Ben is becoming an absolute powerhouse within UKYA and he has well and truly become an auto buy author for me now. This was well written, fun and very addictive. Bravo!

I tend to have a 50% hit rate when it comes to books about fictional fame and fictional famous people and I am happy to report that Benjamin Dean did not disappoint me.
This is my third book by this author and if I had to choose a favourite, How To Die Famous would take the crown (despite The King Is Dead might have a more fitting... title. Okay, I'll stop).
I was engaged from page one to the end, and I was enamoured with the characters, which were at the same time extremely annoying and extremely charming. Like most real people are, to be fair.
There was a relationship in here which had me screaming Lacy by Olivia Rodrigo from the top of my lungs, and I have to thank the author for doing this for me, even if the book came out way before the song did. I don't care.
I cannot wait to see what Benjamin Dean has in store for us next, I surely hope to read more YA thrillers from him, because it's one of my favourite genres and I am tired of reading straight white stories in it.
Let's go queers, let's go

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the second novel of Deans that I have read and I think I prefer it. It was a fun, queer, fast paced YA thriller with multiple POVs. Just a few things I really enjoy in a book. I liked the concept of this, it gives you an insight to how dark Hollywood can be. Especially how dangerous someone with power can be. As much as I enjoyed this I found that it was trying to do too many things at once and the characters I found to be a little bit annoying. Overall, I liked it.

This is one of those case when the YA category could be considered useless. This is a twisty and well plotted thriller with sharp observation about the show business and its dark side.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

i deeply regret not signing up to the king is dead tour because this was SOOOoo GOOD!!! everything i looove in a young adult mystery - drama, lies, gossip, fame, and (queer👀) love. ⠀
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this was actually insane with so many twists i couldn’t guess - and what on EARTH 🌎 was that ending ben?!?! fucks sake i hope there’s a sequel. ⠀
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seriously- once again another YA thriller to occupy the gap AGGGTM left in my soul but this one is QUEER 😌🌈🏳️‍🌈!? are you sold yet?

Thank you for the early copy to view.
Thank you for the early copy to view.
One of my favourite reads of the year.

Benjamin Dead aka the greatest YA author. so far everything i’ve read has been a hit and i knew this would be the same. i absolutely LOVED this <33

This one wasn’t for me and ended up being a DNF. I’m sure it would appeal to some but I don’t think I ‘got’ the things/people that were being referenced/parodied. Just felt like a bit of a mess of ideas and I didn’t grasp onto any part of it.

I really enjoyed The King is Dead and was looking forward to reading this new one from Benjamin Dean. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to read it before it was archived due to other commitments that took up my time. I’ll be buying a copy though for sure!

This was a fun book with some really great characters. However, it was fairly clear from the start where it was going, and was too predictable for my taste!

Benjamin Dean is so good at capturing the right moment and perfect tone for a book. Whether it is writing about an LGBT families, losing a loved parent, or something a bit more thriller-ish for his YA readers, he nails it each time. I loved How to Die Famous (though I am far from the target audience!) - sharp, fast paced, contemporary, just excellent. Highly recommended

I enjoyed this book. The ot was good and the ending was really good. Similar to others in tge same genre. Good representation.

Loved this so much read it in one sitting love the twists so much wow they kept on coming haha and the epilogue had me sitting in stunned silence

OH MY GOD, THIS BOOK. I love everything Benjamin Dean writes and I’m so glad this lived up to expectations. It is a rollercoaster of a thriller with no hope of guessing who’s telling the truth or what will be revealed next.

The story is told from four different POVs but their characters and backstories are distinctive enough that this is in no way confusing. Abel Miller, Ryan Hudson, Lucky Tate and Ella Winter look like poster kids on paper, the latter three being household names but as the plot develops, the true price of fame comes to light and the sinister undercurrents of show business reveal themselves. They are all inherently flawed characters, making them that much more believable as you get to know them.

How To Die Famous moves at a fast pace throughout but still manages to deal with serious themes like grief with the gravitas it deserves. I loved the mystery aspect, especially since I do usually prefer YA thrillers with a bit of a mystery in the plot. Dean’s writing is so easy to read too, making it easy to speed though (if you want to, obviously!). It definitely has A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder vibes and the less you know going into it, the better.

Honestly, I found this review really hard to write because I just want to keyboard smash and tell you all you NEED to read this book and that’s it. Grab yourself a hot drink, get comfortable and strap yourself in for a journey.

This is a really fun, dark, twisty YA murder mystery, kind of like if a murder happened on the set of a Gossip Girl revival. Builds towards a really exciting climax that piled a few twists on top of one another.

