Book ~ "Brat: An '80s Story" (2021) Andrew McCarthy

From Goodreads ~ Most people know Andrew McCarthy from his movie roles in Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire, Weekend at Bernie's, and Less than Zero, and as a charter member of Hollywood's Brat Pack. That iconic group of ingenues and heartthrobs included Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, and Demi Moore, and has come to represent both a genre of film and an era of pop culture.

In his memoir Brat: An '80s Story, McCarthy focuses his gaze on that singular moment in time. The result is a revealing look at coming of age in a maelstrom, reckoning with conflicted ambition, innocence, addiction, and masculinity. New York City of the 1980s is brought to vivid life in these pages, from scoring loose joints in Washington Square Park to skipping school in favor of the dark revival houses of the Village where he fell in love with the movies that would change his life. Filled with personal revelations of innocence lost to heady days in Hollywood with John Hughes and an iconic cast of characters, Brat is a surprising and intimate story of an outsider caught up in a most unwitting success.

Andrew McCarthy is an American actor, travel writer and television director. He is known as a member of the Brat Pack (hence the title), with roles in 1980s films such as St. Elmo's Fire, Pretty in Pink and Less Than Zero.  I've seen Pretty in Pink about a million times and watched St. Elmo's Fire a couple months ago for the first time since it came out.  So when I saw McCarthy had written a book, I thought I'd check it out as I like reading bios/autobios.

McCarthy starts off with his childhood, growing up one of three sons.  He wasn't overly interested in school but when the acting bug bit him in high school, he figured he would study it in university for two years and then make it big ... and that's basically what happens.  He masks his insecurities by drinking, which gets out of control.  He enters rehab in 1992 and hasn't use alcohol or drugs since.  He has gone on to be a travel writer and novelist.

I thought this book was okay.  It's written at a very high level and doesn't get into any detail.  It ends with him getting out of rehab in 1992 and the last chapter is a brief overview of what he has done since.  There is a brief mention of his marriages (but not his children) and what he has been doing for the last 30 years.  There are pictures scattered throughout the book.

Book ~ "Just Fly Away" (2017) Andrew McCarthy

From Goodreads ~ When fifteen-year-old Lucy Willows discovers that her father has a child from a brief affair, a eight-year-old boy named Thomas who lives in her own suburban New Jersey town, she begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her family and her life. 

Lucy can’t believe her father betrayed the whole family, or that her mother forgave him, or that her sister isn’t rocked by the news the way Lucy is. Worse, Lucy’s father’s secret is now her own, one that isolates her from her friends, family, and even her boyfriend, Simon, the one person she expected would truly understand. 

When Lucy escapes to Maine, the home of her mysteriously estranged grandfather, she finally begins to get to the bottom of her family’s secrets and lies. 

I caught the last half hour of Pretty in Pink (1986) a couple weeks ago (I've seen that movie about a million times) and I wondered what Andrew McCarthy is up to these days.  So I Googled him and discovered he'd written a novel.  The premise sounded interesting so I thought I'd check it out.

Lucy is 15-years-old, the oldest of two girls.  She's shocked when her parents disclose that nine years ago her father had had a one-time fling.  The woman got pregnant and is now raising their eight-year-old son, Thomas, on her own (her choice).  Lucy's father had told her mother about it at the time and she forgave him and they carried on.  Lucy isn't able to forgive her parents for keeping the fact she has a brother a secret, her father for the fling or her mother for forgiving him for what he had done.

School ends for the summer and Lucy needs to get away for a while.  She spontaneously jumps on a Greyhound bus heading to her paternal grandfather's.  She has only met him once but has fond memories of him.  Her father and his father don't get along, hence the estrangement.  Spending time with her grandfather, not only does she get to know her grandfather but she also gets to know more about her own father.

Though this book is directed to young adults (and it's been a long time since I've been a young adult), I liked it.  Despite the target audience, the story kept me interested.  I liked the writing style and thought it flowed well.  It is written in first person perspective in Lucy's voice.  As a head's up, there is some swearing and adult activity between Lucy and her boyfriend, Simon.