Alex Marestaing

I was contacted by the author to review this book and after reading the premise, I was interested to check it out. As the mother of a 13 year old boy, I felt like this is a story that I could relate to even though this is targeted at the young adult audience. Grownups will appreciate the references to Emily Dickinson and the descriptive nature of the author's storytelling.

I was a little surprised that Caleb, a home-schooled, intelligent, and voracious reader was supposed to not know who Emily Dickinson was, but after asking both of our boys...they had no idea either. I am guessing teaching the poetry of Emily Dickinson is not a pressing topic in elementary/middle schools at this time.

I felt such conflicting feelings as I read this novel. I was angry at the parents for ignoring the grief that Caleb was feeling towards the loss of his sister and their removal from Caleb's emotions. But, then I would remember they were also still grieving and would then understand their detachment. Time and time again, I find that children need the opportunity to grieve and talk about the loved one and this novel proved that as well. A lot of Caleb's pain and confusion could have been avoided if only the proper grief process would have been allowed for him.

The author took great care in describing feelings, people, places and settings so well that they were explicitly imaginable. For example, the cat was "kneading out a bed among the valleys of his comforter." Or in his description of Caleb, who was "homeless at home". Many times I would stop and envision the gardens the author was describing or the debilitated house across the street.

Iris was such a delightful character in this story. She always knew just what to say to Caleb to either convince him to step out of his box or to feel better. Each of the characters had a necessary and purposeful role in the story.

In reading this book, I had to step out of reality a bit since the premise deals with someone who is no longer living and is leaving notes for Caleb. But the story is magical, heart warming, and still provides the reader with hope. It will leave you with a warm-fuzzy feeling and reminds you that it is still ok to believe in magic.… (mere)

Hollywood native Izzy Baxter has come far with her pop star dream. As a contestant of "International Pop Star Challenge," she travels to Harajuku, Paris, Buenos Aires, and New York to finally make that dream come true, but she's going to have to overcome life's obstacles before she gets there. Izzy's Pop Star Plan is a 90-day devotional with strong Christian approaches on dealing with jealousy, anger, grief, sadness, moving on, helping others, disappointment, intimidation, good tidings, displaying faith, companionship, abandonment, staying true to yourself and your faith, dating, teenage rebellion, heartbreak, standing out, and worship and praise.

The story isn't that exciting; I wasn't exactly excited to see what happened next. It just describes day-to-day things, and I definitely saw the "happily ever after" coming, but the few dramatic twists and turns in the middle are worthwhile. Izzy's discoveries and personal dilemmas are well-portrayed and the way she faces her fears and makes tough decisions is moving and affecting.

Izzy as a narrator is likable enough, but the main problem I had is how UNCHARACTERISTICALLY she acts for a 16-year-old. She's way too mature and her thinking process is literally that of an adult's; I don't care how "Christian" she is... teenagers just don't act that way. On the other hand, sometimes she acts like a baby, crying every time her father leaves the house, refusing to date guys because her dad told her not to (hello???), and being too dependent on other people. And yet she discovers, on her own, God's messages? The character is just unrealistic and contradictory to me. She doesn't act like an adolescent; she acts either childishly and immaturely, or like a boring adult, so I couldn't quite place her as a real person. However, I was proud of her because she overcomes her homesickness and the challenges thrown her way, in order to pursue her lifelong aspirations; she's a dynamic character and Marestaing did a great job demonstrating her growth through gospel.

Overall, her, her family, and her friends are living in a naïve, blind Christian world that doesn't realistically depict real life, but then again this is a juvenile novel so I guess Marestaing was aiming for the grossly oversimplified and positive outlook.

Izzy's Pop Star Plan is a Christian-tinted self-improvement devo set to an agreeable tune. As a devotional, this book is very heavy on God-this and God-that—way too preachy for me—but as a debut novel, it's sentimental and promising.

Pros: Blog format with comments—felt like a real online journal // Evocative of countries Izzy travels to // Solid Christian approaches to everyday human emotions and difficulties // Lots of character growth

Cons: Not very exciting or fun // Very predictable // Izzy doesn't act like a 16-year-old... she acts like she's 30 one day, and 3 on another. There's sadly no in-between // Competition results are way too idealized; nothing disappointing ever happens to her career // Preachy

Verdict: Touching and full of the honest emotion only found in a teenager's diary, Alex Marestaing's first novel is an entertaining daily devotional about finding yourself through friends, family, new experiences, new people, good music, and of course, God. Izzy takes readers with her on her adventures around the world, giving fascinating glimpses of the reality show industry, pop star fame, and Christian lifestyle. I personally didn't enjoy the cheery storyline that seemed to always be favorable to the main character, but I do think middle-grade girls (ages 9-12) will like it.

6 out of 10 hearts (3 stars): Satisfying for a first read, but I'm not going back.

Source: Complimentary copy provided by BookSneeze in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!).… (mere)

I liked this book, it is more for the young adult set then me but it was touching. Izzy lost her mother and missed her terribly. She lived with her father and brother in Hollywood, where she was close to many auditions. The book follows her plan to become a rock star, with rules and actions to take. Its set up to look like a blog with entries and comments. On the way she run into issues that need resolving and with the help of the Bible and God she makes her decisions. The parts about her mother and Mrs. A touched me the most and I even teared up at times. The singing competition is similar to Idol, and the posts outlining the other contestants brought you more and more into their lives.
The Bible references were well places, even if some of the explanations were wonky. I think kids would like this story and maybe the scriptures would touch them also. I didn't agree with the father making her wait to date until she was 18, I think 16 is more reasonable.
One thing I like about Christian writing is the concept of 'Giving it to God'. Things you can't handle, or cause you stress. Who better to turn them over to, then to the one who knows everything and can give you true peace. I have a few things I need to give to him right now. If you enjoy Christian writing this may be a good book for you… (mere)