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

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"

Fame, or an obsession with it, defines Rende's first book, a collection of 11 funny-sad, celebrity-informed, and overall entertaining stories of people trying to find fulfillment where it may not exist . . . While Rende's title could be true of all of us, it especially applies to her characters, who will easily slide into readers' minds and stay there.

Booklist

A terrific debut: fresh, original, and surprising. Eleven fast, sharp, funny stories laced with a deep understanding of the corrosive effect our fame-hungry attention economy has on real connection between people. Rende is such a witty, engaging writer, with an intuitive understanding that the short story is in the world to delight, engage, and enlarge the reader.

George Saunders, Booker Prize-winning author of LINCOLN IN THE BARDO

Sydney Rende's debut collection spoke to me from the first line, where a receptionist cold messages a celebrity to say they'd be a 'good match.' In these propulsive stories, the tattoo of a dead mom comes to life, a woman contemplates dumping her boyfriend after he gives her a kidney, and an infomercial actress is desperate to land the role of an unnamed junkie girlfriend. Lurking throughout is a disgraced leading man accused of cannibalism and up for the role of Dracula, a twisted thread linking them all. I Could Be Famous is sharp, darkly funny, and, in the words of the reality TV star from my favorite story, 'very anthropological.'

Anna Dorn, author of Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist EXALTED