trin's review
3.0
Really solid and sweet YA book about 17-year-old Cuban-American Ali, who auditions for and becomes one of the unexpected stars of “the Latin American Idol.” This book won a RITA award, but the romance really isn’t the focus; what the story spends the most time on, and where it’s the strongest, is Ali’s relationship with her father and her passion for music. I wish in some ways that more of the conflict had come from Ali struggling to be good enough—instead, you pretty much have to accept that she’s already a freakin’ amazing musician and her struggles are almost all external, often stemming from the show’s resident bitch, Fabiana. The story’s kind of predictable, but it’s well told and vivid and Ali’s (and Ferrer’s) love of music really comes through.
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