Starry-Eyed: 16 Stories that Steal the Spotlight
*Starred Review* For any teen who has dreamed of being a star, this will serve as both encouragement and a reality check. YA authors like Alex Flinn, Aimee Friedman, and Garret Freymann-Weyr weave mesmerizing stories of talented kids whose lives revolve around music, drama, and the arts. They’ll meet videographers Stringbean and Goose; Becca First, Meghan’s rival for every solo and every role, but keeper of a sad secret; and the vanished Maia Crane, spotted during a bizarre production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Juxtaposed with each short story is an anecdote from artists familiar and less so: Clay Aiken, Andrea McArdle, Montego Glover, and Anthony Fedorov. The amalgam of swoon-worthy and unfamiliar household names is a reminder that TV, Broadway, movies, and records provide myriad opportunities for happiness and career satisfaction, if not fame and fortune. The short stories themselves, each of which is memorable for unique characters and situations, spotlight the importance of the arts in the growth and development—and even the survival—of a large portion of the teenage population. Complex and focused on far more than art as a high-school extracurricular, thisbreaks a leg in the finest sense of the word. Grades 7-12. --Frances Bradburn