Hollywood Car Wash

Summary: Amy Spencer is an accidental celebrity. On Monday, she’s a normal college student in Michigan. By the end of the week, she’s in Hollywood, starring in a TV pilot-- as a regular girl from Michigan. It’s all fun and games until the show gets picked up and Amy learns the terrible price of stardom—to keep the part she didn’t even want at first, she’s going to have to get the “Hollywood Car Wash” to make her more marketable. First, she’ll have to lose twenty pounds. She’ll also need new teeth, blonder hair, and a megastar boyfriend with a big secret. By changing everything from her weight to her hair to her name, Amy slowly learns that the only way to survive in Hollywood is to lose herself.

Based on true Hollywood events and people, this fresh and funny novel about the ins and outs of the Hollywood game will leave the reader wondering-- who is Star?

Review: A Hollywood car wash, according to author Lori Culwell, is the transformation process imposed on women in the entertainment industry. The novel details the hollywood car wash heroine Amy Spencer is pressured to under go including liposuction, rhinoplasty, cosmetic dentistry, and dangerous diet drugs to keep the lead in her hit television series. Nor is the transformation process limited to Amy's physical appearance, but also spills over into her personal life when she is paid to date mega celebrity Brad Rockwell.

For those who haven't heard the rumors, Hollywood Car Wash is whispered to be about Katie Holmes. Culwell denies that the novel is based only on a single person, but rather states that "it is a number of true stories interwoven . . . ." Culwell explains her inspiration came from "the complete nonchalance with which my actress friends were told to lose weight, 'get better looking,' or change something about themselves in order to get or keep a part. This, combined with the downright absurdity of some of the stories about the business I heard and experiences I witnessed first-hand, convinced me that there was a novel in there somewhere."

Regardless of whether Hollywood Car Wash is based on Katie Holmes or not, it reads like an insider's guide to the industry. From the amoral producers and agents to the backstabbing costars Hollywood Car Wash serves up delicious dirt! Culwell's tome is the perfect beach companion!