Friday, August 5, 2011

Ambitious-Monica McKayhan

Ambitious
Monica McKayhan
Kimani TRU, Aug 23 2011, $9.99
ISBN: 9780373229963

Brooklyn teenage dancer Marisol Garcia is exhilarated to learn the Premiere High School of the Performing Arts accepted her as a student. Mari has worked diligently at her craft and by making it into the highly competitive Premiere High feels it was worth the cost. She still must persuade her Mami that attending the school will not strip away her Mexican-American heritage.

At the school, Mari literally runs into Drew Bishop who teases her about injuring him. He has to choose between basketball where he is a star expected to earn his scholarship and the acting where he loves performing Shakespeare. Meanwhile Mari becomes all consumed with the dance at the cost of her grades, her family and her friends as she competes against her BFF Luz including Drew whose father prefers the courts to the stage.

The first Premiere High is an engaging young adult tale that looks closely at the cost of pursuing an artistic career in which your parents have doubts. Mari and Drew are great leads while the support cast enhances the issues each face in their chosen endeavor. With a nod to Fame, Monica McKayhan goes deep into what motivates a young performer.

Harriet Klausner

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