The stories feature characters fumbling for real life amid porn and reality TV, and a prose register that includes both pathos and satire. What's not to like?

The Boston Globe

Sydney Rende's debut shines a light on what we're all most concerned about these days: how we're perceived. I Could Be Famous is a collection of eleven quippy and relatable anecdotes from ten female narrators, with one twisted, hotshot male actor connecting them all. Each woman shares-in their own way-their various desires and dreams, yet are so hung up on the potential of failure, or what other people might think about them. Rende's short stories are brilliant, and convince readers that, with enough confidence (or potentially lack thereof) and delusion, that we all, one day, could be famous.

Vogue, "Best Books of the Year"

Rende deftly shows the balancing act between the online and performative world in which we increasingly live and the rich, complicated interior lives of her characters. These impressive stories lay bare the hidden worlds of both the very online and those living adjacent to the spotlight or earning for it, for better or worse . . . Entertaining and readable stories offering a unique view into this moment of the Anthropocene.

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Rende has a knack for conveying ribald humor . . . The dialogue is snappy and propulsive and these stories have a fluidity and contemporary quality, a fleetingness characteristic of our time . . . Although this collection is centered on women of a certain age, the arc of Arlo Banks, swinging from teen heartthrob to post-fame confusion and loneliness, provides a thematic impetus. The desire to be seen and recognized all too often comes with a cost.

California Review of Books

Darkly funny and emotionally searching . . . Throughout, Rende demonstrates a fond regard for her characters, despite their dubious choices. Readers won't be able to help cheering them on.

Publishers Weekly

The stories are easy in all the right ways--easy to laugh, easy to love, easy to want to re-read--and challenging in all the right ways. Rende writes about women in such a smart way, allowing their strengths and flaws to shine equally.

Debutiful, "Most Anticipated"