or two to understand that I was reading a send up of celebrities and the paparazzo who make a living from their antics!

Cherry Pie, a young singer of loose morals and a tendency to hoover up anything remotely druggy, is supposed to be commencing a tour which will refresh her flagging lip-syncing career. Ann DeLusia is an actress double who is hired by Cherry's parents to take their daughter's place as and when required - mainly when Cherry has a drug misfortune. Only the parents an...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Jonathan Reed added it · review of another edition

A alcoholic pop star named Cherry Pye is about to start a new world tour to try to regin her popularity. To try to protect Cherrys public image is her stunt double Ann DeLusia which only Cherrys parents know about. Since Ann looks exactly like Cherry she gets kidnapped by Bang Abbot the obsessed paparazzo. When Ann is kidnaped it sends the whole family into a spiral trying to get Ann back without reveling her to Cherry and the world. To help keep Cherry out of trouble while Ann is away they hir...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Nigel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's been a very long time since I first read Tourist Season, but Hiaasen's viciousness towards the venal and corrupt stupid infesting his beloved Florida has not abated one bit. Now his ire is focused on wild celebrities and the people who prey on them. No, it's not really Hiaasen at his best, but it's a polished, scabrous romp through a particularly repulsive underbelly.

We have a corpulent, sweaty paparazzi; a spoiled, out-of-control, barely talented pop star; her put-upon stand-in whose exist...more

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May 06, 2012 Rob Kitchin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Star Island is the latest comic crime caper novel from Hiassen. Like the books preceding it, the story is populated by larger than life characters acting out a slightly surreal satire on modern society. Star Island takes a swipe at today’s manufactured celebrity culture and the role of the media and paparazzi. With the exception of the governor and Chemo (the bodyguard), unfortunately Hiassen’s characters seem entirely plausible as does the twisted storyline. Indeed, Hiassen does a relatively go...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Nenia Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: x-2010s, everyone-hates-it-but-nenia

Twenty years and Carl Hiaasen still hasn't lost his talent. The same can't be said for singer Cherry Pye; a teen pop~~tart~~star who is on a downwards spiral that makes Lindsay Lohan look like a nun. She is so out of control, in fact, that Cherry's parents have hired a look-alike to go to publicity events in lieu of Cherry when she is ~~zonked out~~ indisposed from gastritis. The look-alike is an actress named Ann DeLusia, who is actually a pretty nice girl. She's funny, smart, and, some might add, argu...more Twenty years and Carl Hiaasen still hasn't lost his talent. The same can't be said for singer Cherry Pye; a teen pop~~tart~~star who is on a downwards spiral that makes Lindsay Lohan look like a nun. She is so out of control, in fact, that Cherry's parents have hired a look-alike to go to publicity events in lieu of Cherry when she is ~~zonked out~~ indisposed from gastritis. The look-alike is an actress named Ann DeLusia, who is actually a pretty nice girl. She's funny, smart, and, some might add, arguably prettier than the woman she's supposed to emulate. The only real way of telling them apart is the fact that Ann has brown eyes and Cherry's are sea green, which is why Ann greets her public wearing Jackie-O glasses.

Everything tanks when Ann is kidnapped by an obsessive photographer named Bang who is determined to snap The Picture of Cherry in a body bag after she inevitably OD's. Ann is pissed off because she takes a lot of crap from both Cherry and the public, without much to say for it. Cherry is pissed off because her parents have decided to veto the drugs, and her newest bodyguard is applying the use of aversion therapy (i.e. shock treatments) to clean up her vocabulary, and Banger is pissed off because the newspapers won't buy photos of a fake - and just who does Cherry think she is, anyway?

I loved Hiaasen's parody of celebrity superficiality. His pop culture references are completely on the mark, and added a fun "in-the-know" feel to the book that will appeal to both young and old alike. I've always admired his intuitive sense for the vernacular, and how he can write a convincing street thug, or a convincing governor. The outlandish situations he comes up with - sea urchins as a weapon, weedwhacker prostheses, drug-addled stars chowing down on canine dewormers - are so weird that you can't help but thinking, "Well, somebody must have tried that."

