Phil in SF reviewed Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
Can a regular person and a celebrity fall in love?
4 stars
A romance that does a good job exploring what it means to be a celebrity (the love interest) and what it's like to have one's life dependent on celebrity (the main character). Chani Horowitz is a writer who specializes in celebrity puff pieces. Gabe Parker is the celebrity she's had a crush on since she was young. Chani is assigned to interview Gabe. At that point in her life she's a decent writer but not really a good interviewer, and the interview itself goes sideways. However, she manages to pull out a decent article based on a weekend spent with Gabe. Because Gabe is, of course, smitten with Chani.
The book jumps between that interview, the piece Chani wrote, and a second interview 10 years later, after Chani's career has taken off and Gabe's has taken a downturn. The parts 10 years later are much more interesting to read. By …
A romance that does a good job exploring what it means to be a celebrity (the love interest) and what it's like to have one's life dependent on celebrity (the main character). Chani Horowitz is a writer who specializes in celebrity puff pieces. Gabe Parker is the celebrity she's had a crush on since she was young. Chani is assigned to interview Gabe. At that point in her life she's a decent writer but not really a good interviewer, and the interview itself goes sideways. However, she manages to pull out a decent article based on a weekend spent with Gabe. Because Gabe is, of course, smitten with Chani.
The book jumps between that interview, the piece Chani wrote, and a second interview 10 years later, after Chani's career has taken off and Gabe's has taken a downturn. The parts 10 years later are much more interesting to read. By then, Chani has a personality besides "has imposter syndrome" and "has a crush on Gabe Parker".
