5 STARS
AMERICAN BLONDE
A Novel
by
Jennifer Niven
author of Velva Jean Learns to Drive
A FEARLESS AND SPIRITED PILOT CONQUERS HOLLYWOOD.
NOW CAN SHE SURVIVE MOVIE STARDOM?
SUMMARY
(from Amazon)
A fearless and spirited pilot conquers Hollywood. Now can she survive movie stardom?
In 1945, Velva Jean Hart is a bona fide war heroine. After a newsreel films her triumphant return to America, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer promises to make her a star. They give her a new life story and a brand new name. As “Kit Rogers,” she navigates the movie sets, recording sessions, parties, staged romances, and occasional backstabbing that accompany her newfound fame. She also navigates real-life romance, finding herself caught between a charismatic young writer and a sexy and enigmatic musician from her past. But when one of her best friends dies mysteriously and the most powerful studio in the world launches a cover-up, Velva Jean goes in search of the truth— risking her own life, as well as her heart, in the process.
Set during Hollywood’s Golden Age and peopled with a cast of unforgettable characters, American Blonde will mesmerize readers of The Chaperone as well as fans of the Velva Jean series.
In 1945, Velva Jean Hart is a bona fide war heroine. After a newsreel films her triumphant return to America, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer promises to make her a star. They give her a new life story and a brand new name. As “Kit Rogers,” she navigates the movie sets, recording sessions, parties, staged romances, and occasional backstabbing that accompany her newfound fame. She also navigates real-life romance, finding herself caught between a charismatic young writer and a sexy and enigmatic musician from her past. But when one of her best friends dies mysteriously and the most powerful studio in the world launches a cover-up, Velva Jean goes in search of the truth— risking her own life, as well as her heart, in the process.
Set during Hollywood’s Golden Age and peopled with a cast of unforgettable characters, American Blonde will mesmerize readers of The Chaperone as well as fans of the Velva Jean series.
- Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: Plume (July 30, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0452298210
- ISBN-13: 978-0452298217
Biography
Jennifer Niven's first book, The Ice Master, was released in November 2000 and named one of the top ten nonfiction books of the year by Entertainment Weekly. A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writer, Jennifer has ten different publishers in ten separate countries, and the book has been translated into eight languages, including German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Danish, and Icelandic.Jennifer and The Ice Master have appeared in Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, Talk, Glamour, The New Yorker, Outside, The New York Times Book Review, The London Daily Mail, The London Times, and Writer's Digest, among others. Dateline NBC, the Discovery Channel, and the History Channel have featured The Ice Master and Jennifer in hour-long documentaries, she and the book have appeared frequently on the BBC, and the book has been the subject of numerous German, Canadian, and British television documentaries. The Ice Master has been nominated for awards by the American Library Association and Book Sense, and received Italy's esteemed Gambrinus Giuseppe Mazzotti Prize for 2002.
Jennifer's second book, Ada Blackjack -- an inspiring true story of the woman the press called "the female Robinson Crusoe" -- was released in November 2003, was a Book Sense Top Ten Pick, has been optioned for the movies, was recently translated into Chinese, French, and Estonian.
Her memoir, The Aqua-Net Diaries: Big Hair, Big Dreams, Small Town, was published in February 2010 by Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, and was optioned by Warner Bros. as a television series.
Her first novel, Velva Jean Learns to Drive (based on the Emmy Award-winning film of the same name), was released July 2009 by Penguin/Plume. It was an Indie Pick for the August 2009 Indie Next List and was also a Costco Book of the Month. The second book in the Velva Jean series, Velva Jean Learns to Fly, was released by Penguin/Plume in August 2011, and the third book in the series, Becoming Clementine, will be published September 25, 2012. She is currently working on the fourth Velva Jean novel, which will be out in the fall of 2013.
REVIEW
She was an American woman war hero in 1945 when Velva Jean Hart returned to American. The news was about Ms. Hart every day.
She was at home in her Mountain cabin when a man knocked on the door. He was from MGM and had a proposition for her about a movie contract. Velva Jean loved singing and nothing made her more happy.
One of the draws was singing lessons and this made Velva Jean extremely happy. Off she goes to Hollywood. Well, Hollywood wasn't thrilled with Velva Jean Hart. It was her name and in turn it was changed to Kit Rogers. Hollywood found out that Velva Jeanww as a WASP and war heroine. They found out she had saved her own brother from enemy attacks. She had also suffered very bad treatment. When Hollywood found this out, the news didn't stop and the result was putting straight to stardom .
Her first role was Betsy Ross, a war movie in which MGM thought would be a box office hit. Her contract with MGM gave her singing and acting lessons. She also met everyone from stage hands to writers, directors and other actors and actresses. She becomes best friends with Barbara who turns up dead at a party. MGM didn't want Kit's name ruined and tried to cover the crime up. Kit knows that everything will be lost if she keeps this under wraps. She felt Barbara was too good a friend to have died in vain, in a lie and Kit just
can't let that happen.Then Kit has to show how strong she really is. She is being pushed to the limits.
A wonderful, well written and fast paced book. You just can't stop reading it. You just keep turning those pages. The characters keep you interested during the book. Not a boring moment. Another fabulous book by Ms. Niven. She will keep you on the edge of your chair, not wanting to stop reading and when the book is finished, you want more.
A wonderful, well written and fast paced book. You just can't stop reading it. You just keep turning those pages. The characters keep you interested during the book. Not a boring moment. Another fabulous book by Ms. Niven. She will keep you on the edge of your chair, not wanting to stop reading and when the book is finished, you want more.
I was given a complimentary copy AMERICAN BLONDE from the author Jennifer Niven and Night Owl Reviews for my view of the book. No other compensation took place.
I would give this book 5 STARS.
LINKS
http://bemiown.blogspot.com
bemiown@yahoo.com
www.nightowlreviews.com
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