*Starred Review* She was just big-boned, big-nose Sarah living in Brenton, Ohio, where, as she puts it, "committing suicide would be redundant." Then she meets Demi, who is trying hard to be invisible--surprisingly easy considering he's black and gay. Alone they are, well . . . alone, but brought together by their love of musical theater, they light up. All this might sound like a stereotypical take on gay men and the women who love them, and there is some of that, but there's also so much more. The renamed Sayde and Demi make their way to a summer theater camp, and that's where things change. Encouraged to become part of the ensemble, Sayde finds she is too opinionated to do that, even as it turns out that she is less talented than she believed. At the same time, Demi is discovering that he's a star who can hang out with actual boyfriends rather than Sayde. Lockhart mixes this all up neatly. Most of the story is told in a bright, bitchy voice that, while familiar, is very smart and very funny; transcripts of tapes made for "posterity" add delicious detail. Although it's hard to say what kids who aren't into musical comedy will make of the myriad detail offered here (
Birdie! Cabaret! Cats! ), theater lovers will applaud, and everyone else will appreciate the twists and the ending you don't see coming.
Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
About the Author
E. Lockhart is the author of The Boyfriend List, Fly on the Wall, and The Boy Book. She once portrayed both Peter Quince and a tree in a drama school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, wearing an electric-blue unitard. Her theatrical career ended soon after.
