Star Island

By: Carl Hiaasen

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

A hilarious spin on life in the celebrity fast lane from “Florida’s most entertainingly indignant social critic” (New York Times Book Review) and the bestselling author of Squeeze Me.

Meet twenty-two-year-old Cherry Pye (née Cheryl Bunterman), a pop star since she was fourteen—and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster.

Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her “undercover stunt double,” Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too “indisposed”—meaning wasted—to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott.

Now the challenge for Cherry’s handlers (über–stage mother; horndog record producer; nipped, tucked, and Botoxed twin publicists; weed whacker–wielding bodyguard) is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry’s public—and from Cherry herself.

The situation is more complicated than they know. Ann has had a bewitching encounter with Skink—the unhinged former governor of Florida living wild in a mangrove swamp—and now he’s heading for Miami to find her….

Will Bang Abbott achieve his fantasy of a lucrative private photo session with Cherry Pye? Will Cherry sober up in time to lip-synch her way through her concert tour? Will Skink track down Ann DeLusia before Cherry’s motley posse does?

©2010 Carl Hiaasen (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

“Carl Hiaasen [is] Florida’s most entertainingly indignant social critic... He presents us with Cherry Pye, a 22-year-old pop star whose every display of narcissistic excess will send a frisson of horrified delight up your spine... The outlandish events soar on the exuberance of Hiaasen’s manic style, a canny blend of lunatic farce and savage satire.” (New York Times Book Review)

“Fans of Carl Hiaasen will feel right at home when they plunge into Star Island. There’s the familiar collection of deliciously tawdry characters, each angling for a piece of the action in Florida... And there’s the fast-moving plot, and the writing that makes you laugh out loud... Hiaasen has turned out another gem. Readers of his previous novels can settle in for more wacky fun in the Florida sun.” (Associated Press)

“Hiaasen is at his gleeful best skewering the morally bankrupt. He has plenty to poke fun at here, from a reprehensible real-estate developer with an excruciating groin injury to twin publicists Botoxed within an inch of their lives. This is classic Hiaasen - demented, hilarious, and utterly over the top.” (Booklist, starred review)

Not His Best

Just Ok. Too many sordid details about characters in beginning; got better toward the end of story.

Worth the listen

What made the experience of listening to Star Island the most enjoyable?

Colorfull characters as usual with plenty of action. kept me laughing the whole way

Who was your favorite character and why?

Skink, he is a constant in the Hiassen stories

Have you listened to any of Stephen Hoye???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

not really

Any additional comments?

out of the box cast and worth the listen

Classic Hiaasen

The author finds an already unique cultural phenomenon or subculture and fills it with "bad guy(s)" and weirdos. Contrast the few truly rational people to highlight the weirdness of the others and bam, instant incongruity = comedy.
Give a bad guy(s) some bizarre features or behaviors and you have the recipe for a Hiaasen's unique type of humor (a low life with a heart of gold or at sometimes just bronze).
Presented HERE is the very relevant topic of "manufactured pop icon" (with minimal REAL talent) and media papparazzi into both worlds one we get a glimpse although I have no idea how thorough is the author's research into these subjects, they ring true enough for the ridicule intended.
The major criticism of THIS book is that ending seemed simply truncated, as if the editor and/or author couldn't be bothered to tie it all up far more neatly.
Much has been said about the narrator but I found that the "bad guy" voices sounded as if the narrator had listened to the previous books and matched their gruff tones quite well.
Skink (yet another "crazed" character) has a fairly minor role in this book so I can't see criticizing his narration.
In all the narration fits the satire the prose suggests. After several books one may start to tire of this formula, it was funny for many of his books but after a while you realize the author has few other tricks up his sleeve other than a new subject. The writing is all way over the top which is the source of the humor. Everyone is a parody but some occasionally have moments of cultural insight or brilliance (such a "low life" with some redeeming qualities). Those bits are the priceless bits these but still.. these to ME..are becoming a "by the numbers" format. This isn't a BAD book for Hiaasen, if you like him you'll like this. If you prefer only his BEST, this a good effort (B grade) but no A+.

epic

the best of Hiassen. satire, wit and irony. a 100 laugh out loud moments. great to see the governor

Hilarious

This book is a hilarious but also fresh take on fame and celebrity culture. Frankly its also a really accurate depiction of Florida meets Hollywood. The tone is one of satire but sadly it's probably not too far from reality. I would say the strong point of the story is a fantastic cast of characters that kept me interested. I don't know what the other listeners are whining about in terms of the performance. The narrator does a great job with the different characters. Highly recommend.

Classic Hiaasen

A great listen! Classic Hiaasen with all the quirky characters and the crazy plot. I highly recommend it if you are a fan and even if you aren't its just a funny read.

Entertaining

Fun story, entertaining and outlandish. Plot is so so. I’ll give his other books a try.

first time I ever gave a average review for Carl.

did not like the narrator I'm so used to the other guy who does the gravely voice for skink

Laugh Out Loud

I just loved this book. As always, Hiaasen is such a fun listen/read. This story is a terrific satire on our obsession with fame and the famous. The main character and her entourage are appropriately obnoxious and annoying, so much so that I found myself laughing out loud ...more than once embarrassing myself in public.
The story has elements of mystery, romance (sorta), sex, drugs, and lots of bad music.
Chemo and Skink, my favorites, are major characters in this book.
I thought that the narrator was fine, although I have listened to many of Hiaasen's books, I am not so attached to the other narrators as some reviewers seem to be.
Have fun listening.

Very enjoyable

I listened to this straight through and enjoyed it immensely. Generally, his books have more of an ecological theme and a discussion of the hazards of overbuilding the Florida coast but this book is just a fun discussion of the gossip rage that surrounds us now.