A review by minimicropup
Where Are You, Echo Blue? by Hayley Krischer

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Loved this!
 
Energy: Confident. Fretful. Confessional.      
Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in Los Angeles, particularly Venice Beach area. 
Perspectives (2): An up-and-coming journalist who wants to work on a story about her childhood idol who has quietly disappeared from the public eye. A child star growing up navigating the pressures of fame, friendship, and family.   
Timelines: 1981-1990s and the year 2000
 
🐕 Howls: I didn’t love parts of the ending for feeling a little too fairy tale for me, but it wasn’t poorly done.
 
🐩 Tail Wags: Clues steadily revealed throughout character perspectives and timeline switches. The intrigue around where Echo Blue is + character study of the Idol and the Fan. Nostalgic exploration (and grounded commentary) of 1990s/2000s teeny-bopper idol industry with consequences. Characters’ minds and lives slowly unraveling. Goldie giving Fleabag vibes. How fictional pop cultural was merged with actual pop culture making it feel real and giving context.
 
🤓 Reader Role: Deep in the characters’ minds riding the emotional roller coaster. 
 
🗺️ World-Building: Immersive, sensory, and nostalgic. 
 
🔥 Fuel: Character evolution and investment. Where is Echo Blue? Is Goldie on to something big or is she unhinged obsessed and blind to truth? 
 
📖 Cred: Realistic with sprinklings of idealism
 
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Fluorescent lights. Phish t-shirts. Magazine pages. Collages. Softball. Dancing. Champagne. Klonopin. Disney. Patchouli. Thai food. Hate mail. Paparazzi. Sunglasses. New Year’s Eve. 
  • Breezy, intimate writing style
  • Coming-of-age psychological and moral growth
  • The surrealism of child stardom 
  • Short chapters feeling fast-paced once invested in the story
  • Enlightening life lessons learned the hard way
  • Realistic social commentary of what feeds pre-teen sitcom industry, child star obsession, and its effects on fans and idols 
  • Quest for adult identity character study
  • Alienation and loneliness of teen/new adulthood
  • Anti-hero main characters
  • Journalistic morally ambiguous sleuthing
  • Betrayal and redemption & unlikely friendships
  • Nostalgic late 1990s/Y2K settings & pop culture
  • Complex father-daughter bonds 
  • Missing celeb mystery
 
Content Heads-Up: Narcissistic parent & abuse. Misogyny. Mentally ill parent. Depression. Anxiety. Insomnia. Agoraphobia. Paranoia. Loneliness. Drug abuse (anti-anxiety meds). Tobacco/cigarettes. Parental neglect. Parental rejection. Sexual content (consenting, self). Cannabis (edibles). Trauma bonds. Loss of parent (as young adult). Loss of spouse. Car accident (fatal; off page). Adult/minor relationship. Cutting (very brief mention). Addiction, recovery.
 
Rep: Jewish ancestry. Polish ancestry. American. South American, Argentinian, Swedish, Black American peripheral characters. Dark and pale skin tones.
 
📚 Format: Library Digital
 
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