Where Are You, Echo Blue?

A Novel

By: Hayley Krischer

Narrated by: Alex McKenna, Helen Laser

A smart, juicy, and thrilling novel about celebrity, fandom, and the price of ambition following a journalist's obsessive search for a missing Hollywood starlet

When Echo Blue, the most famous child star of the nineties, disappears ahead of a highly publicized television appearance on the eve of the millennium, the salacious theories instantly start swirling. Mostly, people assume Echo has gotten herself in trouble after a reckless New Year’s Eve. But Goldie Klein, an ambitious young journalist who also happens to be Echo's biggest fan, knows there must be more to the story. Why, on the eve of her big comeback, would Echo just go missing without a trace?

After a year of covering dreary local stories for Manhattan Eye, Goldie is sure this will be her big break. Who better to find Echo Blue, and tell her story the right way, than her? And so, Goldie heads to L.A. to begin a wild search that takes her deep into Echo’s complicated life in which parental strife, friend break ups, rehab stints, and bad romances abound. But the further into Echo’s world Goldie gets, the more she questions her own complicity in the young star’s demise . . . yet she cannot tear herself away from this story, which has now consumed her entirely. Meanwhile, we also hear Echo's side of things from the beginning, showing a young woman who was chewed up and spit out by Hollywood as so many are, and who may have had to pay the ultimate price.

As these young women's poignant and unexpected journeys unfold, and eventually meet, Where Are You, Echo Blue? interrogates celebrity culture, the thin line between admiration and obsession, and what it means to tell other peoples’ stories, all while ushering us on an unruly ride to find out what did become of Echo Blue.

©2024 Hayley Krischer (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Where Are You, Echo Blue is exhilarating, sharp, and often very funny. Following journalist Goldie’s investigation into a missing former child star will bring you right back to the thrill of having a pre-teen celebrity infatuation. Krischer’s exploration of celebrity, child actors, and the dark secrets of Hollywood is not to be missed.”—Julia Bartz New York Times bestselling author of The Writing Retreat

“Where Are You, Echo Blue glitters with crisp prose, a juicy plot, and razor-sharp observations about celebrity worship, the cost of living a creative life, and the roles we allow women to play.”—Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of The Spare Room and We Were Never Here

"Timely, sharp, and unputdownable, Where Are You, Echo Blue is a stunning exploration of 00s-era child stardom, told through the eyes of both a hungry journalist and the woman who defined that journalist’s childhood. Both a walk down pop culture memory lane and an inside look at its sinister mechanisms, this is my favorite read in ages. Obsessed.”—Jenny Hollander, USA Today bestselling author of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead

Very Average

At the start of the story I really thought it was going have a good build up and an unpredictable climax, but unfortunately towards the end of the book I thought, oh ok, I guess that’s it.

Very average. One good thing, the book reminded me that everyone is just looking to live a content life.

Loved it. Great ride through a child actor’s eyes and the writer who grew up being enamored with her.

Performances were excellent. I like that the two main characters had their own narrators. Well done.