Reveiw of The Rock Star’s Daughter (The Treadwell
Academy Novels)
By Caitlyn Duffy
AMAZON DESCRIPTION: At the age of 15, Taylor Beauforte has only met
her father twice in person. After all, he is the lead singer of a world-famous
rock band, constantly on the cover of music magazines and giving interviews on
MTV. He pays for Taylor to attend the Treadwell Academy, a prestigious boarding
school in Massachusetts, and provides her mother with monthly checks to cover
her basic needs, but has never made much of an effort to play an active part in
Taylor’s life. Taylor's mom Dawn is the only family she has ever really known,
and because of Dawn's hard-partying Hollywood lifestyle, studious Taylor is
happiest on the other side of the country in Massachusetts with her nose buried
in a book.
When Taylor 's mom unexpectedly dies the summer before Taylor starts her junior year, she receives a crash course in fame. She has no choice but to join her father and his new family on their summer concert tour before she has even had a chance to mourn the loss of her mother. Life as the daughter of a rock star seems like it would be enviable, but Taylor can't figure her dad out. He seems like a supportive authority figure (even if he's kind of a fashion tragedy) , but she is collecting a growing pile of evidence that he's a liar and a cheat. Her stepmother, Jill, can’t seem to decide if she wants to treat Taylor like a girlfriend or a nuisance. Having had no time to grieve and say goodbye to her childhood before being thrust into the limelight, Taylor is suddenly finding herself in situations she could have never imagined before this summer.
With no one else to turn to, Taylor falls head over heels in love with Jake, the teenage son of one of the band's touring groupies. Taylor has growing concerns about Jake's background and the suspicious relationship between his mom and her own father, but is desperate for something real in her life onto which she can build a future. When Jake offers Taylor an opportunity to join him on a whirlwind adventure and leave her problems with her father far behind, Taylor has to decide – should she carve out her own way in the world, or try to repair the relationship she has with her only living parent?
Over the course of the summer with the band, Taylor learns the depths of her own strength, the difficulty of overcoming loss, and that the definition of family means much more than shared bloodlines.
When Taylor 's mom unexpectedly dies the summer before Taylor starts her junior year, she receives a crash course in fame. She has no choice but to join her father and his new family on their summer concert tour before she has even had a chance to mourn the loss of her mother. Life as the daughter of a rock star seems like it would be enviable, but Taylor can't figure her dad out. He seems like a supportive authority figure (even if he's kind of a fashion tragedy) , but she is collecting a growing pile of evidence that he's a liar and a cheat. Her stepmother, Jill, can’t seem to decide if she wants to treat Taylor like a girlfriend or a nuisance. Having had no time to grieve and say goodbye to her childhood before being thrust into the limelight, Taylor is suddenly finding herself in situations she could have never imagined before this summer.
With no one else to turn to, Taylor falls head over heels in love with Jake, the teenage son of one of the band's touring groupies. Taylor has growing concerns about Jake's background and the suspicious relationship between his mom and her own father, but is desperate for something real in her life onto which she can build a future. When Jake offers Taylor an opportunity to join him on a whirlwind adventure and leave her problems with her father far behind, Taylor has to decide – should she carve out her own way in the world, or try to repair the relationship she has with her only living parent?
Over the course of the summer with the band, Taylor learns the depths of her own strength, the difficulty of overcoming loss, and that the definition of family means much more than shared bloodlines.
My thoughts:
The description given on Amazon tells you the whole plot. So
I knew going in what was going to happen. What I didn’t expect was how the
story of a girl thrust into the limelight and gaining fame and fortune could
actually relate to just about anyone whose life took an unexpected sharp turn.
Taylor had to learn how to adjust to a new family (that she wasn’t sure even
wanted her) and a new lifestyle (that she wasn’t sure she even wanted) all
while grieving the loss of her mother and unfortunately a lost friendship.
Taylor is faced with many decisions in her new life, and most
of which get her into serious trouble. But what would a rock star heiress be
without paparazzi making photos look much more troubling than they really are?
Then of course there is the boy. Isn’t there always a boy?
I liked Jake. I liked him just as much as Taylor did and as
we got to know him more and more, I could see the little signs that were
pointing to trouble. Of course, Taylor didn’t but I am, after all, the reader
who has had actual life experience and she is just a fifteen year old girl who
lives in a book. (Yes, I know. Characters can come to life for me and this one
did. Score for the author!)
When things go south with the boy, Taylor steps up and makes
her first grown up decision in the whole book. She stands her ground and I was
so proud of her I wanted to stand and clap and cheer. It was in that moment
that I saw the growth of the character and it was done so well, and built up
slowly, that it was 100% believable.
If you are a fan of contemporary YA novels, ABSOLUTELY check
out The Rock Star’s Daughter. The ebook is currently FREE!
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