Customer Reviews

Star Struck: An American Epidemic

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I've heard people talk about how books and movies can change you, but I never had that experience. But over the holidays I picked up Star Struck, read it in about four hours, and had my mind blown. And I think that I was 'awakened' more than I was changed. This book is powerful and unrelenting. It made me think about things I had previously glossed over.
The whole story centers on Lela Valentine and her relationship/friendship with a superstar musician. It's all very reminiscent of the R. Kelly scandal. But nothing you've heard about that drama can prepare you for the depth of emotion Kim Dulaney brings to this story. It's almost like getting to look behind the scenes of a media circus. She pulls the curtain aside and you get a glimpse past the spotlights, the news articles and rumors. The book exposes hype, sensationalism and greed for what they are and shows you how the media and the stars themselves can use the phenomenon of being star struck to manufacture 'stardust'-- letting it fall like snow, blanketing our good natures, true identities and common sense. I was amazed at how little consideration I had given to so many of the issues Star Struck brings to light. So often we get caught up in the glitz and glamor of celebrity scandals without taking the time to consider the important issues that lurk behind the scenes.
As a man, I have often thought that books by female authors mostly fit into two categories. Usually they portray Black men as supernaturally kind, almost celestial, or they portray them as completely malevolent creatures, incapable of true love and emotion. I want to thank Kim Dulaney for showing men for who we truly are: human. Star Struck, in all of its truths and consequences, has shown me how to be a more responsible man and a more caring human being.

Everyone dreams of being a star, knowing a star, or maybe being "with" a star. Kim L. Dulaney boldly tackles the topics of celebrity success and takes a stand for what's right in her sophomore effort, STARSTRUCK: AN AMERICAN EPIDEMIC. Written in a journal type format, the story flip-flops from past to present, as the author draws a tale of love and loss, friendship and betrayal, and right and wrong.

Lela Valentine is an urban socialite who shares with us her story of meeting and befriending an R&B superstar, Benjamin "Beemo" Moore. She gives a sneak peek inside the lives of the rich and famous at things we may think happen, but aren't really true. As Beemo climbs up the celebrity ladder, things around him start to shake loose and Lela is there to pick up the pieces, make him look good, and get him past his dilemmas. Yet, there comes a time when she must open her eyes; seek the truth and face it head on.

Dulaney seems to ride a very thin line with this fictionalized account of her own friendship and involvement with superstar R. Kelly. Since I'm not overly into television or music, I could've easily read this story without relating it to real people. In fact, it would've actually been better had it not been pointed out that this book was written to help a friend unable to see the pit he's fallen into. In spite of this, the messages ring clear; the implications of wrongdoing, standing up for what you believe in, and challenging the moral standards of those we've placed on pedestals.

STAR STRUCK makes us question our values system and realize just how commercialized our society has become. Dulaney holds nothing back in exposing America in all her glory; the good, the bad, and the ugly. While I understand the need to get the message out, I'm still not sure I agree with ousting a friend in such a public forum--that just doesn't sit well with me. Yet, her words are powerful and passionate, while at the same time protective and pensive.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

While this book does make you wonder why the public tends to put popular stars on a pedestal, this particular book and it's poorly disguised resemblance to another R&B icon said absolutely nothing I did not already know. While it focuses on the relationship between the main character and Mr. Beemo, the publicized stories and gossip about this R&B singer makes this a book that could have been written by anyone who reads the latest gossip magazines and tabloids. I waited for that "WOW" moment, the moment that would blow me away, it never came. Ms. Dulaney is a promising writer, but I'd love to see some real fiction, based on imaginary characters rather than a biography of sorts, misrepresented as 'fiction'.

Why are we as a people, as a country, so enamored with superstars that we forget about morals, logical judgment and sound reasoning? This question is the main focus of Star Stuck and one that needs to be examined sooner rather than later by our society. It seems that we've put a false god in front of our children to worship- entertainers and this novel exposes all of that in gritty detail.

Meet Mr. Beemo-the hottest guy in the music industry to date. He's sitting at the pinnacle and although there is a point at the top, it's not stabbing him...yet. He's making beautiful music, paying his boys, has all the women that he wants, he's in control of his destiny until he forgets from whence he's come. He has maintained over the years a very rooted and grounded friend Lela Valentine who tries and sometimes succeeds in offering him kind words of wisdom. Although at times, she gets caught up in the spell that he casts through his audience, for the most part she's his saving grace. Until...it all becomes too much for Beemo. The money, fame, status takes on an alleged wicked twist when he is accused and tried in the court of public opinion for unseemly acts with young girls and then he proceeds to sing about it in upcoming songs. He has highs and lows, personal demons to fight with so in this novel we see the other side. Lela on the other hand has warned him, has been amongst his staunchest supporters until it becomes too much for her. She is forced to distance herself from him and his headstrong journey to the point of the pinnacle.

