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The Comeback by Ella Berman
The Comeback
Women's Fiction
Penguin Group (USA) LLC
August 3rd, 2020
ebook, audiobook, hardcover
384
A deep dive into the psyche of a young actress raised in the spotlight under the influence of a charming, manipulative film director and the moment when she decides his time for winning is over.
At the height of her career and on the eve of her first Golden Globe nomination, teen star Grace Turner disappeared.
Now, tentatively sober and surprisingly numb, Grace is back in Los Angeles after her year of self-imposed exile. She knows the new private life she wants isn't going to be easy as she tries to be a better person and reconnect with the people she left behind.
But when Grace is asked to present a lifetime achievement award to director Able Yorke--the man who controlled her every move for eight years--she realizes that she can't run from the secret behind her spectacular crash and burn for much longer. And she's the only one with nothing left to lose.
Alternating between past and present, The Comeback tackles power dynamics and the uncertainty of young adulthood, the types of secrets that become part of our sense of self, and the moments when we learn that though there are many ways to get hurt, we can still choose to fight back.
“I know that somebody hurt you. Now it’s time for you to fuck shit up, baby lion.”-The Comeback by Ella Berman
There are some books that when you start reading them you know they will stay with you for a while. The Comeback by Ella Berman is one of those books for me. The Comeback is not your typical tale about a starlet who has fallen out of style only to reclaim her fame after finding herself. Ella Berman has created a deeply emotional story about the under belly of the movie industry and the journey of how Grace went from her star power burning out to the reigniting of herself and her career.
Grace Turner was discovered at her school in England and became a child actress with the help of her mentor, Able Yorke. The Comeback starts in the middle of her story. Grace seemingly disappears overnight from the glitz and glam of the Hollywood scene to hideaway at her parent’s house in Anaheim. Grace begins to tell how she ended up where she did in small glimpses. She shares how she was found. How Able and his young wife Emiliana, convinced her parents that Grace was born to be an actress, and that she would be in good hands. It hit me that this was the point in which Grace fell out of her parent’s care. I enjoyed the flashbacks that cutaway from Grace’s present. Meeting characters in the past, and seeing them in her present was a good way to get insight into the inner workings of Hollywood.
The Comeback does not shy away from hard themes. Grace is shaped by Able through horrible manipulation, and psychological tactics. Even though she is utterly hurt and confused about so much, Able is the lifeline that she clings to. She begins to experiment and use alcohol and drugs as a young teen. This evolves into a way to escape the horrible feelings that arise and she cannot find it in herself to deal with.
When Grace realizes that she has a choice to either succumb to the pain that has ravaged her mentally and emotionally for so long, or to start to take her life back and attempt to make Able as miserable as she has become…she begins her comeback.
The Comeback is truly so well done. It was hard to read at times, it is dark, it is depressing, and it is so utterly emotional and raw that I know I will be thinking about this for a long time. As a debut novel, The Comeback, is artful. I have no doubt that Ella Berman will have a long and successful career!
Look for this novel, due out this summer on August 3rd !
Jes is a self-proclaimed bookworm, who recently moved from the PNW back to the Midwest. When her nose isn’t in a book, she’s spending time with her husband, two kids, and her three fur babies, or exploring the globe. She also firmly believes that you should start the day with coffee, and end the day in bed with a good book.
