Common Sense Note
Parents need to know the main character has sex with her boyfriend, who also smokes pot. She drinks alcohol and makes out with a rock star after a concert. She lies to her parents but has a mostly affectionate relationship with them. The family spends time together and she respects their opinion of her.
Families can talk about how they would react to accidental fame. Would they enjoy the perks or chafe at the loss of privacy? Audrey notes other teens her age have a 10 p.m. curfew; hers is 2 a.m. How did she work out a compromise with her parents, and is it a good one?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Stephanie Dunnewind
Teens will relate to Audrey's first-person voice, which includes plenty of swearing and eye-rolling at grown-ups ("Never let on to your parents that you know more about drugs than they do. It will only end badly.") Even readers who wouldn't pass Audrey's test for friends (no poseurs, must love VERY loud music and recognize bands like The Cure) will admire her strong personality and enjoy her sense of humor. Benway finds a nice balance of sounding slang-y without relying too heavily on phrases that will become rapidly passé.
Audrey struggles with strangers judging her by what they've read or seen on the Internet: "I'm a nice girl! I'm not a slut! I feed stray cats!" When she can't cope alone, she turns to her parents for support; they promise to stand behind her "one hundred and ten percent." Audrey's final resolution seems a little contrived but the ending will satisfy readers.
Plot Summary:
Audrey breaks up with her slacker boyfriend Evan, the lead singer for The Do-Gooders. When he calls out, "Audrey, wait!" she pretends not to hear him. Then she can't stop hearing it: Evan writes a catchy song about their split called "Audrey, Wait!" that tops the charts. Suddenly Audrey is famous and her regular life -– dishing ice cream at the Scooper Dooper, taking care of her extremely fat cat ("not so much a cat as a hair ball the size of a suitcase"), and going to concerts with her best friend, Victoria. She's on display and up for comment on the Internet and the paparazzi make it difficult for her to date her cute co-worker. Audrey has to decide what defines her: Is it the media-created celebrity, or her true self?
Related Books:
Other Books with Music-Loving Teens:
Beige by Cecil Castellucci
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes
Another Take on Sudden Fame:
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
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Sexual ContentMain character had a sexual relationship with her boyfriend (not explicit); innuendos to oral sex. Audrey makes out with a rock star she just met and he puts his hands up her shirt; she is called a "slut" and "whore" by strangers via instant messaging and Internet posts. |
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LanguageCharacters swear, usually for emphasis, occasionally as insults. "F--king" (numerous times), "asshole," "f--khead," "God," "Jesus Christ," "goddamned," "s--t," "bitch," "f--k off." |
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Social BehaviorAudrey listens to really loud music (she blows out her car speakers). She lies to her parents, but mostly has a good relationship with them. She worries about them finding out she had sex with her boyfriend. Her parents allow a 2 a.m. curfew but she has to text them every half hour after midnight. She works at a part-time job because her parents have "that whole 'earn it!' mentality." |
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CommercialismMentions of many bands (chapters begin with a lyric) and a few products (Diet Coke, BMW). |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoAudrey's former boyfriend smokes pot; she drinks alcohol on a couple occasions (and recalls getting drunk at 15). One character pukes "foamy keg beer" another teen smokes hash. One reference to "everyone getting wasted." |
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