From the Bookshelf of Closter Public Library…

[close] How to Be Famous is a sequel to "How to Build a Girl" (which I loved). It tells the story of 19-year-old Johanna Morrigan, writing under the pen name Dolly Wilde. She has a job writing music reviews for a trendy magazine (and lest you think that unrealistic the author did exactly that, though she notes that this book is not autobiographical), and lives in London. She is, in her own words, a “Lady Sex Adventurer” and does her share of sex and drinking, but mostly eschews drugs. She is still young and learning her way through the misogynistic world of the London music scene. She is in love with a musician John Kite who is hitting it big, and she also develops a wonderful friendship with an up and coming musician Suzanne. There are other great peripheral characters including Joanna's father and brother. The book is often hilarious (I found myself snorting many times), yet heartbreaking, relevant and ultimately satisfying.