A Good Bad Boy: Luke Perry and How a Generation Grew Up By Margaret Wappler

An artful and contemplative tribute to the late actor famed for his role as Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills, 90210 .

Best known for playing loner rebel Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills 90210 , Luke Perry was fifty-two years old when he died of a stroke in 2019. There have been other deaths of 90’s stars, but this one hit different. Gen X was reminded of their own inescapable mortality, and robbed of an exciting career resurgence for one of their most cherished icons—with recent roles in the hit series Riverdale and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood bringing him renewed attention and acclaim. Only upon his death, as stories poured out online about his authenticity and kindness, did it become clear how little was known about the exceedingly humble actor and how deeply he impacted popular culture.

In A Good Bad Boy , Margaret Wappler attempts to understand who Perry was and why he was unique among his Hollywood peers. To do so, she uses an inventive hybrid narrative. She speaks with dozens who knew Perry personally and professionally. They share insightful how he kept connected to his Ohio upbringing; nearly blew his 90210 audition; tried to shed his heartthrob image by joining the HBO prison drama Oz ; and in the last year of his life, sought to set up two of his newly divorced friends. (After his death, the pair bonded in their grief and eventually married.) Amid these original interviews and exhaustive archival research, Wappler weaves poignant vignettes of memoir in which she serves as an avatar to show how Perry shaped a generation’s views on masculinity, privilege and the ideal of “cool.”

Timed to the fifth anniversary of Perry’s death, A Good Bad Boy is a profound and entertaining examination of what it means to be an artist and an adult.

As a millennial whose sister loved watching 90210 during the times where I would of love to be watching cartoons; I was very excited to read this. I honestly thought this would be something else. But instead, I found the way this book was written to be unique in the sense that the chapters in the book were split between a biography about Luke and a memoir of the author. I also felt like since the synopsis was so centered around Luke Perry’s image and influence on a generation that it would honestly be a more in-depth look into the actor’s life. So, this was bait and switch. A little razzle dazzle from the author and publisher to boost sales that, fell short because once you get into it there’s no real substance. I'm a little disappointed

 

And as always Happy Reading!!!

**Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a free copy for an honest review.