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Prepare to meet Dani Truehart, a fifteen year old “Rising Star” who just wants to sing and dance and feel the music carry her to a higher place. It’s what she was meant to do. If it all just wasn’t so complicated.
Dani is a well-crafted, authentic and likable character; like all teenagers she is socially-driven and a mass of contradictory emotions and insecurities. Where Dani differs however, is in that she is supremely talented, yet at the same time, charmingly naive and intensely vulnerable.
Struggling with an overbearing, shallow and narcissistic mother; a floppily-backboned but kind and compassionate father; high school “mean-girl” enemies and rivals; and a boyfriend she would love to be able to spend more time with, Dani is a singing and dancing sensation and is on the path to achieving everything she ever dreamed of. The costs involved, though, are tremendous, and as Dani works to hone her craft and cultivate a successful stage persona, she learns she still has a long way to go towards discovering who she really is, deep inside, “when she leaves the stage at the end of the show”.
“Wondering if anything will ever feel normal again and if all these changes are worth what’s to come”, Dani faces difficult questions including :
- “Who am I if I don’t have my mother making all my decisions and dominating every aspect of my day?”
- “Isn’t it dishonest to try to be something I’m not”.
- And even more alarmingly – is she truly loved and will her relationships survive a wild and potentially incredibly lucrative career as a pop star? How can she possibly hold her heart safe during her crazy climb to stardom?
The first book of a series featuring Dani Truehart, “Rising Star” is an absorbing, compelling, YA story, which isn’t afraid to dive below the surface to tackle challenging questions that will be instantly relatable to all young adults. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series!
A great big thank you to the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.
