Door to Door

A small-town girl turned linchpin of the Los Angeles Club scene draws on her years working the door of Hollywood's hottest clubs.

In this edgy, frenetic fictionalized memoir, a small-town girl turned linchpin of the Los Angeles club scene draws on her intoxicating but conflicted years working the door of Hollywood's hottest clubs to pen a striking story of ambition, loss, and love.
After growing up in idyllic Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, seventeen-year-old Tobi leaves behind a childhood that was anything but idyllic and chases her dreams of modeling to New York. When the Big Apple turns out to be a bust, Tobi finds her way to L.A. and to the fringes of the film world elite. Hungry for an "in" she gets busy barhopping, party-going, and producer-hunting, eventually falling into a beautiful but complicated relationship with a famous actor. Though her own acting career never takes off, a chance encounter lands her a job working the door of an old friend's club. A whole new world opens up.
Raw and revealing, Door to Door is both an unprecedented glimpse into the L.A. club scene and the riveting story of a girl who puts it all on the line for her chance to become somebody.

Sally Tibbetts - KLIATT

You can open many doors in your life, but it's the ones that you shut that will make the difference. For Tobi, life in the fast lane is what it is all about. It doesn't matter who she hurts and where she has to go-she is determined to get there. "There" is what she considers success. Young and beautiful, from a hard childhood in Michigan, Tobi decided early on that she wanted to make the big time. Maybe she will be a model (she has the looks) or maybe a movie star. After many starts and stops along the way and on a temporary basis, Tobi takes the job of being the "door person" at a couple of nightspots in Los Angeles. Life does not improve, except in a monetary way. As Tobi makes the decisions about who gets into the club or who doesn't, she learns to survive a hard-edged nightlife that eventually takes a terrible toll. She meets glamorous people-movie stars, producers, models, directors-all must go through Tobi's Door to get in the swanky clubs. She must have bodyguards at all times because she receives threats. She discovers that she has a natural talent: she knows how to gauge the crowd, knows how to pick the right people, knows when to pick and choose. She works hard and her reputation as a bitch works for her in this business. She works at night, sleeps during the day, drinks too much and to keep herself relaxed, she smokes joints. The hardness around her makes her numb. She knows she is dying. She knows she must get out and eventually she is actually able to make the break. Tobi opens another door and this one takes her to a church service with her friend Charlotte. As this book ends, you know that Tobi's real life is just beginning. Librarians and teachers need to know that Tobi'slanguage is pretty raw, but reflective of her life. This first, semi-autobiographical novel is a riveting story of a young womans spiritual journey that teens will find very appealing. KLIATT Codes: S-Recommended for senior high school students. 2003, Pocket Books, MTV, 259p., Ages 15 to 18.

Tobi Tobin lives in Malibu, California. This is her first book.