Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? By Sarah McCoy

 

Title:  Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely?

Author:  Sarah McCoy

Narrated by:  Cassandra Campbell, Helen Laser, Stephanie Németh-Parker

Publisher: William Morrow

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 11 minutes

Source: Audiobook purchased from Audible and hard cover copy from the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

Do you have a favorite film star from the 1960s?  I love classic films.  One of my favorite stars of the 1960s is Julie Andrews.

Lou Tibbott is struggling to finish her senior thesis in American history in 1990.  She suddenly is inspired to write about her Aunt Lori.  Lori was a 23-year-old Hollywood starlet who gave it up all up in 1969 to become a Benedictine nun.  Why did Lori choose to leave her Hollywood life and become a nun?  Prior to this, Lori had denied all interviews, so the world is still wondering.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was the January read for the Brenda Novak book group, but I just got to it in April.  I’m running behind!

·       This was a dual narrative novel.  One narrative focused on Lou in 1990 interviewing her aunt and the other narrative is her aunt’s story set in the 1960s.

·       I had a hard time thinking about how Aunt Lori would only be in her 40s in 1990s and not an old aging nun.

·       This was great on audiobook with interesting narrators.

·       I guessed how the book would end, but it was still entertaining.

·       I love Hollywood stories and the making of old movies.  Lori was the star of a Romeo and Juliet film with a handsome heartthrob, Lucas Wesley.

·       I loved that in the afterward, Sarah McCoy stated that it was based on the story of three real life classic actresses.  McCoy had correspondence with former actress now nun Dolores Hart and also met her. 

·       The section of the novel where Lori is discovered through the display of her portrait in the family store reminded me of how Lana Turner was discovered.

·       I love the cover of this book!

·       I also loved how Lori found the people and life she was looking for by going to the Catholic faith and becoming a nun.

·       This is a character driven historical fiction novel with found family, romance, and romantic drama.

·       Part of this novel was set in Italy.

Overall, Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? By Sarah McCoy is an intriguing historical fiction novel set in 1960s Hollywood with family drama and romance.