I already uploaded a rather long review discussing how much I ADORED this book, but it seems to have disappeared! As it was written a while ago, and I finished this book even longer ago, I cannot guarantee this one will be quite as detailed or extensive, but I'll do my best. Besides, it'll be a pleasure to think about How to Die Famous Again!

When I began reading this brilliant YA novel, I was honestly a bit worried; certain characters and plot points seemed eerily reminiscent of the tragic stories centered around the TV show Glee*. And while I'm sure that Glee and its actors were an influence on the author, it would be a huge disservice to only consider that when judging the merits of the book. There was so, so much more to it and it felt wholly original and unique to me. There wasn't a single thing I'd have changed in any of the chapters!
(*AKA the best TV show ever and also my favourite one.)

There was so much to love, from the multiple POVs to the enchanting settings (who knew that descriptions of airports could be so genuinely enthralling?!) and, of course, the AMAZING characters. They were all so well-written that it's almost impossible to choose a favourite... but, of course, I did. However, rather than explicitly reveal who that is, I'd like to note just a few reasons why each of the main four were so fabulous.

Abel: Our main character, and the one we are introduced to first. He's focused, determined and funny and, even with his faults, it's impossible not to love him. He had me hooked from the first page and, even when I predicted elements of his backstory and motivations, I never felt that he himself was predictable.
Lucky: I will admit I didn't like him at first; I thought he was just a regular annoying golden boy with a tragic backstory. But I was proven wrong! By about halfway through the story, I liked him every bit as much as I liked Abel.
Ella: I would gladly read an entire trilogy written about Ella. AUs where the events in this book don't happen; tales of her childhood; short stories throughout her career. The way she was written, and the way every other character interacted with her, it was all just PERFECTION.
Ryan: The only character I enjoyed reading about as much as Ella. (Though her relationship with Ella and the way it changed constantly was a huge part of why I loved Ryan! I related a lot to her throughout the novel.) She was so well-developed and interesting.

As you can probably tell, I believe all the characters were written flawlessly. Even the minor characters, from the villains to the sidekicks, were excellent, as was the entire plot. Plus, I'm very much hoping there is a sequel after the twist at the end! I'm devastated I haven't read any of Benjamin Dean's work before, and I will be rectifying that immediately.

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a lot of fun! A little unbelievable at times and more than a little messy in places but the tension is great, and celebrity culture and terrifying publicity / paps / studio machine stuff feels really nailed. You can’t help but feel for the main characters embroiled in it all.

Their personal relationships are a little all over the place - Ella and Ryan in particular, but also Abel and Lucky! There is also no forward thinking which makes you wonder how it all works out lol.

However, it’s definitely supposed to be a bit like that and it honestly leans into the suspense of it all for me. Plus Omni is clearly a sort of dark Disney esque company and I read this at Disney World so the vibes were on point! 😂

Would definitely recommend to people who enjoy suspense, mystery and conspiracy books! 4 stars.

Great book discussing a lot of the issues around child stars the likes of Disney & nIckelodeon employ and the people who destroy them in production. Felt like the main villain was a little obvious and the set up for the end was a bit contrived but I still enjoyed my read regardless

As soon as I read the synopsis for this, I knew I HAD to read it and I wasn’t at all disappointed!

The beginning pulled me in and while I did have a few moments of just kind of impatiently waiting for something to happen, the introduction to the characters and their individual dramas really brought each character to life and had you empathising with them and rooting for them!

Ultimately, I ended up glued to this because there’s twist after twist and some of them genuinely had me gasping out loud. I think I muttered a few “wtf’s” now and then as well because I really didn’t see some of them coming and the way it was all resolved? Perfection.

At least until the last chapter which had me screaming!

I thoroughly enjoyed getting hooked into this and reading through all the drama, I also find it quite believable as well actually! I’m really enjoying Dean’s work and I look forward to seeing what comes next!

It's always fun to come across a book that reminds me of everything I love about YA. How to Die Famous is definitely one of these books. With four queer protagonists embroiled in a manipulative industry, it doesn't hold back in showing the dark side of Hollywood.

I loved the four characters so much. I think Ella and Ryan were my favourites because I'm always a sucker for a Sapphic couple. Abel was probably the character I liked the least, but I still liked him a lot. Each character was strong and had their own issues going on, but they were so strong together.

The ending was clever, as all mystery endings should be. I guessed some stuff, but there was still plenty to surprised me.

Read for a great mystery and fantastic characters!