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meghan111's review against another edition
4.0
katiebookqueen's review against another edition
2.0
Dramarama follows Sarah, who gets a place at the summer drama camp of her dreams and completely reinvents herself as Sayde. With her best friend Demi by her side, she plans to have the most exciting summer ever, packed with fulfilling her passion for musical theatre. But predictably, it's nothing like Sayde imagines it would be, and everything starts to go wrong for not only the future on stage that she has in mind, but also the only close friendship she has.
The main issue I had with this book was Sayde herself. At first, she was fun and her friendship with Demi was great. But as the story progressed, she started to irritate me quite a lot. Characters make bad decisions and I often find myself wanting to give them a little shake to snap them out of it, but the thing with Sayde is that I didn't feel as though she redeemed herself. The way she acted wasn't part of some amazing character arc, she just got more irritating and stayed irritating as the story went on. I did enjoy the scenes in which she showed genuine self-doubt and they enabled
Demi was the character I found the most fun, and I was way more interested in learning about what was going on in his life than I was Sayde's. Whilst I enjoyed their friendship at first, I didn't like how sour their relationship turned later on. Maybe if this story had been a split narrative between the two of them, it would have been a little more interesting. But just learning Sayde's thoughts on everything grew tiring. Demi was a more entertaining character, providing some of the much needed wit and excitement in book.
The ending was the biggest point of frustration for me because it felt mostly pointless. It lacked good development and didn't offer a satisfying conclusion. Also, I felt like Sayde could have redeemed herself much better than she did. As much as I like musicals, the references and drama camp setting weren't enough to keep me hooked on this story. Apart from enjoying a few cute scenes here and there, I just wasn't as interested as I wanted to be.
faithl's review against another edition
4.0
AHHH I WISH I WAS A TALENTED MUSICAL THEATRE ARTIST!!
I will just have to sadly remain as theatre geek who cannot reach the high notes.
This book playfully combines the free-spirited, accepting and fun-loving elements of the musical theatre world with also inevitable jealousy and competitive aspects you just cannot avoid.
Sayde and Demi are both excited when they are accepted at Wilewood's theatre summer camp. They both come from boring small towns and this camp provides them everything they want - adventure with endless singing and dancing. Of course, what kind of book doesn't have a complication of some sort? Sayde finds herself at odds with the talented and spontaneous people around her, scared of being left behind whilst the rest of her friends succeed. It's a fun and hilarious read which will even get you singing and dancing to good ol' theatre tunes.
I related a lot to Sayde at the beginning. She's grown up in a quiet, small minded and uneventful town and she's just yearning to burst free. She has a passion for musical theatre and when she finds Demi, she latches onto him because he's the first person to share interests with her. At the same time, she's not exactly the musical triple threat that we associate with all theatre people. She's a pretty boss dancer but unfortunately, she lacks training in singing and acting. I loved how Sayde wasn't the sort of person to lie to herself. She knows she can dance, she knows she can't sing and she also works to improve it. She's not shy to walk up to director and point some things that aren't working or things she doesn't agree one. Despite the fact that her friends thought she was being whiny, I thought her actions were valid and brave. Demi also finds himself in the story. He fosters his natural talent in theatre as well as also embraces his sexuality. In his town, he is a closet gay and I loved how in this new world, he was able to be open about his identity without the fear of being judged or persecuted.
The best part of the story, of course, was the community. In the middle, everything gets shaky because jealousy gets in the way but as people acknowledge their mistakes and apologise, all is well. The main downside for me was definitely the ending. After the experiences of such a camp, the finale was anticlimactic. Our characters part ways without much of a goodbye or even then, without frequently communicating with each other. It was saddening to read such great friendships be made but not really upheld. That last scene provided some hope but MORE, I want MORE.
All in all, a really fun and light read about a world we all want to know more about but isn't really focused on in the young adult genre.
elliotalderson's review against another edition
2.0
The ending got kind of heartbreaking for me, but I'm extremely empathetic.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend it.
nssutton's review against another edition
3.0
cateslittlelibrary's review against another edition
2.0
traciemasek's review against another edition
4.0
patty_creatively_bookish's review against another edition
4.0
Characters: 4/5 Teenagers, but they really want to make the best decisions for everyone. Annoying every now and then? Yes, but not in an annoying way.
Writing: 4/5 Want to read more E. Lockhart books!
Reread: Yes! Really enjoy a solid contemporary like this every now and then.
marisamoo's review against another edition
3.0
Pleasantly surprised. A really fun read especially for broadway and musical lovers like me.
Something missing though? Not sure what.
Really liked characters and could relate to their .... imperfectness. Well written just a very quick summery read.