Hollywood Car Wash: A Novel

by Lori Culwell

College drama student Amy Spencer dreams of starring in independent films. When her roommate signs her up for a mysterious "television project" audition, she blows away the competition with her girl-next-door looks and impressive acting chops, inadvertently getting a starring role on a major TV show and going from Michigan teen to Hollywood starlet overnight.

To keep the part she didn't even know she wanted, Amy finds herself taking a spin through the "Hollywood Car Wash" to make her more marketable. First, she'll have to lose twenty pounds (don't ask how). Then it's new clothes, new teeth, blonder hair, new friends, and a megastar, high-profile boyfriend (though hers comes with a big secret). Bombarded by jealous, two-faced colleagues, overeager plastic surgeons, and manipulative network executives, Amy slowly learns that the only way to survive in Hollywood is to lose her identity. Will Amy get too caught up by the glitz or will she get a grip on her life before it's too late?

The hands-down winner of Touchstone's "Media Predict" Contest -- a competition similar to American Idol for books, Hollywood Car Wash is as delicious and addictive as the celebrity gossip that inspired it.

• ISBN10: 1416587780
• ISBN13: 9781416587781
• Publish Date: 5 May 2009 (first published 1 March 2007)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 3 November 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Touchstone
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

Basically I just couldn't finish the novel. I got 50 pages in and I'd had enough. The editing is rubbish, and I just can't read a book that is so poorly presented. It makes me want to take a black marker pen to it. Plus the time-jumping was a nightmare, instead of focusing on certain scenes and giving us more background info on the whole TV show audition process it just jumped constantly so Amy auditioned the first time. Jump to the second time. Third time. She has the job. No in-between, no gossip. Also, on page 9 Amy describes herself as un-LA stating she "shops in thrift stores", before backtracking on page 41 when she goes to a thift store with Vince and is usually "bored within 5 minutes pawing at other people's dirty clothes." It made me want to scream in frustration and it says a lot that I just didn't want to continue despite the fact it's a relatively short novel.