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The novel’s eponymous protagonist is a young girl whose pursuit of acting in Hollywood leads her to meet and work with seasoned actors and celebrities.
One such acquaintance is the now aged and good-humouredly jaded actress Evelyn Martin, who helps Holly navigate her first forays into acting; another is Peter, a has-been actor some dozen years her senior who befriends her whilst otherwise shying away from members of the industry. Lending Holly’s character a more grounded background, however, is her roommate Amy, an aspiring baker, with whom she shares a studio apartment.
The whole makes for somewhat of an idyllic plotline that nevertheless gels due in part to well-defined characters and the thriller-like subplot that develops around Peter’s character.
As a parallel plot, the novel tells the story of troubled, young pop star Nikki Steele, who hires kind-hearted paparazzo Clint Morgan on a whim. The plot then follows the paparazzo-turned-manager’s attempts at reshaping his client’s public image, all of which meet with unmitigated success. Though sprinkled with instances of Nikki’s self-doubt and celebrity-manager spats, this plotline is overall less successful –or substantial. Though characterization is rounded out with Nikki’s insecurity and Clint’s repressed guilt, the absence of tangible obstacles fails to raise the stakes, making the plot feel a little too bare bones.
The novel’s style is sleek and edited, which contributes to making the novel an easy read. In fact, the novel is quite carefully worded, making for a pristine style completely without tedious descriptions or distracting turns of phrase. Naomi Laeuchli’s style in this novel is truly a case of style serving the subject, and not the other way around.
Overall, Holly(Woods) is a light but carefully crafted novel, with a dark undertone that emerges in the second half of the book around Peter's character. Sure to find an audience, the novel is fantasy-fulfilling and modern in its treatment of celebrity and pop culture. What may initially seem to be a very light read does show signs of obscuring into a thriller and opening up into a series by the novel’s end.
I give Holly(Woods) a three out of four star rating, as it is successfully engrossing. Though perhaps a crowd-pleasing topic, it is well-executed and does deliver more substance than the reader initially expects.
I would be interested in, and would look forward to, reading the sequel.
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