A Star for the Latecomer

Brooke Hillary is fifteen. For as far back as she can remember she and her mother have been a team. Together they work on Brooke's career as a dancer. When Brooke was born she had a slight physical imperfection which the doctor suggested might benefit from dancing. Somewhere along the line this desire for health transformed into a desire to be a 'star'. Brooke even goes to a special 'show business' school in Manhattan which gives a student "great leeway in pursuing a career while studying." This school has students who are "ice skaters, actors, cellists, concert pianists, rock singers" and even the offspring of famous performers go there. But amidst all this hoop-la of costumes, dance lessons and auditions Brooke isn't quite certain what she wants to do with her life. Then one day Brooke learns that her positive, vibrant mother is sick. This is a novel which asks the reader to consider what is really important in life. Career? Family? Happiness? Love? Expectations? Life is complicated and the answers are not easy or trite. Is it possible to both love a person and hate them? What is the right balance between taking advice and individual expression, between pleasing others and being who we are? Bonnie and Paul Zindel weave their way through these questions creating along the way an interesting novel of some depth, a deal of originality and a lot of emotional integrity. This book was first published in 1980 and is Paul Zindel's second novel specifically written for girls. The first, published way back in 1969, was My Darling, My Hamburger. This second book shows a lot of improvement over the first, which was a flat and uninteresting story of teenage pregnancy and illegal abortion. The husband and wife team seems to have worked to the advantage, perhaps providing a deeper psychological reality to the mother/daughter relationship. Also , while being fairly old itself, has not dated in the way that did when abortion became legal. I have just three criticisms. The references to Marilyn Munroe are clichéd and probably trite even to a teenage audience, and could easily been left out of the story. The incident with the movie producer who wants to sleep with Brooke before she gets the part is also clichéd and does not really advance the story much. Also, I wonder whether the whole show business element is a little over developed? Does Brooke really need to go to a school where the children of famous entertainers go? This kind of element seemed to overstretch reality for me, ruining my "suspension of disbelief." This is not one of Zindel's best books, but is definitely not a bad one either. Its greatest assets are its originality and the psychological reality which Zindel manages to give the characters and their relationships. Also the complexity of life is well represented. This is not a simple wish-fulfillment story as, for example, High School Musical: The Junior Novel (Junior Novelization) is.

When I read the book for the first time I thought that it was a wonderful book because of how all the charcters expressed their feelings throught the book. Brooke didn't want to be a dance but she also wanted her mother to be proud of her and what she chose to do with her life. It was sad when her mother had died but I was happy for the whole family when Brooke was on TV doing her dance. She also had a lot of guts to do that and try out for all those auditions and get turned down.It does take a lot of guts to do that and I think that everyone who wants to do something that big should read this book and learn what Brooke Hillary did.

Ten minutes ago i put this novel down. Reading Level 5? Who are you kidding, i would read this novel at age 20! Bonnie and Paul Zindel paired up well to write a fantastic duet story that was both passionate and foreboding. A Star For the Latecomer tells a wonderful story of a girl pressured by her dieing mom to be a champion dancer. Brooke Hillary, the star of the novel, must make up for all that her mother had lost in her own childhood, and therefore, Brooke loses her childhood as well. This powerful novel, depicts what we all feel at some time or another, to make someone proud. Brooke's character has an international appeal that every one can relate to. She shares the emotions of the world. Brooke wants to be loved, she wants to give love, she wants to live, she wants to feel complete, and at times she feels that all is lost. I personally have read almost every single title out by Paul Zindel (he is my favorite author), and let me say that this novel was no disapointment to me. At the climatic ending, i dont think i took a breath. Then at Brooke's epiphany, i symphathized with her, and felt as though she was truley real. It takes a good author, or should i say authors, to perform such an act. Kudos to both of you, Bonnie and Paul. Please write more novels like this one, it has almost become a secretive therapy of mine reading your novels!

I believe that this book will emotionally change your life. The part that was the most gut-wrenching was when I read the few last chapters. I loved this book with all my heart. As I was reading through this marveleous book I grew to know the troubles Brooke was going through and you had this certain familiarity with her life as you would read along. I was sobbing throughout this book, and for me that is not a bad thing. You , after you read this book, will know that you have grown with this experience. I think anyone that cares enough about any kind of book should read this, and experience the emotions I felt when I read this book. I would proudly reccomend this book to anyone!