ncrabb's review
5.0
Chrome crashed, and I lost the in-depth review I had written for this. It is a magnificent milddle-grade book from which any of my older granddaughters would profit. The author is wonderfully skilled at creating characters who interest you and keep you reading. She writes with a highly enjoyable style and looks at issues like sopcial media and step family blending. I'm so sorry I lost somehow that other review; it was significantly better than this. I was a fan of young Brooklyn Gartner from the first page I admired her courage and tenacity and her innate decency. You know an author has succeeded when she presents you with a character and you can say within the first two pages that this person should be real.
jbrooxd's review
4.0
4.5 stars. Delightful! I think my favorite part was the way Brooklyn's relationship developed with her step-brother. The dance and football pieces worked well together, and the whole cast of characters was terrific. And I learned something, too - all about Texas Homecoming Mums. Highly recommend.
lainey34's review against another edition
5.0
Friday Night Stage Lights by Rachele Alpine was a book I truly enjoyed reading. I loved the storyline and all the characters.
reader_fictions's review
4.0
Despite my general lack of interest in middle grade, I wanted to read Friday Night Stage Lights for one reason: that adorable cover which hinted at the possibility of a super cute hate to love middle grade ship. Turns out, I was absolutely wrong about that, but the book was good I didn't even mind the lack of romance.
Brooklyn and her mom moved to Texas to live with her new stepdad and stepbrother. She likes them fine, and she's glad her mom's happy, but she hates that they were the ones who had to move just because her stepbrother is some high school football superstar. For that, she was forced to move away from all of her friends and work on her ballet somewhere new.
Brooklyn has so many emotional arcs in this book, and it's truly a thing of beauty. She makes new friends (without losing her old bestie, which isn't something you see a lot of). She bonds with her stepbrother enough to actually consider him a real brother. Her relationship with her mom undergoes some needed TLC. She befriends a football player and learns that maybe it's not the worst thing in the world after all (and the football team learns that ballet is fucking hard).
Most importantly, Brooklyn has an internal emotional arc. After a disastrous solo attempt, she's afraid to perform alone and audition for TSOTA (Texas School of the Arts, which would help put her on track for her goal of Juilliard). Brooklyn needs to rediscover her true love of dance and her confidence with her own talent.
This was a great middle grade. I read it straight through and had a lot of fun. There are great emotional arcs and it deals with subjects a lot of kids go through in a really hopeful way.
Brooklyn and her mom moved to Texas to live with her new stepdad and stepbrother. She likes them fine, and she's glad her mom's happy, but she hates that they were the ones who had to move just because her stepbrother is some high school football superstar. For that, she was forced to move away from all of her friends and work on her ballet somewhere new.
Brooklyn has so many emotional arcs in this book, and it's truly a thing of beauty. She makes new friends (without losing her old bestie, which isn't something you see a lot of). She bonds with her stepbrother enough to actually consider him a real brother. Her relationship with her mom undergoes some needed TLC. She befriends a football player and learns that maybe it's not the worst thing in the world after all (and the football team learns that ballet is fucking hard).
Most importantly, Brooklyn has an internal emotional arc. After a disastrous solo attempt, she's afraid to perform alone and audition for TSOTA (Texas School of the Arts, which would help put her on track for her goal of Juilliard). Brooklyn needs to rediscover her true love of dance and her confidence with her own talent.
This was a great middle grade. I read it straight through and had a lot of fun. There are great emotional arcs and it deals with subjects a lot of kids go through in a really hopeful way.
morganperks's review
4.0
This was a cute middle grade about dance. I love that it was NOT a romance and how focused Brooklyn was on getting into dance school. I liked the development of Brooklyn and Tanner’s relationship. It really showed how difficult it can be for children in blended families to suddenly become siblings. I only wish Brooklyn and Logan performed their duet at the end. Logan worked so hard and I thought it was a shame that he never got to perform.
More...