How to Kill a Rock Star (Paperback)

~ (Author) "My oldest memory isn't one I see when I think back on the past, it's one I hear..." (more)
Key Phrases: Doug Blackman, Paul Hudson, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

DeBartolo looks into the love affair between an aspiring rock journalist and a "spirited maverick" musician in her clunky, earnest sophomore outing (after God-Shaped Hole). When Eliza moves from Ohio to New York to work for a music magazine, she finds herself rooming with Paul, the lead singer in her brother Michael's band. Paul and Eliza hit it off immediately: both love the same singer/songwriter (who says things like "rock 'n' roll music is a dying man.... [i]t's a man being crucified"), both are orphans, and both think the other is hot stuff. It could be a decent romantic comedy, but DeBartolo aims for drama, and serves up uninspired prose and a skimpy plot. Paul and Eliza fall in love; he writes a song about her ("She is a virgin. She is a whore. She gives it all and I beg for more"); her fear of flying (her parents were killed in a plane crash) gets worse after September 11; Paul, on the brink of megastardom, refuses to tour unless she comes along; she sacrifices their relationship for the sake of his art. Complications (note the title) ensue. This is best read by younger adults, who might be more forgiving of the inelegant writing and the characters' classic concerns of waning adolescence. (Sept.)
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Review

"Funny, tender, edgy. I wanted the love story to go on forever. I loved it." -- Joan Johnston, best selling author of No Longer a Stranger

"Wonderful characters wrapped up in a story that moves like an express train." -- Sidney Sheldon, New York Times best selling author

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140220521X
• ISBN-13: 978-1402205217
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #337,856 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unfortunately started this book at midnight..., July 5, 2006

By	O. Kang "bookworm" (Glendale, California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...and seeing as it is not 6:30 in the morning, have decided that it's better to just forgo sleep.

i don't know how to explain this book. i don't think that i'm ever going to be able to read the whole thing ever again.

it was joyous and gut-wrenching and euphoric and terrible. it sounds corny but i cried and laughed and for the latter half of the book felt like my heart was going to break.

never have i looked at the last page of any other book i've read before (and i didn't read the whole last page, just glanced at it to spot any key words/names) but i couldn't control myself with this book. it was so emotionally demanding to the point where i felt the anguish the characters were feeling that i had to have some sort of clue of how it would end, just so i could be the reader again and not one of the characters themselves.

the editor's review says that the writing is inelegant... if it was i didn't notice. the meaning behind the words is what grabbed me. it wasn't dickens but it never pretends to be and would have failed if it did.

amazing.

i'm not even tired.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars just like rock & roll ...., December 3, 2005

By	Beth Farrell (South Amityville NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

'how to kill a rock star' is the literary equivalent of a great rock and roll album. it's a redeeming must-read for any music lover, particularly one who's ever loved and lost a musician. this novel is sensitive, funny, sarcastic, biting, heartbreaking and finally jubilant and a hell of an addictive read to boot. if you've ever walked in the heroine eliza's shoes (and even if you haven't) the end of this book will bring you to tears. this is one of those rare books that will actually remind you what it felt like in your soul to hear your very favorite band for the very first time. buy this book and play loud rock and roll while you read it!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Will Touch a Nerve or Two in Many, October 31, 2005

By	Rian Montgomery "Rian Montgomery" (Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first book by this author, "God Shaped Hole", was a wonderfully touching story with plenty of sadness along the way. This one is no different, except for being even more so.

Eliza, our complicated and interesting main heroine, manages to meet and interview the famous Doug Blackman. Fed up with Cleveland and her go-nowhere job, she scores a great job and apartment in New York City and decides to start over. She has many insecurities and fears, mainly being of flying, because of the fact that her parents died on an airplane when she was young.

She settles into an apartment with her new roommate Paul, who happens to be: 1. Very attractive. 2. In the same band as her brother. 3. Someone who goes through women like water, but deep down wants one special woman to call his own. The two of them manage to get together after some time passes, and they fall deeply, deeply in love with each other. Around the same time, Paul's band gets "discovered". What more could they ask for? They are in love, they now have money from his new contract, and they trust each other.

But life as an up-and-coming rock star isn't easy. Paul has to go on tour, and Eliza doesn't know what to do. She will never get on a plane, as she has a very strong phobia about them. Yet she doesn't want to stay behind. Meanwhile there are other things happening, such as her growing friendship with Loring, Doug Blackman's son. Eliza's job is not going as well as she'd hoped, due to a jealous coworker who can't deal with Eliza's taking time off.

What happens next? Well, Eliza decides to take fate into her own hands. She makes a complete and utterly ridiculous mistake which in turn ignites a series of unfortunate events, culminating in a disaster and heartbreak. Although there are some interesting twists and turns...

Much as I loved the authors first book "God Shaped Hole", I just had a hard time getting into the whole tortured-love-conquers-all mindset this time around. We are also supposed to believe that Eliza is such a great and interesting person whom everyone falls in love with, but somehow she just never comes across as so. Eliza also makes such a ridiculous and idiotic mistake, and I was appalled that the second part of the novel was based on the events after she made her mistake. I had to suspend WAY too much disbelief for this novel.

On the other hand, the novel managed to evoke very strong feelings of sadness at one point. I do not in any way recommend that a depressed person read this book, because the author really manages to get you emotionally involved with the characters (despite being frustrated beyond belief with them). Once you are involved with them, they will take you for quite a hilly and tortured ride.

But don't get me wrong- I didn't hate this book. I have very opposing and conflicting feelings about it. The author's wonderful way with words and dialogue really comes through in this book as with the last, and I was impressed with the story line she concocted. Fresh, different, strange, sad, but will keep you reading.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to people who enjoyed Tiffanie Debartolo's first, and to anyone who likes a true-love-conquers-all type of story. But beware: have tissues on hand. You will cry.