RISING STAR

A talented teenage girl begins a life-changing journey to pop-star fame.

In the first installment of first-time author Kwasniewski’s series, 15-year-old Dani Truehart has already spent several years honing her singing voice and dance moves. Not even her pushy, critical, eyes-on-the-monetary-prize mom has dimmed Dani’s passion to pursue a career as a performer. (“My mother never stops. She is unrelenting, unforgiving, and utterly determined to make me into a star.”) When Dani’s dance mentor, Martin, a former boy-band star, arranges to have Dani audition for the agent/producer who once represented him, she is on her way to attaining her dream. Yes, there are rather unsurprising hitches and challenges that get in her way—Dani’s disillusionment with her mom and ineffectual father, her fear of losing her boyfriend in her trajectory toward stardom, and her sadness at her lack of social life (“My friends are living their lives without me. I feel like I’m missing out”)—but she is more than prepared to make the necessary sacrifices. Dani is a well-rounded lead; we see her self-absorption as well as her drive to succeed and transcendent vocal talent. And, although other characters exist primarily as her satellites, Martin’s empathy and warmth feel rooted in life experience. Kwasniewski’s background in film and television production provides authenticity, and she evocatively limns the world Dani finds herself in as she works to get signed with a major record label: vocal practice, dance lessons and choreography, gym workouts, costume fittings, makeup and hair consultations, lessons in how to handle the press, work with a temperamental songwriter, etc. It’s heady stuff when Dani’s songs get airplay, social media takes notice, and she begins doing interviews and making publicity appearances. Will Dani’s burgeoning fame be the happily-ever-after it seems poised to be? The sequel, Burning Bright (2021), seems likely to reveal the answer.

Relatable YA fiction with a strong star and an informed, behind-the-scenes setting.