[Review] Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer

Title: Rival

Author: Sara Bennett Wealer

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 15/02/11

Publisher: Harper Teen
Price: $16.99

Source: Bought
Age: 14+

Pages: 320

My Rating:

Summary:

BROOKE

I don't like Kathryn Pease. I could pretend everything's fine between us. I could be nice to her face, then trash her behind her back. But I think it's better to be honest. I don't like Kathryn, and I'm not afraid to admit it.

KATHRYN

I saw a commercial where singers used their voices to shatter glass, but the whole thing is pretty much a myth. The human voice isn't that strong.

Human hatred is. Anybody who doubts that should feel the hate waves coming off of Brooke Dempsey. But I don't shatter; I'm not made of glass. Anyway, the parts that break aren't on the outside.

~~~

Brooke and Kathryn used to be best friends . . . until the night when Brooke ruthlessly turned on Kathryn in front of everyone. Suddenly Kathryn was an outcast and Brooke was Queen B. Now, as they prepare to face off one last time, each girl must come to terms with the fact that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had.

My thoughts: 

Whether you're an aspiring musician, choir member at some point or other, or just the average music appreciator, Sara Bennett Wealer caters to all with her debut novel Rival. With a whole lot of the high school drama that seems to always come with music geeks, as exemplified in the hit TV show Glee, Rival is one book that will keep readers engaged until its heartwarming conclusion.

Teaser Tuesday (14): Rival

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab the book you are currently reading and randomly post two non-spoiler sentences.

Summary:

BROOKE

I don't like Kathryn Pease. I could pretend everything's fine between us. I could be nice to her face, then trash her behind her back. But I think it's better to be honest. I don't like Kathryn, and I'm not afraid to admit it.

KATHRYN

I saw a commercial where singers used their voices to shatter glass, but the whole thing is pretty much a myth. The human voice isn't that strong.

Human hatred is. Anybody who doubts that should feel the hate waves coming off of Brooke Dempsey. But I don't shatter; I'm not made of glass. Anyway, the parts that break aren't on the outside.

~~~

Brooke and Kathryn used to be best friends . . . until the night when Brooke ruthlessly turned on Kathryn in front of everyone. Suddenly Kathryn was an outcast and Brooke was Queen B. Now, as they prepare to face off one last time, each girl must come to terms with the fact that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had.

Teaser:

"Studious cat iz studious," I say. "I can haz hall pass?"
"Don't try to lolspeak your way out of this one," he laughs. "And turn off the Matt Melter. It won't work either."

(pg. 17)

I love this scene. Probably my favourite in the book so far (up to pg. 70). I already surpassed the 2 sentence rule, so I'll leave the rest up for you to find out. :)

Book Information:

Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer

Pages: 330

Release date: February 15th 2011

Genre: YA, contemporary

Ages: 14+

 Hope you enjoy this week's Teaser Tuesday!


This week's question:


Have you ever had a rival?

[Elevensies Love #1] Sara Bennett Wealer, author of RIVAL

Today is Sara's birthday!

I'm not going to count up how old young she is now, since that's not the point of the matter, is it? In any case, she's amazing and skilled in the performing arts (pretty much all corners!), and come February 15th 2011, her debut novel RIVAL will be available for you to order! Heck, go ahead and pre-order right now. 

First, I'll post the blurb:

What if your worst enemy turned out to be the best friend you ever had?

Meet Brooke: Popular, powerful and hating every minute of it, she’s the “It” girl at Douglas High in Lake Champion, Minnesota. Her real ambition? Using her operatic mezzo as a ticket back to NYC, where her family lived before her dad ran off with an up and coming male movie star.

Now meet Kathryn: An overachieving soprano with an underachieving savings account, she’s been a leper ever since Brooke punched her at a party junior year. For Kath, music is the key to a much-needed college scholarship.

The stage is set for a high-stakes duet between the two seniors as they prepare for the prestigious Blackmore competition. Brooke and Kathryn work toward the Blackmore with eyes not just on first prize but on one another, each still stinging from a past that started with friendship and ended in betrayal. With competition day nearing, Brooke dreams of escaping the in-crowd for life as a professional singer, but her scheming BFF Chloe has other plans. And when Kathryn gets an unlikely invitation to Homecoming, she suspects Brooke of trying to sabotage her with one last public humiliation.