Plus, he reintroduces two of my favorite characters. Skink, the ex-governor Clinton Tyree who went a little barmy in the everglades and now plays avenger against corrupt right-wing developers, plays a key role as Ann's savior. Chemo, the hired hand from Skin Tight, who has a bone to pick with plastic surgeons (particularly corrupt ones), becomes Cherry's grammatically correct bodyguard - and also a fan of Ann, as well. Between the old and new characters, and the hilarious adventures, schemes, and hi-jinks carried out by the aforementioned, I think this is one of my favorite books by Hiaasen!(less)

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Jan 08, 2012 Johnny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comedy-thriller

What can I say? When it comes to Carl Hiaasen, things go better with Skink. Star Island is no exception. The somewhat deranged ex-governor is one of the few characters with which, as a reader, I can feel an affinity or any empathy. Although I can’t imagine submerging myself in an alligator-infested swamp to avoid State Troopers or living in a campsite structured around the rusting hulk of a NASCAR automobile, I am attracted to the idea that this marvelous character abdicated his role in society...more What can I say? When it comes to Carl Hiaasen, things go better with Skink. Star Island is no exception. The somewhat deranged ex-governor is one of the few characters with which, as a reader, I can feel an affinity or any empathy. Although I can’t imagine submerging myself in an alligator-infested swamp to avoid State Troopers or living in a campsite structured around the rusting hulk of a NASCAR automobile, I am attracted to the idea that this marvelous character abdicated his role in society and struck off for the ultimate libertarian lifestyle where he writes his law in actions rather than words. To be honest, one never really knows what kind of justice Skink plans to perpetrate whenever he makes an appearance and his multiple (and very welcome) epiphanies in this novel provide for fascinating chaos and usually justice of the poetic kind.
Hiaasen, a former journalist himself, populates his novels with an assortment of crooked real estate developers (but I wax redundant here), dishonest politicians (I seem to be using a lot of unnecessary adjectives), stoned and stupid celebrities (again with the repetition?), and greedy slimeballs (the main protagonist in Star Island, a paparazzo, comes to mind, as do the parents of a spoiled, lip-synching diva).

Stunt Island is, as one can probably summarize all of Hiaasen’s novels, a story of greed and revenge. In the context of the plot, the story navigates like a drunken celebrity through several story arcs of greed such that paparazzo Bang Abbott, former governor Clinton Tyree (aka “Skink”), and celebrity body double Annie DeLusia have to wreak their revenge on spoiled celebrities, exploitative land developers, and ungrateful clients. And, if their desires for revenge happen to converge, it’s all the better for the reader.

Star Island follows the descending career of a pop-star called Cherry Pye as she keeps fleeing her keepers for wanton orgiastic pleasures which, in turn, are so near to destroying her falsely inflated career that her handlers go to extreme (and cruelly hilarious) solutions. She doesn’t merely do drugs, she does them as indiscriminately as a pig eating slop. She’s like a person who brings her own jug wine to a winemaker’s dinner at a swanky restaurant. She doesn’t even realize some of the extreme means her handlers have had to go to in order to keep her career on track, including the body double who ends up kidnapped in her place.

The interesting new supporting character (and I’ll wager we’ll see him in future novels) is Chemo, the former mortgage writer who towers above mortal men, uses a weed whacker as his prosthetic, and has a skin condition that almost makes one ill to visualize it. Chemo was reputed to have helped one out-of-control musician take the straight and narrow (assuming that becoming a televangelist is “straight and narrow”). Chemo, however, seems to be the only one in the book that has a conscience, albeit said moral voice doesn’t always appear to be operating.

Star Island was funny in the same unnerving sense as it used to be to watch Andy Kaufman perform on Saturday Night Live. One never knew if his performance was going to leave one laughing out of control or simply feeling alienated and slightly nauseous. Great comedy has the capacity to do this. And, most of the way through Star Island, it is great comedy.
(less)

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Jan 07, 2012 Donna LaValley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can always count on Carl Hiaasen’s books to provoke at least one out-loud laugh.
I’m so down with his distaste for crooked politicians and greedy developers that I rejoice in the painful revenge the villains get. Having lived in Miami for a year, I’m familiar with some of the territory, too. This one isn’t my favorite, but I recommend it. The unifying character is “Cherry Pye” who “knew she wasn’t the most talented blond singer in the world, but she was happy to play the part. Vanity, petulanc...more

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Sep 01, 2011 James Thane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is another very engaging book from Carl Hiaasen. On the surface, it's hilariously funny, but as is usually the case with Hiaasen's books, lurking just below the surface is a serious dose of moral outrage. As usual, Hiaasen's targets include the real estate schemers, financiers and others who are laying waste to Florida in the name of "progress," but in Star Island, the author also skewers the superficial celbrity culture of the day.

