Thursday, December 13, 2012

A Part To Play by Jennifer L. Fry


Jennifer will award one commenter at every stop an 8x10 autographed print of an original illustration of one of her characters, and one randomly drawn commenter on the tour will receive an 11x17 autographed set of all three main characters in the book. (US/Canada only) Be sure to follow the tour HERE the more often you comment the better your chances of winning.

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When fifteen-year-old actress Lucy Carter loses her older sister in a car accident, her mother shuts down and her father can’t hold the family together. Their only choice is to ship Lucy off to the Edmond School for Performing Arts. But boarding school is no cure for Lucy’s grief. With failing grades, wooden stage performances, and curfew violations, Lucy is threatened with expulsion. For the once talented Lucy, it feels as though she has nowhere to turn.

One night, Lucy hears mysterious music drifting through the school’s old heating system. The music leads her to a troubled but passionate songwriter whose brilliance gives her the strength to perform like never before. Yet their intense relationship puts Lucy in a precarious position: if she follows her muse, will she lose herself? And if she breaks it off, can she stand on her own again?

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The first thing about A Part to Play that strikes you is the similarity to the story line of Phantom of the Opera, but not so much after you get into the book. This deals with some pretty heavy subject matter with Lucy's sisters death and her parents reaction to it. We also deal with teen love, high school popularity drama and friendships.

The characters in A Part to Play are on the typical side but they are well developed and you are able to connect with them and sympathize with them. I felt the drama with the "popular" girl at school was overplayed and not necessary to the love story but do help to flush out the character of Lucy.

Being a YA novel this has no sex scenes and very tame. We do have some profanity but who knows a teen that doesn't have at least some of that in their vocabulary? I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to my teen age daughter or anyone who enjoys YA books.

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Excerpt:

He reached for her, pulling her close. His scent was similar to last night, still slightly metallic, but also dusty. Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck. When he let go, she felt cold, with a strange emptiness that permeated every part of her body.

"Come here, I want you to hear something I started working on earlier." He reached for his guitar and patted the stool.

Chris looked natural with a guitar across his body. He held it like it was an extension of himself. Lucy sat on the stool, admiring his slightly rounded face and dark eyes, his hair falling forward as he looked down at the strings. She could think of nothing else. That was, until he started playing, then she lost herself in the chords and melody and everything in front of her went out of focus.

The song had a medium rhythm that she tapped her foot along with. Then he started singing, his voice caressing the notes with a rich, deep tone, and she was completely gone into another world where beautiful sounds filled every sense. Chris ended with a strong flourish, the last chord ringing for a while in the otherwise silent room.

"What do you think?" he asked. Lucy blinked, trying to focus her eyes. She didn't reply right away, and Chris wavered. "Well, I mean, it still needs work, but..."

She put a hand on his arm. "I loved it." She said it firmly, leaving no room for debate or misunderstanding.


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jennifer L. Fry is a writer, artist, and teacher in Marin County, California, where she lives with her wonderful husband, two adorable dogs, and orange tabby cat. Though she has been writing since she was young, A PART TO PLAY is her first novel.

LINKS:
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