Teens (and tweens) can be… a little obsessive in their fandom, shall we say? But most have not gone this far!
Rockoholic, by CJ Skuse
Scholastic, ISBN: 978 0 545 42960 3
Jody is a serious Regulators fan – room plastered in posters, gone vegetarian for the singer, who she adores, and willing to stand all day to see them when they are finally near her hometown. It’s all going pretty well, with the help of her loyal best friend Mac, until she drops her grandfather’s special stone, needs to leave the pit to retrieve it, and ends up with a concussion in the emergency tent, when singer Jackson Gatlin comes in and the mishaps and miscommunications begin and somehow, she leaves with one very drugged rock star in tow, thinking he is being kidnapped.
The next question is, of course, what to do with him next, how to clean him up, and how to deal with the fact that he flat out refuses to go back, saying his manager is one nasty guy, and his life won’t be worth living. What is one somewhat flakey teenage girl and her frustrated, but not-on-board friend to do with this? Luckily, Mac is sensible and utterly devoted, but they are still in way over their heads, especially once a suspicious journalist starts sniffing around aggressively.
A plan starts to form in Jody’s mind, but she also finds herself torn as her dreamy rock star turns out not to be what she thought, and in turn points out that maybe Mac is more than just what she thought… It all wraps up in some interesting ways, but it’s a pretty satisfying ending, and while there are definitely moments when you make want to shake Jody, i found myself definitely hoping it would all come right. It’s a fun romp of a read, and a preach-free look at fandom, fame, and learning to look closer at what’s in front of you. Great reading for a teen with a crush on a rock star – and which ones don’t have someone on their sights? 😉
Also available as an ebook.
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