Book Blog -- RIVAL by Sara Bennett Wealer

Kathryn Pease is not on the A-List at her high school.  In fact, the A-List has it in for her.  But Kathryn has one thing that keeps her going:  music.

Unfortunately, it’s the one thing that keeps her on the radar of the school’s Queen B, Brooke Dempsey.  Because, unbeknownst to the rest of the school, music is the thing that keeps Brooke going, too.

Sound like an episode of Glee?  Perhaps.  But really, RIVAL by Sara Bennett Wealer is so much more. 

Wealer tells the story from alternating points of view:  Kathryn’s and Brooke’s.  And it’s not pop music these girls are singing.  It’s opera.  And choral pieces.  Bach.  Mozart.  Puccini. 

I love the music in this book, and I love the rivalry.  But what truly made this book stand out for me was being able to get into the minds of both of these girls.  We have all seen the movies and read the books about the underdog who challenges and breaks free of the mean girls.  But how many books make them truly best friends?  And how many get into the mind of the mean girl herself – proving that maybe she isn’t really that mean.  Maybe, like the rest of us, she just sees things from her own perspective.

Wealer also has an awesome website, where she shares the music featured in RIVAL and even some deleted scenes and alternate endings.