Synopsis:
"A dancer driven to succeed.
A musical prodigy attempting to escape his past.
The summer they share.
And the moment it all goes wrong.
Dance is Soledad Reye's life. About to graduate from Miami's Biscayne High School for the Performing Arts, she plans on spending her last summer at home teaching in a dance studio, saving money, and eventually auditioning for dance companies. That is, until fate intervenes in the form of fellow student Jonathan Crandall ho has what sounds like an outrageous proposition: Forget teaching. Why not spend the summer performing in the intense environment of the competitive drum and bugle corps. The corps is going to be performing Carmen, and the opportunity to portray the character of the sultry gypsy proves too tempting for Soledad to pass up, as well as the opportunity to spend more time with Jonathan, who intrigues her in a way no boy ever has before.
But in an uncanny echo of the story they perform every evening, an unexpected competitor for Soledad's affections appears: Taz, a member of an all-star Spanish soccer team. One explosive encounter later Soldedad finds not only her relationship with Jonathan threatened, but her entire future as a professional dancer."
Carmen Part Three:
With all of the recent posts going up about reviewing books that you less than loved, I'm a bit nervous about posting this review. "When The Stars Go Blue" was an okay novel; I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. I almost put it down about page 200, but I felt like I had already invested all this time into it and it had to get better.
But it didn't. The plot was slow going until about the last 75 pages. The characters that started out with such promise, like Jonathan at the beginning of the novel, lost their uniqueness and their character consistently throughout the novel. At times it felt like the characters were much older than 18 years old; the way they conversed and acted around each other, to me, was much more equivalent to mature adults in their mid to late twenties than students just out of high school.
The writing, I will say, was fantastic. Ferrer writes in such a way that I kept expecting something spectacular to happen, the problem was that I just kept waiting. I also loved the Spanish language and culture that was brought into the novel — it added the depth that I needed. I could tell through Ferrer's writing that extensive knowledge went into the novel both in regards to dance, band, and all things music. I admire this knowledge and at times, while reading "When the Stars Go Blue," I found myself wishing I hadn't quit band or dance when I was younger.
The last 75 pages of the novel were fast-paced, suspenseful, and a bit confusing. I definitely had to read a few passages multiple times to make sure that what I thought happened had actually happened. Despite not liking "When the Stars Go Blue," I would definitely give this author another shot in the future. The end of the book proves to me that she can weave an exciting tale, I just hope that next time she doesn't wait so long.
Originality: 8/10
Ending: 8/10
Characters: 6/10
Plot: 6/10
My reaction/enjoyment: 6/10
Cover: 9/10
Overall: 43/60 C
To the FTC, with love: Received for Review
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