As pressures mount, Brooke starts to sense that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had. But Kathryn has a decision to make. Can she forgive? Or are some rivalries for life?

Yes, it is a tad long, but even if you're too lazy to read the whole thing, LOOK AT THE COVER! Doesn't it just pop? Also, I love the concept and the colour scheme used. All the symbolism and metaphorical mumbo-gumbo I could use aside, I think the piano is simple and effective.

What's better? Cindy over at Princess Bookie just posted her review of it on Goodreads! 5 stars, no less! She had a lot of great things to say, and I hope that more people get to read Rival as the days roll by. Some other feedback include:

“This book gets it all exactly right—friendships, envy, and the fact that you can never truly know another person.” (Sara Zarr, National Book Award finalist )

“Awesome, awesome, and more awesome. Not one wrong note.” (Lauren Myracle, New York Times bestselling author )

Rival is about so many things. Secrets, a friendship gone awry, competition--thus the name Rival, music, love . . . I've been super jealous of people who have received the ARC of Rival from Harper Teen. It's a real shame that they don't send ARCs overseas, but their reasonings behind it are legit enough that I'm not ready to send a torch their way.

Unfortunately I don't have any extra special for Sara, other than this.

Stalking Sara (hey, that should be a song!):
Check out Sara's site
Visit Sara's blog
Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

Giveaways

Are you a GLEE fan? The Sara (hehe) has been generous enough to offer 3 advance readers copies (ARCs) for 3 Gleeks! :D Unfortunately it's US only. The drawing is in December, so get your entries in! Get your Gleek on!

Also a teen? Lucky you! This contest is also US only. This one is for one of 5 ARCs! So, if you're a US teen, you get 8 chances to score. As for the rest of us who have none. ;) What smells like teen spirit?

Pre-order

The Book Depository | IndieBound | Harper Teen's list | Amazon

Angus & Robertson | Big W

Hope some people take the time out to read that review, and maybe even pre-order themself a copy. Comment if you plan on doing so. ;) By the way Sara, if you're reading this, I wouldn't mind a signed bookmark or two (I'll even pay postage!) . . .

That's it for this week's (?) Elevensies Love featurette! Spread the Elevensies Love! Also, it just suits so well to feature Sara first, since she's a moderator of The Elevensies. ;) Learn even more about her here!

Remember, there's still time to enter my Elevensies Love GIVEAWAY! We're well over 100 entries, of which I am so, so happy. Good luck!

Waiting on Wednesday (4)

Hey everyone! So, I've worked out a schedule, that I hope to adhere to. I will be posting 2 reviews a week, Tuesday and Saturday. On Wednesdays I will be having Waiting on Wednesday, and on Sundays I will have In My Mailbox. For now, this is as much as I will posting, other than the odd contest, interview or bite of news. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays will be my break days, since I'll need them so as not to burn out. This schedule will change when November comes and high school is OVER!!

Anyway...

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

For this week, I am swooning over Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer, which is due for release Feb 2011!

Why I'm Waiting on Rival:

Other than the eye-catching and unique (to me) book cover, the story sounds interesting. 
Plus, I love "contemporary" YA, and music is just an added bonus. Ooh, and 2011 DEBUT NOVEL!


Blurb (from Goodreads):

Meet Brooke: Popular, powerful and hating every minute of it, she’s the “It” girl at Douglas High in Lake Champion, Minnesota. Her real ambition? Using her operatic mezzo as a ticket back to NYC, where her family lived before her dad ran off with an up and coming male movie star.

Now meet Kathryn: An overachieving soprano with an underachieving savings account, she’s been a leper ever since Brooke punched her at a party junior year. For Kath, music is the key to a much-needed college scholarship.

The stage is set for a high-stakes duet between the two seniors as they prepare for the prestigious Blackmore competition. Brooke and Kathryn work toward the Blackmore with eyes not just on first prize but on one another, each still stinging from a past that started with friendship and ended in betrayal. With competition day nearing, Brooke dreams of escaping the in-crowd for life as a professional singer, but her scheming BFF Chloe has other plans. And when Kathryn gets an unlikely invitation to Homecoming, she suspects Brooke of trying to sabotage her with one last public humiliation.  

As pressures mount, Brooke starts to sense that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had. But Kathryn has a decision to make. Can she forgive? Or are some rivalries for life?

Thanks for visiting my weekly WoW post.

What are you waiting on this week?