There's Brooke the popular, "It" girl of her high school. Almost anyone does her bidding. And she hates it. All she really wants to do is use her singing voice to get herself back to New York--where her family lived before her father left her family for a male movie star.

Then there's Kathryn who's been a social outcast ever since Brooke punched her at a party junior year. Kathryn the overachiever--who's family has very little money--is also counting on her singing to get her out of their tiny Minnesota town, to college.

Brooke and Kathryn might rivals now but they used to be friends . . .

Tiny Lake Champion, Minnesota might not have much to offer two aspiring opera singers, but it does have the prestigious Blackmore competition. With entrants from all over the country and a prize that would bring them both the needed money and prestige to get where they want, Brooke and Kathryn are both looking to the Blackmore to save them.

These two former friends who are not bitter rivals will have to compete against each other on the biggest stage of their lives. And they just might find, again, that friendship they lost so suddenly the year before.


Rival doesn't rely on romance to propel it through to the end. It's not about horribly mean girls (while it does have some pretty mean ones) nor is it about crazy drunken or drug doing teens.


Rival is awesome because it is about two girls who used to be friends until something drove them apart. That something isn't revealed right away, but while the story alternates between Junior and Senior years we see Brooke and Kathryn as they are now and as they were as friends. While Rival does show how cruel girls can be, it's not the sole focus of the story--and it is realistic.

I love how much of the book is about the girls' singing and their ambitions. Anyone who did anything with theatre or chorus, etc in school--or just likes watching Glee!--should love Rival for this aspect alone. I think having the music/singing be so much the focus brings a unique aspect to Rival. Not only does it give the book something very unique, but it gives Brooke and Kathryn something in common and keeps them together throughout the story.

Friendship (or lack thereof) really drives Rival and it was really refreshing to read a book that wasn't about girls going gaga over a boy or debating the best way to get a date. It's not that Rival is innocent . . . it just focuses on a part of life that exists and is important but seems to get overlooked in books.

(There is still some romance in Rival, however, and I absolutely, absolutely love it! Love the main male character, as well.)

9/10

I enjoyed this book highly. There were some parts that I felt were a little slow, but this was definitely a book that kept me turning the pages. ( )

Recommended

The reader is first introduced to Kathryn and then to Brooke, both talented high school singers and who are getting ready to compete in the Blackmore Festival in their small Minnesota town. The Blackmore Festival is known to start successful singing careers. Kathryn comes from a loving family, although they have a hard time making ends meet financially, so Kathryn has to work extra hard at school and singing so that she can earn scholarships for college. Brooke, on the other hand, has parents who are divorced, and she gets everything she wants. She’s very popular at school but, she works hard to try and please her dad. It is clear in both characters that they have a passion for singing and they are both very talented.

The reader is led to believe that Brooke is just the typical popular mean girl. She and her followers have a slumber party to select a new girl for their group. Kathryn gets invited to the slumber party. Kathryn and Brooke actually hit it off and a true friendship is started based on their love of music. As they get closer, jealously creeps in to Brooke’s old circle of friends. Parties, boys and alcohol trigger an event that will tear Brooke and Kathryn’s friendship apart. Brooke and her circle of friends turn on Kathryn, making her Senior year miserable. However, Brooke’s friends also do not understand her dedication to music and accuse her of being a music geek.

The story alternates between Brooke and Kathryn each telling their side of the story. Each girl has secrets, hopes for a singing career, and a strong desire to win the Blackmore Festival. Mistakes were made on both sides and as the true nature of all the interwoven relationships is revealed, the reader understands the choices both girls made.

I think the setting, the characters, the competition, the rivalry, high school cliques and relationships are all very realistic. High school can be a struggle for those who are bullied. I had a difficult time getting into the story at first. After a while, it did turn out to be a fast paced story. I was rooting for both characters. The ending leaves the reader satisfied.

I think this book is a good choice for both school and public libraries. The story sends a powerful message about friendships and standing up for what you believe in. I would suggest it for casual reading. The story does touch on drinking and sex, which may be objectionable for younger readers. I would say it’s realistic for 11th and 12th graders to have experiences like the characters in the story. This would be a good book to put on display with other bullying prevention books. ( )

Kathryn and Brooke couldn't be more opposite when it comes to their lives. Kathryn has been more of a wallflower within their high school, active while at the same time not within the spotlight. She focuses on her schoolwork and music in order to help ease the financial burdens placed on her family. On the other hand, Brooke has always been within the limelight at high school, mostly due to her older brothers' presence. But there is an authority that resonates from her that has the entire school in awe of her, though not for what she is most proud of, namely music. If not for music and then a slumber party during their junior year, it's doubtful that their paths would have really crossed, leading to their friendship.

It is when that friendship extends to Brooke's long-time best friend, Chloe, that things begin to weaken due to Kathryn's acceptance into the "A-list" circle and not spending as much time with just Brooke. As Chloe seems to monopolize more of Kathryn's time, Brooke begins to question her relationship with Kathryn. Their strained friendship ultimately culminates in Kathryn doing "something very bad" to Brooke which then leads to a punch in the face in front of the entire A-list at school. And with that punch, Brooke has sent Kathryn back to the outskirts of the student body.

Now, here is where readers might start complaining about how both girls did fairly rotten things to each other, but you have to remember, these are teenage girls. They do stupid things because they are teenagers and they don't know how to handle certain actions, slights, or behaviors. Who didn't want to belong with the "A-list," the popular crowd in high school? Kathryn was just one of those few that wanted to belong, and when she got the chance she did what she could to stay there. Brooke could have explained her feelings to Kathryn about a lot of things or at least tried to be more open, but she chose to go the silent route until it built up so much she exploded. I'm not trying to condone Kathryn's actions or Brooke's inaction rather I'm putting into perspective the reality that Wealer has created, and I do believe she has captured a part of high school life.

What I really liked about both characters is that they possess honest and real voices, each seeing the greener grass on the other side of the fence even after their friendship falls apart. Kathryn and Brooke see what they lack within the other's life and cannot understand why that goodness isn't appreciated, such as Kathryn's loving parents or Brooke's freedom in socializing. But when it comes to music there is no question about how much it means to either of them, and both girls do not hold back in choir.

Readers will definitely see Wealer's own love of music woven into the story, and that was what really drew me to Rival in the first place. The use of musical terminology definitions to set up the tone of the story was a nice opening to each part whether from senior year or junior year. While reading, I couldn't help feeling that if Brooke and Kathryn had just started talking while in choir during their junior year, just the two of them, a lot of heartache and hurt might have been avoided in the long run. With their love of music, one would assume that Brooke might have approached Kathryn to initiate conversation, but perhaps even the high school socialite lacked courage in that regard.

Overall, Wealer delivered a great story of the trials that can occur with relationships in high school through characters that felt real and also managed to grow throughout the story. I think most readers would enjoy Rival, and readers who have a musical background, especially while in high school, will hopefully appreciate the nostalgia as I did. ( )

There are two sides to every story and boy does this book prove it. I was all geared up to completely side with Kathryn because she sounds more like me--shy and not part of a-list crowd, but as the story progressed I felt more and more for Brooke too and her story and voice was able to shine. I feel like I am more able to understand some of the workings of popular crowd and that it's not as shiny as it may seem from the outside.
I also found it enlightening being in both character's heads-what they saw as weaknesses or flaws were admired or never an issue for the other.
Though music is a big part of the story and the character's lives, I feel like everything was realistic and the details, even if unfamiliar, never distracted me or turned me off for the plot or character, instead it made me have a deeper appreciation.
This is a beautifully written contemporary with gripping star characters as well as developed secondary. I highly recommend.