Blog Tour: For the Record by Charlotte Huang @charlottexhuang

ABOUT THE BOOK

FOR THE RECORD
Author: Charlotte Huang
Release Date: November 10^th, 2015
Publisher:  Delacorte Books For Young Readers

SYNOPSIS:

If Almost Famous were a YA novel... a raw, honest debut celebrating music, friendship, romance, and life on the road.

Chelsea thought she knew what being a rock star was like... until she became one. After losing a TV talent show, she slid back into small-town anonymity. But one phone call changed everything 
 
Now she’s the lead singer of the band Melbourne, performing in sold-out clubs every night and living on a bus with three gorgeous and talented guys. The bummer is that the band barely tolerates her. And when teen heartthrob Lucas Rivers take an interest in her, Chelsea is suddenly famous, bringing Melbourne to the next level—not that they’re happy about that. Her feelings for Beckett, Melbourne’s bassist, are making life even more complicated.
 
Chelsea only has the summer tour to make the band—and their fans—love her. If she doesn’t, she’ll be back in Michigan for senior year, dying a slow death. The paparazzi, the haters, the grueling schedule... Chelsea believed she could handle it. But what if she can’t?

BOOK LINKS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21424692-for-the-record?from_search=true&search_version=service
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Record-Charlotte-Huang/dp/0553511823/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1446391980&sr=8-3&keywords=for+the+record
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/for-the-record-charlotte-huang/1121229278?ean=9780553511826

Brooke's Review:

I want to thank Delacorte Press for providing me with a copy of this book to review and give an honest review. Receiving this book for free has in no way altered my opinion or review.

I really enjoyed the movie Almost Famous. So give me a book that totes the same thing but in YA form and I'm hooked. Plus, I have been reading some rock star YA books lately that I have really enjoyed. So when I got this I was ready to jump right in.

I love the idea that we get to follow around a young band and see all the ins and outs of their workings. It was also interesting to watch the dynamics between the different band members. As you would expect, there is also a pecking order within the band. So, for Chelsea as the newest member, you can imagine she had to earn the respect of the members as well as her plus. Throw in the fact that she's replacing a girl the band members knew for long before and she's got some tough shoes to fill.

My favorite aspect of Chelsea was her ability to stand up for herself. She really didn't take any nonsense from the band members. That's not to say she wasn't worried about gaining their trust and respect, but she really wanted to do it on her own terms, and not as someone filling the shoes of the previous lead singer. She didn't have an easy go at it. She was constantly being judged and placed under the microscope. When she altered how the band normally chose to do things, that put a bit of a rift between her and the other members. I liked how she was able to form relationships with each band member and they were distinct. But when her sudden rise to stardom threatens what the band members consider sacred, she has to prove to them she's more than the selfish girl they are making her out to be.

I will say that parts of this book dragged just a bit for me while other parts I flew through. I liked that Chelsea had a confidant in Beckett, one of the band members. It was nice to watch that relationship blossom into something and not have it based in some romantic fairy tale thoughts in Chelsea's head. You could see them growing closer and watch their dynamic change but I could also tell Becket often held things back from Chelsea as if those things would some how hurt her.

It's hard for me to imagine living on a bus for two months with all the people from the band. I am sure your privacy is null and sometimes you just feel the need to break free. I suppose you would get cabin fever. Plus every day running from one town to the next, without being able to put your feet down and relax would be taxing. I was surprised by some of the things Chelsea had to do, like her laundry. I can't imagine on a tour with buses and crews there wouldn't be someone around to do that for you. So some parts of this story stood out as unrealistic to me.

Overall I enjoyed the story. I would say things really didn't get going for me until about 3/4 of the way through the book, with all the world building and relationship building kind of a necessary evil to get you from point A to point B. I think those who have always wanted to know what's it like to tour with a band will enjoy this coming of age story.

Charlotte Huang is a graduate of Smith College and received an MBA from Columbia Business School, which is clearly something every aspiring writer should do. When not glued to her computer, she cheers her two sons on at sporting events and sometimes manages to stay up late enough to check out bands with her music agent husband. Charlotte lives in Los Angeles and is the author of For the Record  (Delacorte, 2015)

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WEEK ONE
November 2nd: Such A Novel Idea REVIEW
November 3rd: A Dream Within A Dream MUSIC PLAYLIST
November 4th: Book Hounds YA REVIEW
November 5th: Bibliophilia: A Love Story REVIEW
November 6th: Curling Up With A Good Book 10 RANDOM THINGS

WEEK TWO
November 9th: The Cover Contessa REVIEW
November 10th: The Book Dragon REVIEW
November 11th: Insane About Books REVIEW
November 12th: Shelf Life REVIEW
November 13th: Me, My Shelf and I REVIEW