Jailbait Records recording star Cherry Pye (who was born Ch...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Rose rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like most of his novels, Carl Hiaasen's latest book is yet another wild romp through southern Florida with a cast of ridiculous characters. Star Island chronicales the misadventures of a Hollywood starlet (Cherry Pye), her parasitic family and producer, a paparazzo-cum-stalker (Bang Abbott), Cherry's body-double (Ann DeLusia), and a former Florida governor (Skink) who, disillusioned by political life, is now living off the Florida swampland and performing random acts of vigilantism directed towa...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Abigail Allen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first Carl Hiaasen book I've read, and I didn't really enjoy it. I could tell that it was meant to be a biting satire of the celebrity world and our society's obsession with it, but I just found all the characters and situations so ridiculously over the top that it did not appeal to me at all. Even the names were over the top: Cherry Pye, Ann DeLucia, Chemo, that country singer Presley Aaron, who I guess was a nod to Elvis.

I enjoy a story that has interesting characters that I can i...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Sarah Jordan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Carl Hiaasen is at his gleefully twisted, cheerfully maniacal best in Star Island, which was released in paperback earlier this year. He has once again unleashed his clear-eyed vision of people and their foibles, this time in the fertile fields of no-discernible-talent celebrities and the parasites surrounding them.
Cherry Pye is a character everyone will recognize - she could be any number of hard-partying girls in Hollywood who seem to be famous for nothing more than drinking, drugging, rehab,...more Carl Hiaasen is at his gleefully twisted, cheerfully maniacal best in Star Island, which was released in paperback earlier this year. He has once again unleashed his clear-eyed vision of people and their foibles, this time in the fertile fields of no-discernible-talent celebrities and the parasites surrounding them.
Cherry Pye is a character everyone will recognize - she could be any number of hard-partying girls in Hollywood who seem to be famous for nothing more than drinking, drugging, rehab, and perfume endorsements.
Chock-full of real name dropping, Star Island is an unsentimental unveiling of the story behind the glossy magazine covers. And this is one of the reasons I love Carl Hiaasen's writing so much - he spares very little sentimentality for people, showing them as they really are, warts and all. This is not ncessarily unsympathetic - for instance, we learn that Cherry Pye was turned into a sexy little prepubescent by her own mother, and then signed to Jailbait records by a music producer who really likes his young clients. But the flip side is that Cherry really is a self-involved, hard-partying simpleton. Her double, Ann DeLusia, also has beauty but also brains and a sense of right and wrong, yet her upbringing was little better than Cherry's. After Ann is kidnapped by the Cherry-besotted Bang Abbott, Ann is hurt and angered to learn that Cherry's mother has not reported her kidnapping to the police. Word of Ann's existence would be financially disastrous for Cherry's "comeback", and that is more important than Ann's life. Luckily for Ann, she has met and charmed both Skink and Chemo who each have their own methods of dealing with situations such as this. And in Hiaasen's world, situations like this are the norm creating an incredibly entertaining and wild ride full of laugh out loud moments. I would recomment NOT drinking a beverage while reading this book - there are too many funny parts.
Hiaasen's sympathies and sentiment are primarily reserved for the Florida flora and fauna, and his anger for those who exploit and destroy it. But while that message is part of his books, it is conveyed with his unique sense of humor and writing style. Phrases like "flaccid conscience", "carefree venality", and "cheese-jizzed nachos", and the song titles of Cherry's "hits" such as "Daddy, What's My New Momma's Name?" and one of her first songs as a 14 y/o titled "Touch Me Like You Mean It", make his books a treat to read.
As with most of his books, the greedy get punished and the good folks have a happy ending. The ending of Star Island felt a bit forced to me, which is the only negative in an otherwise fantastic book. I didn't understand Ann's need to drag Skink to a night club (name and theme of "Pubes" - ha!) to confront the clueless Cherry, and it felt contrived. But after the wild ride of this hilarious, wacky story it's a small complaint. This book is fun and entertaining - read it!(less)

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Jul 07, 2011 Bondama rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I hate to say it, but I am finally getting tired of Carl Hiaason. I was wildly in love with his writing when he first began, but sadly, his writing has fallen into the trap of so many "continued" sagas.

Even though this particular book featured two of my all-time favorite characters, Skink, the former governor of Florida (for about 15 minutes) who lives in his camp, and uses roadkill for food. And my favorite villain, the 6'9" tall pizza faced Chemo.

