Star Island: Book summary and reviews of Star Island by Carl Hiaasen

Star Island

A Novel

by Carl Hiaasen

Star Island by Carl Hiaasen X
Star Island by Carl Hiaasen
  • Critics' Opinion:

    Readers' rating:

     Not Yet Rated
  • Published Jul 2010
    352 pages
    Genre: Literary Fiction

    Publication Information

  • Rate this book


Buy This Book

About this book

Book Summary

Meet twenty-two-year-old Cherry Pye (née Cheryl Bunterman), a pop star since she was fourteen - and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug and alcohol disaster.

Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her "undercover stunt double," Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too "indisposed" - meaning wasted - to go out in public. And it is Ann, mistaken for Cherry, who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott.

Now the challenge for Cherry’s handlers (über–stage mother; horndog record producer; nipped, tucked, and Botoxed twin publicists; weed whacker–wielding bodyguard) is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry’s public - and from Cherry herself.

The situation is more complicated than they know. Ann has had a bewitching encounter with Skink - the unhinged former governor of Florida living wild in a mangrove swamp - and now he’s heading for Miami to find her ...

Will Bang Abbott achieve his fantasy of a lucrative private photo session with Cherry Pye? Will Cherry sober up in time to lip-synch her way through her concert tour? Will Skink track down Ann DeLusia before Cherry’s motley posse does?

All will be revealed in this hilarious spin on life in the celebrity fast lane.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Mr. Hiaasen can still take any aspect of pop culture and find a laugh in it." - The New York Times

"Whenever it seems as if he might be running out of oxen to gore, Carl Hiaasen comes up with fresh victims for his killing wit … the outlandish events soar on the exuberance of Hiaasen's manic style, a canny blend of lunatic farce and savage satire." - The New York Times Book Review

"The torrent of pop culture barbs are bound to please Hiaasen's ardent fans." - Publishers Weekly

"This rollicking tour de force lampoons south Florida's celebrity subculture while including the obligatory environmental subplot for which Hiaasen is known. Highly recommended." - Library Journal

This information about Star Island was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Carl Hiaasen Author Biography

Fenia Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida. He is the author of a number of novels, including Native Tongue, Strip Tease, Stormy Weather and Lucky You. He has also written a few non-fiction books, including Team Rodent and The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport.

His books have been translated into 29 languages, which he points out is 28 more than he can read or write!

Link to Carl Hiaasen's Website

Name Pronunciation
Carl Hiaasen: hi-a-sen

Other books by Carl Hiaasen at BookBrowse
  • Sick Puppy jacket

7 more...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Recommendations

Readers Also Browsed . . .

more literary fiction...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Become a Member

Join BookBrowse today to start discovering exceptional books!

Find out more


Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    The Magician's Daughter
    by H.G. Parry
    "Magic isn't there to be hoarded like dragon's treasure. Magic is kind. It comes into ...
  • Book Jacket: The Great Displacement
    The Great Displacement
    by Jake Bittle
    On August 4, 2021, California's largest single wildfire to date torched through the small mountain ...
  • Book Jacket
    The Island of Missing Trees
    by Elif Shafak
    The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak tells a tale of generational trauma, explores identity ...
  • Book Jacket: What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez
    What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez
    by Claire Jimenez
    Ruthy Ramirez disappeared without a trace after track practice near her home on Staten Island. Just ...

Book Club Discussion

Book Jacket
The Nurse's Secret
by Amanda Skenandore
A fascinating historical novel based on the little-known story of America's first nursing school.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Lost English Girl
    by Julia Kelly

    A story of love, betrayal, and motherhood set against the backdrop of World War II and the early 1960s.

  • Book Jacket

    Once We Were Home
    by Jennifer Rosner

    From the author of The Yellow Bird Sings, a novel based on the true stories of children stolen in the wake of World War II.

Who Said...

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

R Peter T P P

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.