I grew up in the 80s and early 90s, and binged on trashy teen books produced by the bucketload. One of my biggest regrets is that one day in my early twenties I decided I was too old for my Sweet Valley Twins, Baby-Sitters Club, and Sweet Valley High books, and donated them all to my local library. Close to two hundred books, because I assumed I would never want to read them again. Boy, was I wrong! I actually had a friend purchase most of the Sweet Valley High books back for me as a birthday gift one year from a second hand bookstore, and I've hung onto those. So I was super excited to take a nostalgic trip down memory lane in "Paperback Crush". Instead I got a social justice commentary on how terrible these books were for their lack of realism, diversity, etc., etc. Duh. If I wanted realistic, I would read Maya Angelou, not "Kristy's Great Idea". She never did fully explain how the current president is responsible for the atrocities of 80s teen literature, but she tried to make a case for it. That left me scratching my head a bit, as well as wondering if every book contract signed after 2017 includes a clause that the author must insult Republicans. Snark against conservatives seems to pop up in every book I read lately, even though they (supposedly) don't have anything to do with politics. Oh well. I'm shouting to the wind. Moving on.
Poor Rock Hudson. He seemed like a nice man, hardworking, kind, generous. He had to live his life as a lie, always afraid of being outed as a homosexual and being ostracized from Hollywood. Everyone had really nice things to say about him, how much he loved meeting his fans and helping new actors find their way. I thought the author was a bit harsh on people who were afraid of being near Rock after his AIDS diagnosis, like he forgot how terrifying it was in the early 80s, before we knew how HIV was transmitted. Back then it was an instant death sentence, Rock lived a year after his diagnosis and wasted away to nothing before passing away. Then all the ex-boyfriends came out of the woodwork to fight over his estate. So sad. What a terrible way to honor him. I saw the movie this book is named after on TV a few days after I finished reading it, and it was really good. I'm looking forward to watching more of Rock's movies.
When I heard about this book I was really looking forward to it, and it didn't disappoint. Nabokov denied that his blockbuster book "Lolita" was based on a real case, but Weinman makes a pretty good case that it was based on the story of Sally Horner. Nabokov's notecards with references to Sally, the New Jersey girl who was kidnapped and abused by Frank La Salle, were recently released to the public. Sally's story is eerily similar to Delores's: La Salle was a middle aged man like Humbert who posed as Sally's father and took her cross country, molesting her for almost two years, before Sally finally confided in a neighbor woman who called her sister in New Jersey who then notified the FBI. Sally was finally reunited with her mother and older sister, and Frank went to prison insisting he was Sally's real father. Poor Sally's life was just as tragic as Lolita's (I don't want to spoil it, but damn, it was just heartbreaking). Weinman argues that Sally's life was stolen twice: once by La Salle and again by Nabokov for not giving her proper recognition for inspiring his most famous creation.
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