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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wayne really inhabits the character of Jonny Valentine, a preteen superstar (Justin Beiber pretty purposefully evoked) who is struggling with tepid album sales and an mini-empire that depends on him, an eleven year old boy, to keep hundreds of people employed. Jonny's insular world keeps him from doing such mundane preteen things as surfing the internet, having friends, going out for ice cream without being watched (either by chance or by a publicist's strategic planning). His best friend is his middle-aged bodyguard. He can't sleep without medication. He spends most of his non-touring time playing video games and attending meetings, at which he has little to no input. His adolescent development is both retarded and accelerated by the conditions placed upon him by his fame and wealth. The novel gives you a feeling of what it must be like to have that kind of celebrity. His analysis of the media (including blogs) is spot on. If you've ever made a disparaging remark about Bieber or taken malicious pleasure in a Lindsay Lohan mug shot (and be honest, who hasn't), Wayne might actually have you thinking twice before doing so again.
I heard that this book was inspired by the life of Justin Bieber, so my pop-culture obsessed self was dying for a peek into the life of such a celebrity. After finishing this incredible book, I just felt really sad for any young person in the public eye. Teddy Wayne treats every character, even lothesome momager Jane, with such compassion that its tough to look at any young pop star the same way after reading this.
For most of this book I felt that a train wreck was right around the corner. It was tense and difficult to read.
Not sure why this is an adult book (except perhaps because of the drugs, alcohol and Jonny's impending puberty) or why anyone would think that this is some sort of comment on popular culture - it's really just a supposal about Justin Beiber's life. Given some of the kids I've seen with serious stage mothers, Jane wasn't that bad.
Jonny is very passive, allowing his mother to do pretty much anything to promote him; all he wants is to sing, play Zenon and take sleeping pills. Maybe learn to masturbate. When he meets people he actually admires, he has the all-too-natural reaction of wanting to hang out with them and manages to garner some bad publicity - suddenly, they're gone from the tour and dumped by the label. His reaction? He calls, then lets it drop. The only real moments of conflict sort of fizzle away.
I'm really unclear who the audience for this is: it'd be great for tweens if toned down, great for older teens and adults if made more edgy and raw.
ARC provided by publisher.
Jonny is very passive, allowing his mother to do pretty much anything to promote him; all he wants is to sing, play Zenon and take sleeping pills. Maybe learn to masturbate. When he meets people he actually admires, he has the all-too-natural reaction of wanting to hang out with them and manages to garner some bad publicity - suddenly, they're gone from the tour and dumped by the label. His reaction? He calls, then lets it drop. The only real moments of conflict sort of fizzle away.
I'm really unclear who the audience for this is: it'd be great for tweens if toned down, great for older teens and adults if made more edgy and raw.
ARC provided by publisher.
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Eh . . . the story of Justin Bieber. Wouldn't recommend reading.
I defy anyone to read this book and not think about Justin Bieber the whole time!!! This is a book about a child pop star and the kind of crazy, twisted thinking (on the part of both the parent and the child) that creates such a star. Sad and disturbing, but a great book.
I enjoyed the premise – the experience of a Justin Beiber-analogue. He’s an 11-year old popstar who came from dirt poor roots. His single mother (an ex-grocery store worker) is his controlling manager. She walks the line between a good but struggling mom who is doing her best to a domineering and slightly menacing presence.
Johnny is a weird mix of child and adult. He’s got that selfish obliviousness of a child but he also is obsessed with weight (his and everyone else’s), uses industry buzzwords and is focused on his career. He also is SUPER OBSESSED with masturbating. He hasn’t even reached puberty yet. I know Wayne has way more experience at being an 11-year old boy than me, but – really? Are boy-children that sexualized already? And even if he is, is there a point to including it? I’ve read a lot of books from male perspectives by male authors and I have never encountered a narrator as who talks about masturbating and sex so much. And then at the end he gets a girl to come back stage to give him a blowjob. Because why not? And all he can do is complain that she is too chubby.
Both Lisa Pinto (the Selena Gomez-analogue who goes on a fake date with Johnny and then never talks to him again – that could’ve been a far more interesting plotline) and Tyler Beats (dunno who he is supposed to be in real life, but he’s Johnny’s older, more talented competitor) were way more interesting than the vapidness of Johnny Valentine. Which was maybe the point?
This is one of those books that I was okay going through for a while and then at the 2/3 mark I realized I was just tired of it and wanted to be done with it.
Johnny is a weird mix of child and adult. He’s got that selfish obliviousness of a child but he also is obsessed with weight (his and everyone else’s), uses industry buzzwords and is focused on his career. He also is SUPER OBSESSED with masturbating. He hasn’t even reached puberty yet. I know Wayne has way more experience at being an 11-year old boy than me, but – really? Are boy-children that sexualized already? And even if he is, is there a point to including it? I’ve read a lot of books from male perspectives by male authors and I have never encountered a narrator as who talks about masturbating and sex so much. And then at the end he gets a girl to come back stage to give him a blowjob. Because why not? And all he can do is complain that she is too chubby.
Both Lisa Pinto (the Selena Gomez-analogue who goes on a fake date with Johnny and then never talks to him again – that could’ve been a far more interesting plotline) and Tyler Beats (dunno who he is supposed to be in real life, but he’s Johnny’s older, more talented competitor) were way more interesting than the vapidness of Johnny Valentine. Which was maybe the point?
This is one of those books that I was okay going through for a while and then at the 2/3 mark I realized I was just tired of it and wanted to be done with it.
Have you ever had a conversation with an 11-year-old boy who is really, really into something? Maybe that something is something you don't know anything about, so at first what he's telling you is interesting. So it's fun at first. But then he just keeps going, because he's super into his thing and maybe hasn't matured enough to pick up on the social cues of when it's time to wrap it up. And suddenly you're feeling trapped and slightly panicked because, when exactly, will he stop talking?
That was this book. If you want to be inside the head of an 11-year-old boy who has been groomed for pop stardom since he became a 9-year-old YouTube sensation, this is your book. It's full of details like his obsession with "chub" (his own and everyone else's) his thoughts about what it takes to be a true star, his obsession with when exactly he will hit puberty, and what kind of clothing everyone is wearing.
The author's point comes through clearly. I walked away from this book frustrated with the way Jonny Valentine was being used to further various adult goals, and I felt sad that he will never have any normal interactions with children his own age. But I also walked away frustrated because I couldn't wait to be done with the book because his narration was relentless and unchanging and left me trapped and panicked. I've spent the time sense wondering if it would have been a more successful book had it been written from multiple perspectives rather than Jonny's singular, unrelenting one.
That was this book. If you want to be inside the head of an 11-year-old boy who has been groomed for pop stardom since he became a 9-year-old YouTube sensation, this is your book. It's full of details like his obsession with "chub" (his own and everyone else's) his thoughts about what it takes to be a true star, his obsession with when exactly he will hit puberty, and what kind of clothing everyone is wearing.
The author's point comes through clearly. I walked away from this book frustrated with the way Jonny Valentine was being used to further various adult goals, and I felt sad that he will never have any normal interactions with children his own age. But I also walked away frustrated because I couldn't wait to be done with the book because his narration was relentless and unchanging and left me trapped and panicked. I've spent the time sense wondering if it would have been a more successful book had it been written from multiple perspectives rather than Jonny's singular, unrelenting one.