Everyone's a Critic by Paul Ruditis

Name of Book: Everyone's a Critic

Published: October 2nd 2007 by Simon Pulse

Author: Paul Ruditis

Age Group: 13-16

Number of Pages: 288

Series: [You can never have too much...] DRAMA!

Summary
School's out, but the drama never stops at the superposh Orion Academy.
Hartley Blackstone -- the famous director, producer, choreographer, and
genuine Broadway icon -- has chosen Orion to hold auditions for one
lucky guy and girl to attend his summer theater program in New York City.

 
Naturally, every wannabe-It girl and boy at Orion is going mad, prepping
to win Blackstone's approval. With any luck, it could be Bryan and his
BFF, Sam, stepping onto a Broadway stage.

 
But Mr. Blackstone, known for his notoriously harsh critiques, is capable
of crushing hearts and shattering dreams with a single word. Bryan will
need more than his snarky wit and cute smile for this one. He's got to
bring it!


Now if he could just figure out exactly what it is....

Review
The book starts of with Hope and Drew breaking up for some unidentified reason. Bryan and Suzie are sitting on a "patch of sand" and sitting back and watching the lunch time "entertainment". Bryan Stark and his group of friends are at Eric Whitman's house for his summer party. The first chapter ends with Bryan stuck between his former friend Drew and his former best friend's new best friend and Sam and Hope. Orion Academy has a yearly summer Theatrical Progam-and this year, it has something new to it. Mr. Blackstone, the headmaster of the super-super exclusive school (that makes Orion look like its normal) called Hartley Blackstone Acting School, has left two spots open for one Orion Academy girl and boy.

Except..it won't be as easy as everyone thinks.

Mr. Blackstone is known for being absolutely harsh when commenting on somebody's work. But through the midst of the excitement, Hope's break-up with Drew is ruining Sam, Bryan and Jason's performance for the audition. Will they be able to pull everything back together in time?

Rating

Cover-3 stars

Plot-3 stars

Characters-2 stars

Fantasy/fiction/magical meter-1 star

TOTAL STARS-9 STARS=2 STARS

Lose yourself in the world of fantasy!
Until next time!
Bethany

The Four Dorothys by Paul Ruditis

Name of Book: The Four Dorothys

Published: February 6th 2007 by Simon Pulse

Author: Paul Ruditis

Age Group: 13-16

Number of Pages: 256

Series: [You can never have too much...] Drama!

Summary

Spawned from Hollywood's A-list glitterati, nearly every student at the exclusive Orion Academy is a singer, dancer, model, or actor -- with the ego to match. So how do you fit so many budding stars into one school musical?

 

Multi-cast, of course. It's a Wizard of Oz like no other: four Dorothys, two Scarecrows, two Glindas, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Every "star" gets a moment in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Bryan Stark, narrator extraordinaire, needs to shed some light on a more scandalous plot. Dorothys are mysteriously dropping out of the show, one after the other. If Bryan doesn't figure out why, there may be no one left to click her heels by opening night. . . .

Review

The Four Dorothys is set inside Orion Academy-an exclusive school for actors, dancers, singers and models. The Spring performance that Orion Academy hosts has a huge reputation-that they have to protect. Except...this time, it won't be as easy. Bryan Stark, #2 scarecrow and best friend of #2 Dorothy, has to find out the truth about who's attacking the former Dorothys. Who planted the shrimp taco that Suzie was allergic too? Who tripped Wren? And who comitted all of the crimes that made all of the Dorothys drop out?

The beginning is confusing-at first. It starts out in the audotorium for the Dorothys costume fitting. As it goes on, the plot thickens and starts to get more thrilling and exciting. This book fits best for the age group of 13-16, as listed above. I do not recommend this book for anyone younger than that. (I guess it's sort of odd for me to be saying that when I am 11 myself. :))But anyway, if you love reading about the life of movie stars and etcetera, etcetera, than this book is definitely for you.

Rating

Cover-3 stars

Plot-4 stars

Characters- 2 stars

Fantasy/fiction/magical meter-2 stars

TOTAL STARS-11 STARS=3 STARS

Lose yourself in the world of fantasy!
Until next time!
Bethany