“The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly” :: Our January Wicked Good Moms Book Club Pick

Atmospheric and unputdownable, “The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly” by Katherine A. Sherbrooke is filled with lovable but flawed characters and centers on the conflict between ambition and motherhood that so many women face. When we first learned the book’s author was from the Boston area, we knew it was the perfect first selection for the Wicked Good Moms Book Club!

With alternating timelines between 1940s Hollywood and the 1970s Broadway scene in New York, we follow Aster Kelly on her journey from model to mother. After winning a prestigious fashion-design contest, 20-year-old Aster flees the world of modeling in New York City and arrives in Hollywood at the height of its glamorous Golden Age, where she lands an apprenticeship with Fernando Tivoli, top designer to the studio starlets of the time. 

Aster and Fernando quickly become entangled with Hollywood power players, learning the hard way that no one is who they seem behind the glitz of the big screen. As Aster’s ambitions grow and she faces a crisis, and Fernando’s future is threatened by the judgmental Hollywood machine, Aster makes a decision that changes the trajectory of their lives forever.

Fast forward 25 years later, Aster’s daughter Lissy is on the cusp of Broadway stardom. With little more than a basic knowledge of her mother’s time in Hollywood, Lissy allows herself to be promoted as a second-generation starlet to help promote her debut show. When long-buried secrets blindside them both, mother and daughter are forced to question everything they thought they knew to be true about themselves and the people they love.

Join us for a discussion with Katherine on Instagram Live on January 25 at 8 p.m. We’ll be discussing “The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly,” how motherhood influences Katherine’s work, and how a busy mom of two finds the time to write!

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