I wasn't impressed with neither the journalistic writing style nor the fictional similarities to incidents that are in the news today; I think it overshadowed the message that the book was trying to convey. If you think of the title-Star Struck: An American Epidemic, this is such a powerful statement but when coupled with playing out the imaginations of those of us who are chronicling the careers of superstars it seems inappropriate for the times. None the less, the deeper revelation can't be lost either and when read, the reader will, without a doubt, see clearly the many facets of the life of a star.

Socialite, Lela Valentine, crossed paths with R&B superstar, Benjamin "Beemo" Moore, at a trendy night club in Chicago. She wasn't really impressed with him at first, but he won her heart. Lela realized being involved with a superstar was not going to be easy, but she was not prepared for everything that came along with being the girlfriend.

Beeno thought, like other superstars in the music and sports industry, he was unstoppable. He had the money to do anything he wanted so that gave him the right to treat people the way he wanted, or did it?

Lela used Beemo as her `project' when she first met him. She introduced him to the arts and fine dining while maintaining stimulating conversation on current events. She helped him with his style and image by taking him to the places where her millionaire friends shopped. Lela and Beemo where inseparable until Beemo started treating people like something you scrape off the bottom of your shoe. Lela pulls away from Beemo slowly. She would travel to where he was less and less. Beemo gets into a situation that Lela tries to talk him through until it is evident that he just can't see the error of his ways.

Ms. Dulaney writes this book as if it is a diary. I feel in some parts of the book you have to guess about what went on because there is such a lapse in dated time. This book also seems loosely based on an R. Kelly experience. I like the story line, but I just didn't like the diary form in which it was written. If the dates where closer together, it may have flowed a little better.

Tracey Marshall

R.E.A.L. Reviewers

Star Struck, An American Epidemic follows the rocky friendship of publicist Lela Valentine and Hip Hop icon, Benjamin "Beemo" Moore. The story is in the form of Lela's personal writing journal. Moore is everything you would expect a young hip hopper to me. Unfortunately he also has a voracious appetite for sex, sex with young girls to be exact. Knowing the dangers that her friends "habits" can lead to Lela tries to reason with him on the traps that lay ahead. Beemo is stubborn and believes that he has everything under control when he really doesn't. He doesn't hear anything that she tells him. Lela realizes that she can't do anything for her friend but love him from a distance and hope for the best.

Star Struck is a fiction novel but Beemo was a characterization of RB singer Robert Kelly. Once realizing this fact the novel became uninteresting for me. Descriptions of acts with young girls, including the infamous urination allegation made the book totally predictable. The media has given us enough facts about the famous case without a book being written to chronicle it too. Although I wasn't moved by the storyline I felt the book was well written. Ms. Dulaney has a mastery of the English language and her commentary on the inner workings of the music business are entertaining.

Readincolor Reviewers
(...)

If art is meant to expose the true conditions of life, then Kim L. Dulaney's 'Star Struck' is among the truest and most beautiful pieces of art that I own.
This book is a revolution of thoughts and ideas; it gets at the very core of responsibility and spirituality. I've read so many other books that dance around the perils of life and love. Ms. Dulaney dances around nothing. Instead, she invites the drama of life to dance with her, and we as readers get to watch as her characters spin, sway, dip and 'step' with their issues all over God's dance floor. This is a deeply moving book. You will be touched not only by its raw emotion but also by its honesty. Nobody in this novel is given a pass, no one is anointed above and beyond the dangers that abound when you choose to truly love another person for an entire lifetime. And it shows that we are all susceptible to the powers of fame and fortune. Many of us are also bound by our loyalty to things and to people whom we should let go of. This book illustrates all of these points (and more!) beautifully. 'Star Struck' is a great example of an artist taking pain and frustration (and, above all, LOVE) and turning those emotions into a piece of art that the world can relate to and enjoy.
I felt very much in tune with the lead character, Lela Valentine (not because we share a name). I wanted to stand up and applaud her honesty. If we could all learn to be as honest with ourselves and our loved ones as Lela was, then we as a people could accomplish so much. 'Star Struck' is so many things; a love story, a book about social issues, and a book about a person learning to trust in herself and do what she knows is right, no matter how hard it is. I hope they make this into a movie; it is a tremendous story of triumph and revelation.

nothing new here.I think Kim Dulaney is a Talented Writer but this Book has to many cliches to it.everybody who reads the Book knows who the main subject is.now had she went into a different direction&had a fuller take with the Book then this Book would have been more interesting.