Review: The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek

The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek
by Seth Rudetsky
YA Contemporary
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

Broadway, New York.

The shows, the neon lights . . . the cute chorus boys! It's where Justin has always wanted to be--and now, with a winter internship for a famous actor, he finally has his chance to shine. If only he could ditch his kind, virtuous, upright, and--dare he say it?—uptight boyfriend, Spencer. But once the internship begins, Justin has more to worry about than a cramped single-guy-in-the-city style. Instead of having his moment in the spotlight, he's a not-so-glorified errand boy. Plus, Spencer is hanging out with a celebra-hottie, Justin's best friend Becky isn't speaking to him, and his famous actor boss seems headed for flopdom. Justin's tap-dancing as fast as he can, but all his wit and sass might not be enough to switch his time in New York from nightmare-terrible to dream-come-true terrific.

Seth Rudetsky's second YA novel is endearingly human, laugh-out-loud funny, and for any kid who's ever aspired to Broadway but can only sneak in through the stage door.

Review:

This is such a fun read!  Justin is a flawed but passionate teenager, who learns so much about himself in this book, while also getting a fantastic behind the scenes experience of Broadway and theater.  Although the story doesn't quite get into that aspect right away.  There's plenty of drama and humorous characterizations to set up the main conflict in the story, which revolves around Justin's love life, and some mistakes he makes trying to get the internship of his dreams.  And there's a bit of mystery in this story that was unexpected, but helped to keep me really involved in the story.  I just had to find out what a certain character was hiding!

While the novel is technically YA, I thought that the observational humor, and the voice of Justin didn't always feel authentically young adult - but that didn't really bother me, since I enjoyed the character and his thoughts so much.  He's a little crazy sometimes, but in a fun way - and I really enjoyed his sometimes neurotic tendencies.  The drama made for a lot of teen angst and overreactions, but sometimes it's wonderful to just get carried away by a fictional character's little problems.  And of course, see how it gets resolved in the end!

If you are interested in Broadway, teen angst and hijinks - all presented with wry comments and hilarious observations, then I think you will enjoy this book!

(I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review.  I was not compensated for this review.)