Exceptionally inventive author Margarita Montimore (Oona Out of Order, Acts of Violet) revitalizes the glamorous, draconian golden age of the Hollywood studio system in The Dollhouse Academy. Montimore sets the almighty Dahlen Entertainment empire--which produces TV, film, and pop music--in Owls Point in upstate New York. Dahlen was founded by Genevieve Spalding, who initially insists that "Hollywood is a cesspit, and there are a lot of powerful men taking advantage of young and naive performers. It's disgusting, and I was determined to run my school and studio with more integrity."
But then again, perhaps Genevieve protests too much. By the end of the 1990s, truth bends to Genevieve's demands as she reigns omnipotently over the Dollhouse Academy since creating its top-slot, long-running television show In the Dollhouse. Its supreme star--after 18 years in the spotlight--is Ivy Gordon. Now 34, Ivy begins a secret diary. She's finally gathered enough proof to expose Genevieve's nefarious machinations, possibly saving future generations.
Into the academy--rather like an exclusive boarding school--arrive Ramona Holloway and Grace Ludlow, both 22 and best friends since fifth grade. They've got exactly six months to prove they deserve this chance of a lifetime. How fast will dreams become nightmares?
Montimore divides her narrative into Ivy's slow-burn diary entries and Ramona's wide-eyed experiences of wavering between small successes and significant stumbles, even as Grace manages comet-like ascension. Hints of Valley of the Dolls, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and of course Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House linger as the twisted entrapment of enviable, must-have fame is chillingly revealed. --Terry Hong