Greg Taylor (1)

WARNING: This book does not contain The Beatles. This is more like "The Girl Who Became a Pop Diva". She gets wish fulfillment for no real reason, has typical band problems, wants to be a leader and no one likes her for it. She starts getting bossy, but experiences no consequences. She starts out liking a boy, but then life becomes too perfect. In her alternate universe, she has a boyfriend from "The O.C.", creative control, a $12 million mansion, a life in L.A. instead of podunk midwest, show more Grammys, sellout crowds, and fame & fortune. Nothing goes wrong for her.

I wanted this to be about The Beatles. I thought it would be about a teen experiencing their history, growing up in the fifties, struggling from dive bars to the Ed Sullivan show to Beatlemania and drugs and Yoko and the break-up. Like John or Paul's POV but transformed into current day YA form.

Instead, she just takes their songs, which makes no sense. Songs written in the fifties have no place in today's context. Can you imagine "I Want to Hold Your Hand" going up against Ke$ha and Lady Gaga? The way it's written, The Beatles are just placeholders. It could have been any band -- Nirvana, Green Day, Metallica.

And the ending is not earned. She spends 90% of her time living an awesome rock star life, and there's no evidence that she wants a change back, or that a change back would be good for her. And of course, she does. Because its expected of her. Gotta have that Disney ending. show less

This was one of those silly books that I just saw and thought "I have got to read that!" This book was better than I expected, not quite as silly, and more interesting.

Toby is kind of your typical geek; and with his best friend out of town for the summer, he feels like the best thing to do with his time is get a job. Well he gets one at Killer Pizza. When he shows up for his first day of training he is surprised to find that the most popular girl in the school, Anabel, is also working show more there...as well as a tough older kid that goes by the name Strobe. Toby loves the food channel and is really digging making pizza, but he shortly finds out that the pizza shop is just a front for something else, a monster hunting group, and they want to recruit Toby. Will Toby make the final cut as a monster hunter?

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it exceeded my expectations. The book is well-written, action packed, and a super easy read. Toby makes an interesting character as a food channel loving geek with hiding depths of monster kicking abilities. In fact all of the characters are quirky and interesting; Strobe, is nick-named that because his personality goes from dark to light quickly and Anabel is a rich popular girl determined to "make it on her own" by working a job for a company her father doesn't own.

The action was non-stop, the story was interesting and engaging. Overall it was a quirky and fun read. Kids and adults alike will enjoy this one. The violence wasn't over the top and the story wasn't all that scary, but it was still fun. This is one of those books that I enjoyed, but I probably won't keep around. I would recommend it if you want a darkly humorous, light read. It actually has more depth to it than I was expecting, so much that I will keep Taylor on my list of authors to watch. I hope that his future books are just as entertaining! show less

At some point, we've all probably made an off hand wish or two (or fifty) that, if it actually came true, would drastically change our lives.

For Regina Bloomsbury, that wish is : “I wish I could be as famous as the Beatles.”

Lead singer of The Caverns and absolutely all about music, Regina's world is falling apart when she makes her wish--or really, her remark; two of the band's other three members are threatening to leave the Caverns for a rival band. Not knowing what to do to save her show more band, Beatles lover Regina, goes to sleep in her Beatles memorabilia filled bedroom depressed and disheartened . . .

. . . Only to wake up the next morning to a completely different world.

A world where Regina is not only as popular as the Beatles, her band has replaced the Beatles in history.

Can Regina deal with this new world where everyone but her seems at home and no one else knows that she doesn't belong? Or is Regina going to need to find a way back to her world--the one where the Caverns are falling apart and the Beatles reign supreme?

Who would have thought that becoming the world's mot famous rock band might not be everything she ever wanted . . .

I really, really love the concept of this book. You don't have to love the Beatles, have your own band, or be obsessed with music like Regina to understand her 'wish' or to understand how she could like her new glamorous lifestyle--and find it challenging.

You also don't have to like the Beatles to enjoy this book. There's quite a bit of reference to the Beatles, their songs, and even some of their performances, but none of it's obscure enough or lacking in explanation enough that you need to already know those things to get them. It's likely that if you do already know a ton about the Beatles or you're a fan that you'll enjoy the book more, but not won't take anything away from the book for readers.

In the first few chapters, Regina read like an adults idea of a teenager, but that quickly changed and I started to enjoy her and her music and Beatles love . . . and her struggles.

The plot was a lot more complex than I had expected and very well imagined. I don't know that I would have read this book if I'd just seen it at the library or bookstore so I'm really glad I won a copy of the galley from the publisher because I very, very much enjoyed it. show less

The Girl Who Became A Beatle is an entertaining twist on the “fairy godmother” story. Greg Taylor writes a light-hearted tale of first taste of fame in this book where down-on-her-luck Regina Bloomsbury makes a wish that her ex-band would be as famous as the Beatles, and instead, ends up replacing The Beatles in history.

It’s a weird concept, but it makes for a great story. Regina is thrown into the world she’s always wished for; her band, The Caverns, have replaced the Beatles and show more their songs. She’s infinitely famous, loved and adored by the world. Everything has changed, including the relationships she has with the people in her life, though not in a good way. Her father is disapproving and her band mate/the boy she’s in love with, Julian, is cold to her. It’s interesting reading her balance these two new revelations out and it’s downright entertaining to read about her fumbles with the life she just discovered.

One of the big and only issues I had with this book is the snap-of-your-fingers attitude change Regina has. One chapter, she’s still wary of the fame and the sketchy people surrounding her, and in the next, she’s completely transformed into a diva who is losing sight of herself. I would’ve liked some more balancing and fumbling into a slow transition. It just felt too quick and sudden.

Overall, The Girl Who Became A Beatle is a cute, fun and quick read that teaches you to be careful what you wish for. It’s an easy to read, easy to follow adventure through musical history (I learned quite a bit about The Beatles. Thanks, Greg Taylor!) and I definitely recommend it to those in the mood for something light! show less