Title: Audrey, Wait!

Author: Robin Benway

Summary: As soon as Audrey dumps her musician boyfriend, Evan, he writes an angry break-up song, Audrey, Wait!, which goes straight to the top of the charts. Suddenly, Audrey is famous and has no idea how to react to all of the people who just won't leave her alone. When hanging out with her best friend is big production she will certainly have issues dealing with her new crush. But the media attention doesn't stop and articles are written about everything: her arm warmers, the Lolita's singer wanted her to be their muse, and what her MTV reunion with Evan.

Thoughts: I really loved the wittiness of Audrey and all of her friends. I even felt a little bad for Evan who was in the same boat. I really liked the direction the book went. It was also really interesting when Audrey met her favorite band (Lolitas) and the weren't all they were cracked up to be. However Audrey and even her friends sometimes made cringe worthy choices. It was natural for her to slip up in all of this, but she'd have to know that interview she gave would come off wrong. Also, this author put in the music references really well. It's clear that Audrey is a girl who loves music and not a bunch of song names slapped in to appeal to teenagers. This book was a really excellent, fun read!

Rating: 4/5

Cover: The cover is lovely. I like the girls pose and the font. I'd seen the old cover before and it didn't spark my interest at all. This one is totally great. My sister saw it and immediately wanted to read the book! ( )

(#36 in the 2009 book challenge)
This is really fun YA fiction about a teenage girl whose ex-boyfriend writes a song about their break-up which then ends up launching him and his band to pop star success. And then Audrey can't escape the song or the press or screaming girl fans of the band or people posting cell phone pictures of her on the internet. In general, the characters are real and easy to like, and now I want an entire book about Audrey's best friend Victoria, who is even more hilarious than Audrey herself. Oh, and Victoria's laid back boyfriend, also a scream. It has a little bit of a Meg Cabot feel to it, if you like that, or if you want to rock it old school, Mary Rodgers. For some reason, I keep imagining the "Audrey, Wait" song to sound like the "Scotty Doesn't Know" song from EuroTrip, which I like (both the song and the movie) much more than a normal person should.

Most impressively, Benway is extremely successful at writing about music and music fandom. I think this is an incredibly challenging thing to do -- after all, it's using one format (written) to describe something completely different (aural), and so often books that rely on passionate descriptions of music end up feeling dated, or goofy, or simply fail to make the connection between what is printed on the page and what real music would sound and feel like to a fan. But it really works in this book -- the author hit on a great balance for writing about the music itself as well as those things that go along with it, from going to concerts, listening to the radio in the car, and even Audrey's crazy bedroom wall collage of musician pictures. And because Audrey (and obviously Benway as well) is a true music fan, she's often calling upon a variety of musical influences from different eras which I think will help tremendously with the potential pitfall of being too easily dated.

Grade: A
Recommended: Very funny, very light reading. Once you accept the fairly unbelievable situation of the instant pop stardom (or at least, it's an event that is unlikely to happen to most people) the characters take a very satisfyingly realistic approach to dealing with the problems of unexpected notoriety. ( )

Raise your hand if you read this and immediately thought of the popular Hey there Delilah! I know I sure did!
While the premises of the book sound more like a predictable romantic comedy straight out of an Hollywood movie, Robin Benway actually makes a great job of making it believable and realistic enough. Audrey and her friends have great personnalities, different from one another, not perfect but still likeable. I was surprised by how quick the pages turned and by how many things were happening in such a short time.

Another great thing was the constant presence of music. Audrey lives for it, and you get a feel of it through the whole book – it’s almost as if the music was a character of the story, helping her through the storm or celebrating with her in the most joyful moments.
Obviously, I haven’t been a teen for a few years, but I felt it was something I could have related to as a teen. Therefore, I wouldn’t mind recommending it to a girl about Audrey’s age. There’s a little cussing, yes, and a little talk about sex, too. But it doesn’t take over the story, nor does it make Audrey a rebellious teen or a bad exemple. She’s just, as she’ll tell you herself, a normal teen wanting a normal life. ( )

One word: AWESOME!

I read a blurb - could have been on the cover, I can't remember - that says this book is like a song you can't get out of your head. And it's so true! I'll warn you now, if you've got some plans, don't try reading this book because you're not going to be able to put it down.

Audrey tells you straight out how it all happened, what made her life do a complete 180 when her douche ex wrote a song about her. Going through high school sucks any ways (yeah been there, done that). Being the center of discussion (especially if it's bad - and you know it usually is) really sucks. With witty Audrey and her trusty side kick Victoria, they can take it all on, right? Well...that part you'll just have to see. Each chapter in this book kept getting better whether. There are a million and one reasons why I loved it so much. From the fast pace up beat humor to the snappy dialogue, and to my favorite - the music! You'll be tapping your foot and bopping your head in now time! Also you'll laugh your silly butt off and who doesn't enjoy doing that?

Robin Benway is definately another promising author from her debut novel. Cannot wait for what book she has in store next! ( )