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Diva

by Alex Flinn

Book Review

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Gr 7-10–Caitlin, who was abused by her 16-year-old boyfriend, Nick, in Flinn's Breathing Underwater (HarperCollins, 2001), wants to put that relationship behind her. A talented opera singer, she gets into Miami High School for the Performing Arts despite her own nervousness and her mother's objections. Even there she feels like an outcast as she can't dance or sing pop and she obsesses about her weight. Her mother dresses like a teenager, is dating a married man, and seems to live off her ex-husband. At auditions, she meets another talented opera singer, Sean, but just as Caitlin's starting to fall for him, she realizes he's gay. While she's struggling to put all this into perspective, her singing instructor suggests that she try out for a summer opera program in New York. In the end, the teenager patches things up with her ex, who has reformed through counseling. After she gains new respect for her mother, and new confidence, she decides to pursue her dream and is accepted to the program in New York. Caitlin tells her story partly through online journal entries. Although her understanding of her mother comes too rapidly, this is a solid story, full of self-deprecating humor, snappy dialogue, and well-developed characters and situations.–Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA

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Fichier HTML In Breathing Underwater (2005), Flinn told the story of Nick, a kid who seems flawless but beats his girlfriend, Caitlin. Diva is Caitlin's story. Some time has passed. Nick is abiding by the restraining order keeping him away from Caitlin, and she is still trying to understand herself. She no longer believes she is the fat no-talent Nick insisted she was, but she's still obsessed with her weight and unsure about trying out for a performing-arts high school and exploring her passion for opera. Then there's her mother, who wants people to think they are sisters and is having an affair with a married man. Written partly as an online diary, the story neatly delineates teens' concerns--some contemporary, others ages old. Caitlin makes the grade at her new school and begins to appreciate her talent, but things are rockier with friends and boyfriends. The most interesting relationship is between Caitlin and her mother; Flinn turns a fine eye on the seemingly never-ending mother-daughter dance, in which someone is always out of step. A fast read, but there's meat here, too.
IleneCooper.

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