Razorbill, 2008
My to-read list feels like it's about four miles long a lot of the time, and too often the situation arises where I am only able to get to a book years later because I keep getting wrapped up in new releases, series, and other things that make up my life. So when I was searching for something to read that would be on the lighter side but still a bit wacky, I was so happy to see Audrey, Wait! was on the shelf at my library because I've been meaning to read it forever.
Audrey is, by every measure, your average, ordinary girl. She goes to school (which is bearable enough). She has an after school job serving ice cream at the Scooper Dooper (which isn't exactly thrilling, but it's a paycheck). And she LOVES music. Concerts, cds, magazines, playing it so loud she's had to replace the speakers in her car twice loves it. She even dated Evan, guitarist and lead singer for the garage band, the Do-Gooders.
Emphasis on dated, as in past tense. She broke up with him. And then he wrote a song about it. And then everything changed because the song became HUGE. Suddenly people at school are taking her picture and selling them to tabloids, she's the center of attention, the paparazzi follow her everywhere, and normalcy becomes a thing of the past. It kind of makes dating James, her cute Scooper Dooper co-worker and fellow music-lover, almost impossible. Is there any way to get her life back?
All in all, this was a very light and fun book that I really took my time to enjoy over a long weekend. In an age where celebrity seems to be something that a lot of people strive for, Audrey's story shows why it's not as glamorous as you may think. She is adamant from start to finish that it's not like she's the one who wrote the song or sought any of this out - it found her. It's an extraordinary situation that Benway captures extremely well in that it's interesting to read about, but I'd hate it if it were me.
Another thing that I really, really loved about the story were the musical references. Every chapter starts with a song lyric and Audrey has exceptional taste in bands and music. The fact that Benway went with a lot of groups or songs that are already considered classics in certain circles will also help prolong the staying power of the book, and if people who read this don't already know much about classic rock, they'll want to by the time they finish.
So I consider this book a "better late than never" situation. I was looking for a light, one-time read to hold me over for a few days, and I definitely found that with Audrey.
Comments welcome and, as always, happy reading!
Robin Benway's Website
Robin Benway on Twitter
No comments:
Post a Comment