THREE GIRLS AND THEIR BROTHER

Four teenage siblings, suddenly spotlit by fame, are forced to take responsibility when the grownups in their lives offer inadequate guidance.

Playwright Rebeck’s first novel is a wickedly enjoyable exposé of modern celebrity; the cruel power wielded by fashionistas, PR minders, agents, paparazzi, Hollywood stars and entourages; and above all the perils of becoming an overexposed young star. It’s the Heller sisters’ red hair (and their famous grandfather’s reputation) that first gets them noticed. After “insanely beautiful” Daria, Polly and Amelia (18, 17 and 14 respectively) are photographed for the New Yorker, they are dubbed the next big thing. Soon the snowball of fame is gathering speed, but Amelia nearly derails it when she bites an aging, lecherous movie action hero who gropes her at the W bar. An apology on Regis and Kelly smoothes things over, and the show is back on the road, with modeling shoots for Elle, Vogue and Glamour. Then Amelia is invited to appear in an off-Broadway play, which renders her more famous and more vulnerable than her sisters. The fourth sibling is Philip, whose protectiveness toward Amelia gets him expelled from their Brooklyn home and sent to live with their divorced father. The siblings take turns narrating the story, and Rebeck’s dramatic skills are evident in the youthful, often profane voices. A farcical shootout of a conclusion in a chic hotel, with the brother and sisters trying to save Amelia’s virtue, drives home the book’s message: The desire to be famous is a contagious disease of infinite proportions.

A timely and entertaining modern morality tale.