I Could Be Famous

Rende debuts with a nimble collection of 11 stories that dart from one blearily ambitious and deludedly self-assured young woman to another with occasional detours into the life of former child star Arlo Banks. In “Nothing Special,” Jane, bored with her boyfriend and her receptionist job, sends a DM to Banks, claiming they’d make a good match. She then befriends a beautiful influencer named Ramona, who helps Jane boost her follower count. Jane hopes Ramona will help make her famous by matching her with a celebrity, only to discover that Ramona has actually been grooming her for sex work. Arlo takes center stage in “Trick,” “fabulously depressed” after a breakup and accused of gnawing off someone’s pinky toe (“Cannibal or Not, Arlo Banks Is Still Hot,” reads a tabloid headline). In the darkly funny and emotionally searching “Lopsided,” narrator Lauren faces the fact that she really wants to leave her boyfriend, who has just donated a kidney to her, but doesn’t know how to (“It was as if he had gotten down on one knee and said, Take this kidney and love me forever, or die,” Lauren thinks). Throughout, Rende demonstrates a fond regard for her characters, despite their dubious choices. Readers won’t be able to help cheering them on. (Jan.)