Review
Amy Rossi delivers a powerful debut with The Cover Girl. Taking place in 70s/80s NYC/LA, readers get an intimate look at the unforgiving world of modeling and fashion, as well as the toxic culture of the music industry through the eyes of an underage girl. While the narrative comes with plenty of potentially triggering content, we see a heartbreaking coming-of-age journey through Birdie’s first-person POV.
From the beginning, readers might be able to see the writing on the wall from the way Birdie thinks of herself. This low sense of self-worth at such a crucial age paves the way for the 31-year-old rock star to sink his claws into her. Unfortunately, the other adults in her life fail to protect her from the downward spiral that begins from there. But watching the fall of Birdie makes the healing journey much more rewarding – even if it takes decades to get there.
I wanted to shake Birdie at times while reading The Cover Girl. But the former teenage girl in me remembers what it was like to fall in love and feel special. To put up with disrespect in fear of being left behind. Rossi connects with readers this way. Because after all, it’s easier to see the big picture when you’re outside the frame.
The story is definitely character driven with a medium-to-slow paced plot. We never get dialogue from Birdie – she only relays what she said, and how she responded to other characters’ dialogue. I don’t think this writing style is my favorite. But the story itself made up for it. At the end of the day, I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy historical fiction with a “behind the scenes” aspect.
Ami Rossi joins the Cantina Book Club Podcast to talk about her writing journey and inspiration for this story. Keep an ear out for the episode and get a copy of The Cover Girl, available now.
Potential trigger warnings include sexual assault, grooming, child neglect, verbal abuse, self-harm, substance abuse, child abuse, and infidelity.
Book
Birdie Rhodes was only thirteen when legendary modeling agent Harriet Goldman discovered her in a department store and transformed her into one of Harriet’s Girls. What followed felt like the start of something incredible, a chance for shy Birdie to express herself in front of the camera. But two years later, she meets a thirty-one-year-old rock star, and her teenage heart falls hard as he leads her into a new life, despite Harriet’s warnings. Then, as abruptly as it began, it’s over, like a lipstick-smeared fever dream. Birdie tries hard to forget that time—starting over in Paris, in the dying embers of the LA punk scene, in Boston at the height of the AIDS crisis. She’s not that person anymore. At least, that’s what she’s been telling herself.
Decades later, Birdie lives a quiet life. She works modest gigs, takes Pilates and mostly keeps to herself. Maybe it’s not the glamor she once envisioned, but it’s peaceful. Comfortable. Then a letter arrives, inviting Birdie to celebrate Harriet’s fifty-year career. Except Birdie hasn’t spoken to her in nearly thirty years—with good reason.
Almost famous, almost destroyed, Birdie can only make her own future if she reckons with her past—the fame, the trauma, the opportunities she gave up for a man who brought her into a life she wasn’t ready for. Just like she’s not ready now. But the painful truth waits for nobody. Not even Birdie Rhodes.
Told in two timelines, this striking debut novel explores the dizzying fallout of being seen and not heard in a high-stakes industry that leaves no silhouette unscathed.Â
