Just finished this after reading this in one afternoon and I have to say I enjoyed it more as it went on! When reading a book about a tv show, you expect the book to be mainly centred around the events of the show but I didn't feel that with this book. I really enjoyed getting to know the different characters and all their back stories and was so glad that Abel got the justice his brother deserved. I also found the twists in the last 100 pages or so incredibly gripping and enjoyable, especially the epilogue! That ending!!! I don't know if I love or hated that it ended on such a cliffhanger. Probably my favourite Benjamin Dean book yet so I recommend if you've enjoyed his other books!

How to Die Famous was a very enjoyable read, and I predict enormous success for this one. It follows a group of young actors, who are starring in the remake of a cult show about a group of high school students.

But there is more than meets the eye to each member of this foursome.

Lucky Tate has recently lost his mother, and is drowning in grief - not that the sinister entertainment corporation funding the show cares, as long as he delivers on his star quality onscreen.

Ella is the up-and-coming new starlet, whose bright smile and wholesome good looks hide the miserable home life that lies behind the facade of her success, driven as it is by a toxic, ambitious mother and weighed down by the longing for her absent father.

As a young black woman, Ryan is fully aware of the attitudes that are stacked against her, despite the considerable success that she has already achieved, and the amount of money that she's earned for the studio.

With no family support, things are already hard enough for Ryan without the very public humiliation of Lucky and Ella's new (fake?) relationship, since Lucky was her actual boyfriend until recently. And then there is the apparent stalker that she has been receiving anonymous messages from!

Finally, we have Abel, the new kid on the block, who's different from the others in more ways than one. He has a secret motive for being on the show that is completely unrelated to any career goals...

The book delivers some excellent twists, if a little far fetched at times. But it is such a pleasure to read that you will forgive the writer that minor sin. This was a solid 4 star read for me. Readers will breeze through the book before they know it!

What can I say about this book… what a journey! I fell in love with Abel’s character so quickly and I was on his side the whole way through.

The twists, the turns, so many reveals it felt like a scream movie and that is a compliment!

My only downside was the multiple POVs we were introduced to the back story of four main characters and only one of their storied was wrapped up nicely, Abel’s, I wish we’d have heard how Ella and Ryan felt at the end.

How do you find out what really happened to your brother when it involves the secrecy of all that Hollywood offers? Well you gain a part in the machine that he worked for and gain trust and hope to expose it all. But along the way how much do you expose of the ones you grow to care about and how much danger are you actually in?

Oooo this one had me hooked from the get go!! Fast paced, well written & wonderful storyline! Such a great YA thriller I was pleasantly surprised by this! Suspenseful & gripping !

I love a YA thriller. I like how fast paced they are, and the twists and turns. This one had a dramatic start, I’ll give it that, but I did immediately know not to take it at face value.

I do think out of the four POVs we get, Abel’s was my favourite. Probably because he gets the most air time and by the end, only his story really feels neatly wrapped up. The rest…not so much, but I guess that’s because the author intends to write a sequel. Whether it really needs one…well, that remains to be seen. Currently I, not quite convinced and wish everything could have just been wrapped up.

Are some of the plot lines a bit convoluted? Yes, but that’s not uncommon in these books I feel. I’m interested in the sequel but I worry it might fall a bit short.

I give this 3.5 rounded up to 4 since despite the flaws I noticed, the writing and length meant I devoured it in a day.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Abel is the latest addition to the line up for a reboot of Sunset High, a Hollywood blockbuster series but he has a secret: he is also there to find out more about the death of his older brother who was an assistant for the show. As we find out more about the three other stars of the show, we realise that everyone has a burden to carry and secrets to conceal.
This mystery thriller is full of suspense and twists and turns, revelations about the past and about private lives lived out on a public stage. The glamour of fame seems poor compensation for the loss of privacy and identity as the entertainment world's machinery forces Abel, Ryan, Lucky and Ella to "follow the narrative" and lose themselves in the process.
An entertaining read which kept me guessing to the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

How To Die Famous, is Benjamin Dean’s second YA novel, and a queer mystery which will have you on the edge of your seat, with so many twists and turns that even if you predict five of the twists there’ll be five more which will surprise you!
It focuses on four protagonists as they start production on the tv show Sunset High, a supposedly cursed television show currently on its second reboot: The original show caused the breakdown of the star and the 2010 reboot was followed by the star going missing and the death of a crew member from the top of a hotel, it seems destined that this 2023 reboot is doomed.
Abel Miller is hired to be one of the new stars, but he has a secret; Abel isn’t just there to act, he’s there to investigate the death of the crew member, his brother, and to expose the Omnificent production company for being complicit.
Abel is joined by Omni Channel’s best actors who are all going through their own troubles:
Ella Winter is becoming the lead actress of the show, but her inner life is in shambles, she’s fighting to have some autonomy between Omni trying to force her into a soul-selling contract, and with her abusive momager trying to control every decision, including who she’s seen as dating publicly.
Lucky Tate is the teenage heartthrob, with paparazzi and fans following his every move, but really he’s on the cusp of alcoholism, drinking to deal with the accidental death of his mother in a car accident while being chased by paparazzi. He’s been caught by paparazzi on a date with Ella, while still dating Ryan, at least publicly.
Ryan Hudson was the star of Omni but her role is seemingly being snatched by Ella, she has a tough exterior and seemingly no family, she’s had to fight for everything she got amid the racism of casting and racist views, as well as a new stalker making her home feel unsafe. Now with Lucky cheating on her it seems that she’s being pushed aside by everyone.
Abel has to work with the other three, while also passing on information about them to get help with his own attempt to get justice for his brother.
Dean used his background in celebrity journalism to portray a realistic inner world of celebrity, and working on a television set, in all its fake glory and lack of morals in an attempt to get viewers.
I absolutely loved this book. Having read and loved his previous YA book, The King is Dead, my standards for it were high, yet somehow he managed to not just meet but surpass them. The relationships formed between the characters are so natural, and the four eventually fit together like s puzzle, Dean also shows them being both young adults and mature for ages due to their backstories and working in the industry. He also shows the effects of grief and living under the spotlight on people, as well as being forced to stay closeted.
I look forward to any and every Benjamin Dean YA novel now!

An incredibly twisty and suspenseful mystery that has you on the edge of your seat. This was great and had me hooked from the first page, I loved the idea of a 'curse' and a long-term mystery. How To Die Famous is truly unputdownable and I read this in one sitting and I didn't see the end or all the twists coming. Overall this is an amazing YA thriller that I highly recommend.