‘Love Song of Jonny Valentine’

In prepping for his book about an adolescent pop star, author Teddy Wayne knew he had to do his research. That involved devouring hefty tomes by the likes of Tatum O’Neal and Drew Barrymore to learn about the realities of child stardom.

“They both felt exploited by those around them and those closest to them,” Wayne says, on the phone in Manhattan. “And in both their cases, they felt a sense of adult responsibility thrust on the shoulders of a child.”

Those are some of the issues that face the hero of “The Love Song of Jonny Valentine,” Wayne’s moving, funny and strangely fascinating portrait a fictional 11-year-old who is a huge star in the world of pop music. Jonny has to deal with a mom pushing him toward the spotlight and the massive marketing and exposure that go along with 21st-century fame.

“There have always been famous children, but you’re seeing a greater percentage of them as famous people out there,” says Wayne, 34. “These days, they’re much more exposed. Shirley Temple wasn’t on Twitter telling you what she ate that day or taking a picture of herself.”

Of course, Teddy is on Twitter, in both the literary sense and the literal one. Wayne has set up an account for Teddy (twitter.com/ TheRealJonny) and he’s picking up a healthy number of followers.

“It’s not clear to me if some of the followers know it’s a made-up character or not,” Wayne muses.

Indeed, because of Teddy’s An 11-year-old pop star is the protagonist in Teddy Wayne’s new novel. TEDDY WAYNE superficial similarities to a certain real-life pop star, the book has attracted an audience it probably wouldn’t have reached.

“I imagine some 12-year-olds will inadvertently pick it up, though they probably shouldn’t,” Wayne says. “Obviously people are going to compare it to Justin Bieber, but there are also many parallels with many other famous child celebrities. After you peel back some surface similarities, I don’t think this is at all how Justin Bieber speaks or acts.”

In Jonny’s case, he is saddled with Jane, a stage mother who exerts an overwhelming control over his career. It is to Wayne’s credit that the character does not emerge as a Dina Lohanstyle monster.

“What I tried to do was make her a single mom and show how hard her own life had been,” he explains. “Her husband left her, her parents have not been that Each month, and azcentral.com pick one title, fiction or non-fiction, that we think will entertain and shed light on who we are or where we've been. Selection for March: “The Love Song of Jonny Valentine” by Teddy Wayne (Simon and Schuster, $24.99). Why we picked it: A compelling book for many reasons, but also disturbing in what it has to say about celebrity culture. supportive and she herself has been stymied in her own professional aspirations. She deeply loves her son, but she lets her own ambition and greed get in the way at different times.”

In doing his research on reallife child stars, he came to a conclusion that is both startling and obvious.

“It’s not often an upper-middle-class ambition to make your kid famous,” he says. “It’s usually out of desperation and parents who want to live out their own frustrated dreams. Thinking, ‘Let’s find a way to monetize our child’ — that’s an interesting impulse.”

While writing the book, Wayne turned away from his usual diet of singer-songwriters and plugged into Bieber and One Direction to get in the mood (Jonny’s big hit is “Boys vs. Girls”). It also helped get him into the mind-set of Jonny.

“I’ll resist the urge to joke that I’m not much mentally older than 11 myself,” Wayne cracks.