But it's Hiaason's use of Chemo that showed me...more

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May 07, 2011 Talia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction

This web of stories centers around Cherry Pye, a former child star and now pop music trainwreck, who is in the middle of planning her next music tour and album release in Miami Beach between drinking and doing various drugs. To help Cherry battle life in the public eye, her parents have hired a “stunt double”, Ann DeLuisa, an actress who is growing tired of living life as a character as unsavory as Cherry. When Ann crashes her car in the Keys, she meets Skink, the former governor of Florida, a v...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Derek Dowell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lauded for the past two decades as the quintessential Florida writer, Carl Hiaasen didn't have any competition for a long, long time. There were a few other locals toiling on the edges of obscurity. Some guy in Tampa named Tim Dorsey trying to gain traction with a sociopathic serial killer named Serge Storms as a main character. A little farther south, near Sanibel, a gent by the name of Randy Wayne White was beginning to flex his literary muscles with a character, Doc Ford, who must have been t...more Lauded for the past two decades as the quintessential Florida writer, Carl Hiaasen didn't have any competition for a long, long time. There were a few other locals toiling on the edges of obscurity. Some guy in Tampa named Tim Dorsey trying to gain traction with a sociopathic serial killer named Serge Storms as a main character. A little farther south, near Sanibel, a gent by the name of Randy Wayne White was beginning to flex his literary muscles with a character, Doc Ford, who must have been the illegitimate half brother of Travis McGee. Then there always has been Elmore Leonard, but he's not a true Florida guy.

So for nigh on 20 years, Carl Hiaasen has ruled the roost as King of the Quirky Tropical Novel. Heck, I was introduced to the concept when I stumbled across Strip Tease in 1993, about the same time I figured out who Jimmy Buffet was. For a solid ten-year stretch there was no better day than when a new Hiaasen release hit the shelves. In my humble opinion, no writer had ever quite captured the sheer weirdness of the state and then managed to translate it into mass consumption.

Having taken two full paragraphs to say I love the man's work, his latest release, Star Island, sees the great man slipping back to the pack a bit. In my humble opinion, his adult work has been in decline for a period of time that squarely coincides with his decision to alternate young adult books. Can't blame the guy that he now has a family and kids and feels pulled in different direction, but the change clearly shows in the writing. It seems the edge has been worn slightly thin. In the old days, readers could rely upon at least one character worth liking while the crazed cast of whackos and misfits went about their daily business.

With Star Island, I hate to say, I'm still trying to find a character to like. The closest I can come is the giant, ex-con with the bad complexion and weed whacker limb prosthetic, Chemo. At least he sees the vapid, little twits around him for what they are. Perhaps the greatest failing with Star Island is the subject matter. Is there anything remotely interesting about the tabloid subjects and paparazzi who follow them? I can't even generate any genuine dislike - I simply don't care enough to hate. Even the reliable ex-governor turned swamp rat, Skink, seems to only be going through the motions in this tale.

Mr. Hiassen was at the top of his game when he was killing tourists, eviscerating Disney, exposing pro bass tour corruption, and chasing down lottery winners. Star Island seems sort of, beneath him, though King Carl operating at 75% is better than most writers running ahead at full steam. The vicious and hilarious turns of phrase are still there, as is the spot-on dialogue, and strange twists. The only problem is - who really cares about these people? Judging from the Amazon reviews, which are running at about 3.5 / 5, I'm not the only one slightly underimpressed.

Come on, Carl. Give up the kiddie books. They're killing your bread and butter.(less)

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Feb 06, 2011 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library, read-in-2011

Carl Hiaasen is one of my favorite writers and while Star Islands fits Hiaasen's normal formula, wacky characters in ridiculous circumstances somewhere in the wilds of South Florida, this story lacked heart.

Characters from previous books are brought back and save the story. Chemo, last seen in Skinny Dip and if you haven't read it, read it before Star Island or Chemo's place in this story and his unusual appendage don't make sense and Skinny Dip, it's Hiaasen at his absolute best.

Skink, the fo...more

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Jan 17, 2011 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Carl Hiaasen's novels are a guilty pleasure for me, part mystery, part social commentary on Florida. Star Island is no exception. In addition to usual discussion of the vagaries of Florida's politics, this also tackles the topics of paparazzi, hollywood, stage parents, and pop music.

Recurring character Skink, the only purely honest former governor of Florida driven mad by dirty politics, helps Annie, actress/body double for a hot mess pop tart, when she is kidnapped by a deranged paparazzo who h...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Jaime rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, humor

If you love Carl Hiaasen, there’s no surprises here. It’s your usual mix of wacky characters put into a wacky situation that more often than not, is the result of their own despicable actions. In the midst of all the less-than-savory characters is your beacon of shining hope: Ann DeLusia. All Ann wants is to be an actress, but the novelty of pretending to be Cherry Pye is getting old. She’s already trying to figure out how to extract herself from her job when she’s mistakenly nabbed by Bang Abbo...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Anthony Eaton rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gotta hand it to Carl Hiassen - he does what he does, and he does it well. This book is no exception.

