Dramarama

Dramarama by E. Lockhart

Two teens from small town Ohio dream of making it big on stage.  Demi is gay and black and determined to leave small town forever.....leave behind what small town expects him to be and what his parents grit their teeth and bear.  Sadye (Sarah) can't wait to leave behind being a nobody, that nobody understands.  So the two bestfriends audition for summer drama camp. 

Once they make it to Wildewood Academy; one of them sees their dreams quickly coming to fruition while the other realizes that though their love for the arts makes their heart beat, they might not have what it takes to be the big star. 

There's lots of love, laughter, singing, dancing, and a strain on true friendship.  If you have not had much experience with musicals or theater, you may struggle with the references to the multitude of productions spoken about.  At the end the author leaves a list of movies and a playlist that the characters like.

Rating 3  Loved the musical and theater parts.  Sweet book about owning who you are and making it work.  Worth a quick read.

Rating PG 13  Underage drinking, homosexuality, sexual references.

Shelter From The Storm

Shelter From The Storm by Anita Stansfield

This is the fourth novel in the Jayson Wolfe series. Previously things seemed happily wrapped up. This time Jayson and Elizabeth are happy and progressing nicely when Jayson has some mental drama over a nosy ward member. She believes that Jayson is Hell bound because he plays rock and roll. She refuses to let her son have any contact with him. Jayson is released from his Young Men's calling because of this. Jayson spirals downward emotionally. He used to think that his musical talent was a gift from God. Now he is not so sure.

I always profess to be a Stansfield fan. I still am. Does it sound like I am about to say but? I am. I do adore her and will read her books over and over. However (but) there are some that are better than others. I loved the first three books in this series. This one seemed like a stretch and somewhat pointless. Also as Stansfield tends to do at times.........very mentally harrowing. One person wants to keep their feelings bottled up and the other one won't stop nagging them to just dump their emotion all over the floor like Kool-Aid. This gets tedious. By the end though, Jayson sees his former counselor and she actually wraps up the trauma with a great and concise explanation.

The reason I love Stansfield is because her characters have great character and grit. They abide on a spiritual plain that will take me eons of eternity to reach. So they give me things to think about. Her message.....however long it takes her to reach it......is always worth considering. I like that she is willing to broach timely subjects unique to the culture. I do love that many characters are independently wealthy.......truly helpful, but I would love to have a good juicy story about a daddy cop that has to work 7 jobs to keep the family fed, therefore not truly able to hold most callings where dependability is needed.....nor can he make it to every FHE or scripture reading. I wonder how he would ever make it on such a lofty spiritual plain. Please consider writing this and giving me some ideas. Just a thought.

Rating 4 ish.........love you Anita.
Rating G