by Emma Straub
First published 2012
Elsa Emerson flees her Wisconsin hometown and is discovered in Los Angeles, refashioned as the exotic brunette beauty Laura Lamont. As she navigates the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown stardom, Elsa must reconcile her newfound fame with the personal happiness she longs for.
Genres: drama, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, biographical-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, rags-to-riches
Setting: Los Angeles, Wisconsin
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
471 pages · Hardcover · Thorndike Press