Sure, when you pick up a Hiassen book, you have a general idea what you're in for: Florida, corrupt property developers and government officials, the beauty of the everglades, a cast of characters most usually defined by the term 'whacky' (a term I hate, but it's the best I can come up with here), a couple of incompetent crooks, a reluctant protagonist, and an amusingly meandering plot line. The...more

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Dec 28, 2010 Tracy Lee rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just getting a little burned out on the Hiassen forumla. Woman in Trouble: she's intelligent, good looking, smarter than people give her credit for, and someone has wronged her, she's fighting the system somehow that wants to keep her down. The Bad Guy(s): bumbling fools that you loathe, creeps, and that are probably somehow polluting the Florida environment (but not always). They are out to take advantage of the Woman in Trouble somehow - steal her money, blackmail her, force her to do a job fo...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I saw that another reviewer who loves Carl Hiaasen found this book "Star Island" a little formulaic and on that score I have to agree. If you know his work, you've probably seen all of this before.

I never find myself NOT wanting to read a new Carl Hiaasen book and for what it's worth I was greatly looking forward to this one especially when I heard that it was turning an eye on our pretty ridiculous pop culture. What added to my anticipation was that Mr. Hiaasen came to my area over the summer t...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Patty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: readin10

Carl Hiaasen always provides a good laugh. Once again, the former governor of Florida, living in the mangroves and wearing dreads and committing acts of eco-terrorism is involved in a complicated plot. This time, however, he becomes smitten with a wanna be actress, Annie, and she becomes the main character.
Annie is a stand in to fake out the paparazzi for Cherry Pye, a teenage over-indulged, under talented. drug dependant pop diva who fits in with many on the current music scene. It's all just t...more

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Oct 26, 2010 J rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, the reason many people, myself and my wife included, read Hiaasen's mysteries is because he creates interesting, often unique, characters, his writing is seriously funny, and he often addresses human stupidity, crassness, scams, and ecological issues. His writing is also light and fast to read. The stories vary in their complexity, but that is not usually the overriding point in selecting to read a Hiaasen mystery.

That said, Star Island, has all of the good points noted above. Fun characte...more

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Oct 18, 2010 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-books-read

Carl Hiaasen creates memorable characters, weaves a farcicial plot, and continues to share his love for Florida's vanishing wetlands and wild places. Cherry Pye is a teenage talentless celebrity who's gone off the rails with drugs and alcohol. Her parents have hired Anna DeLuisa, a body double and actress, to take Cherry's place at publicity events when Cherry is too trashed to make an appearance. Claude Abbott is a paparazzo trying to get the money-maker shot. Enter Chemo, Cherry's new body gua...more

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Oct 17, 2010 Lnaimark rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First, I need to qualify my review by saying this is my first Carl Hiaasen read.......although I'm sad that I've managed to avoid him all these years. I think that if I'd been reading him since the 80's, I might not have liked this book so much.
However, I laughed so many times...such great characters in such crazy situations. A former governor of Florida living in the mangroves and wearing dreads, committing acts of eco-terrorism. A woman who makes her living as by pretending to be a Britney-esq...more

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Sep 27, 2010 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-reads

One never opens an Hiaasen book expecting intricate plot themes and stunning charactizations. One reads Mr. Hiaasen because he has a biting wit which blends so well with his satirical look at certain aspects of life. In STAR ISLAND he tackles the pop diva music world personified by Cherry Pie … the perfect melding of so many young popsters on the current music scene. Cherry is over-indulged, under-talented, drug-dependant and stage-mothered. She is also stalked by uber-papparazzo Bang Abbott and...more

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Aug 28, 2010 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From Publishers Weekly
The career of singer Cheryl Bunterman (aka Cherry Pye), who debuted with Jailbait Records at age 15, is foundering due to her lack of talent and indiscriminate appetite for drugs, booze, and sex in this outrageous, offbeat novel from Hiaasen (Nature Girl). Among those struggling to keep Cherry's career afloat are her mother, Janet Bunterman; producer Maury Lykes; and "undercover stunt double" Ann DeLusia, who will, say, mislead the press into thinking Cherry is out and abou...more

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About Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida, where he still lives with his family. After graduating from the University of Florida, he began writing for the Miami Herald. As a journalist and author, Carl has spend most of his life advocating the protection of the Florida Everglades. He and his family still live southern Florida.

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8620172-star-island?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1279834189l/8620172.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8620172-star-island?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Star Island by Carl Hiaasen[/url]

Star Island

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