Emily and Phillip have been to see their favorite musical, Aurora (fictional), over a hundred times, borrowing money from Emily's Grandma Rose every weekend so they can stand in line to get the rush tickets. And then they find out that their show is closing.For the most part, I get these kids. The entire Aurora fanbase seems to be based on the RENTheads, and reminds me guiltily of my own Scarlet Pimpernel days. (Don't judge me.) If I lived in the NYC area, I would totally be on that rush line at least twice a month. But I just can't get borrowing something like $5000 out of your college fund to do so. But I totally buy that there are teenagers who would happily do that, especially with Emily's grandmother encouraging them. (You have to see your show when it's open, she tells her, and the musical fan in me nods in agreement even while the rest of me is yelling, "BUT WHAT ABOUT COLLEGE?!")But. For all of their love of musicals, Phillip and Emily are bizarrely naive about the business aspect of Broadway. Emily (who is sixteen, mind) has to have it explained to her that there's no possible way that a Broadway show could be free to all and still, you know, run. And even after that explanation, she still needs to spend some serious thought and do some quick math before it really sinks in. You would think that somebody who is proud of knowing the exact budget of her show ($6.5 million to open, fairly modest for a big show) and knows some professional actors would have realized the money had to come from somewhere. Phillip, supposedly a numbers guy who reads the trade papers religiously, is equally clueless about what producers actually do. They're clueless to advance the plot, not because it makes sense for them to be. The big producer that shows up is impossible to accept as a successful producer of profitable shows, (his ideas sound like something from The Producers) but since the author has Broadway experience I took him as the author venting.Will any of that bother people who aren't Broadway fans? Maybe not. But nobody who isn't a fan of musical theater would read this anyway. I wouldn't have liked it as well as I did if I didn't identify, in some ways, with Emily and Phillip. If you aren't, you'll be bothered by the thin plot, the way the characters never really develop and grow, and all those theater references. I was, too, a little, but not enough for me to dislike a book written for my kind of theater geek, the ones in the audience.
Reviewed by Lauren Ashley for TeensReadToo.comEmily and Phillip's relationship began because of one play: Aurora. Emily was at the theatre enjoying tickets she had received for her Bat Mitzvah, while Phillip was there alone to escape the family he felt he could no longer turn to.From then on, the two became inseparable, the best of friends. The thing that continued to tie them together and give them joy in their lives was still the play that brought them together. However, rumors are starting to go around, first from their friend, Ian, and then from others, that the show might be closing.How could this be? Aurora was something that they saw every Saturday. It was a huge part of their life. How could it be closing? And if it was true, then they wanted to see every single show until the end!The only thing is: they need the money and a lot more then what they had been borrowing from Emily's grandmother. But Grandma Rose has her own secrets and needs the money for herself, as well. What are two theatre nuts to do?This was a great story for anyone interested in young adult literature, but most especially for any fan of the theatre! The book started off a bit slow for me, but it soon became quite appealing!Phillip and Emily's love for the play comes across exceptionally well and made me think about my own favorite play, Rent, coming off of Broadway. One thing I really loved about the book is that each chapter is named after a song from various musicals - and it always somehow ties into the chapter!If you're looking for a book that combines the theatre, friendship, and the passion of being a fan, then this is the book for you!
What do You think about My Life: The Musical (2008)?
When I brought this book home from the library a few weeks ago, it was my initial flip-through book. I was willing to cheat on whatever I was reading at the time to read Maryrose Wood's acknowledgments, the first chapter, and the clever cast list at the end. And to wry-smile at the showtune references that appear at the beginning of each chapter.Now that I've actually read the whole book, though, I think I could have stopped at just my initial flip-through and not missed very much. The main plot, concerning protagonists Emily and Philip's despair and unanswered questions at "their" show Aurora being closed, wasn't compelling or dense enough to fill the whole novel, so the reader gets shuttled around from one messy subplot to another -- everything from sexual identity and religious epiphany to fake IDs and runaway grandparents in Winnebagos. Yep.The show references, and Philip's heaps of Broadway trivia, were fun and clever. But. For a kid who reads Variety every week, and spends loads of time on Broadway message boards, you'd think he (or Emily) would know a little about the basics of Broadway-related financial matters. Like, that shows need money to stay open? Or that producers and investors have a lot of power? There were hints in the beginning that the protagonists knew about this -- but toward the middle and end, when these sort of facts became crucial, the characters were suddenly ignorant as to all Broadway financial matters.I guess the overall effect of the book was akin to watching old Friends episodes on TBS -- enjoyable while they last, but not something I'll think much about when they're over.
—Lauren
I found this story about two Long Island teens obsessed with a Broadway musical to be original, clever and charming. The one caveat, which the author is aware of, is that it's extremely unlikely any such attractive, smart, high school boy would be so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about musicals unless he were gay (not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, and as I think back to high school I realize all those theater guys came out of the closet the minute they got away from their parents and were safely in college). Anyone who likes the NY Broadway scene or YA will greatly enjoy this book. 4 1/2 stars.
—CLM
Emily and Phil are completely, utterly, head-over-heels obsessed with the musical Aurora. Ever since the first time they saw it (at the same preview performance; it was destiny for them to become best friends), they fell in love with the music and characters and quirky costumes. Funded by Emily's grandmother, they sneak into the city every Saturday to get rush tickets for the matinée. But vicious rumors are circling that Aurora might be closing for good... What will Emily and Phil do without their favorite musical? And can they do anything (ANYTHING at ALL) to save it??This fun, light book has a tinge of serious and a sprinkling of weird, but it's a good choice for theater buffs. One of my favorite things is that each chapter's title is a song from a different musical. I'd hand it to theatrical teens and tweens, although I liked E. Lockhart's Dramarama better.
—Abby Johnson
