Act Up (Book Review: The Actress, Amy Sohn)

The hype around Amy Sohn's "The Actress" is that the novel is based on the marriage of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. That was enough enticement for me, and I was expecting juicy details. It's a false promise, though. In my mind, the main character, Maddy Freed, seemed more Nicole Kidman than Katie, and the Steven Weller character, resembles George Clooney more than Tom Cruise. I am sure the characters here are composites of peopel anyway, and that goes with the details as well. The story is also kind of run-of-the-mill. Sohn's imagination isn't as vivid as I wanted it to be, and there were no details that shocked me, and some twists and turns were very predictable. Still, it was a page-turner. i wanted it to challenge me more, but some scenes were closer to camp.  The whole thing is closer to a soap opera, and I think it would be a good basis for a night time soap - or a television mini series. It's enjoyable, but not earth-shattering.