by Bruce Wagner
First published 2006
Bertie Krohn tells the story of his final months with his two closest friends. His father Perry created The Navigators, television's most enduring space opera. Thad Michelet writes and acts, following in the shadow of his literary giant father. Clea Freemantle struggles with her emotions as the daughter of a movie star legend. The three call themselves the Musketeers. They grow up as children of entertainment royalty, but Hollywood proves hungry and destructive. During the production of a Starwatch episode, the trio attempts to match their parents' achievements. Bertie watches and records their desperate efforts. The industry that made their families famous now threatens to consume them. Their parents cast long shadows that prove impossible to escape. The friends battle against a world built on narcissism and addiction, where success demands terrible prices.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, contemporary, relationships, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Hollywood
Period: 20th-century
224 pages · Paperback · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: addiction, mental-illness