Monday, August 30, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Star Island (Knopf, $26.95) 
is Carl Hiaasen’s hilarious spin on life in the celebrity fast lane. Meet twenty-two-year-old Cherry Pye (née Cheryl Bunterman), a pop star since she was fourteen—and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster. Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her “undercover stunt double,” Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too “indisposed”—meaning wasted—to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott. Now the challenge for Cherry’s handlers (über–stage mother; horndog record producer; nipped, tucked, and Botoxed twin publicists; weed whacker–wielding bodyguard) is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry’s public—and from Cherry herself. The situation is more complicated than they know. Ann has had a bewitching encounter with Skink—the unhinged former governor of Florida living wild in a mangrove swamp—and now he’s heading for Miami to find her . . .Will Bang Abbott achieve his fantasy of a lucrative private photo session with Cherry Pye? Will Cherry sober up in time to lip-synch her way through her concert tour? Will Skink track down Ann DeLusia before Cherry’s motley posse does? Tickets are required for this event and are available at all Books & Books locations, beginning August 3rd. Purchase a copy of Star Island ($26.95 + tax) at any Books & Books store and you will receive a FREE ticket to the event, while supplies last. The ticket includes entry to the Garden, a wine & cheese reception sponsored by Whole Foods and the Talk/Reading/Booksigning with Carl Hiaasen.
www.booksandbooks.com