Caitlyn DuffyRezensionen

A very uneven book. It was a quick, pretty brainless read, but the plotting was all over the place.

Superficial, with some strong moments that quickly receded back into shallow ennui.

My main issue with this book was it had the potential to be good. But it just fell flat. Duffy should had focused more on character development and fleshing out the relationship between Taylor and her family rather than focusing so much on a lackluster not-even-romance.½

I had read Duffy's THE ROCK STAR'S DAUGHTER and had mixed feelings about it, thinking it was shallow in both plot and character development, and felt very rough around the edges. Yet, when I saw that she had written a book featuring Taylor's friend Alison, I wanted to read it. Because that was definitely a hanging loose thread in the book, and I wanted to see more of the girl who was Taylor's best friend.

And I'm really glad I got this book from Netgalley because I'm not sure I ever would have gotten around to reading it, otherwise. I found it impossible to review this book without comparing it to Taylor's story and the flaws that were in ROCK STAR were not in evidence here. Between her first book and this book, Duffy has definitely grown and improved as a writer.

(I'm going to ignore the incredibly awful cover, which really would not have made me pick up the book at all except that I recognized the author name.)

Alison, post friendship-break-up with Taylor, decides to try out for a singing competition reality show, a la The Voice/American Idol. And when she gets a spot, she is determined to win. Though she soon finds the competition is anything but friendly and the reality portrayed on the show is not always real. She struggles with maintaining her sense of self as the show's producers and judges mold her into their own vision.

One huge reason why this book felt more complete than the first was sheer page length. THE ROCK STAR'S DAUGHTER came in at a meager 318 pages. CENTER STAGE! was 487. That's 169 more pages for plot development, character development, backstory, exposition, and narrative that the first book lacked. Alison, unlike Taylor, felt like a fully formed person and I understood her motivations. I also saw a level of personal growth in her that I never did see in Taylor, and I rooted for her the entire book. Additionally, the supporting characters were also solid, with their own personalities and agendas. This book felt more real and fleshed out.

It was also good to see Chase and Taylor again, and I do hope that Duffy does eventually finish the rest of Taylor's story because she does deserve happiness.

This is a book about self-empowerment. I loved that Alison realized that in order to achieve her dream, she had to change what the dream was. And I loved that when she realized the situation and the rules to win, she bent the rules to win on her own terms -- even if that meant losing to win.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

I really enjoyed the author's Center Stage so queued this up to read on the plane back to DC today. It was cute but seemed more like the opening few chapters to a novel instead of a self-contained novella. I wasn't expecting much since I knew it was supposed to be a story about a very minor character who was only mentioned in Center Stage, but I felt myself growing very invested in Cassie. Unfortunately, the novella ended just when it seemed like her story was starting to take off.

Hopefully Duffy will give her a full story in the future.½

The Rock Star's Daughter is an interesting look at 15-year-old Taylor Beauforte who is coping with the unexpected death of her mother and sudden introduction into her father's world. Her father, famous rock star, Chase Atwood, is a man she barely knows. He wants Taylor to join him, her stepmother and half-sister on tour. Its very interesting to see how this girl that lived a working class life all of her life, is now thrown into the exclusive world of celebrity wealth.

I'm not the demographic for this book, but I would recommend it to teens and even younger. There's a hint of romance, no graphic sexual situations and some good lessons learned throughout the story.

No surprises, but a great read.

I really liked this book.

I really liked this book. Grace is a strong character who is willing to sacrifice a lot to hold true to her beliefs. I really liked the book's point on not judging others based on appearance.

I really enjoy these books. This one was great.

i liked it, but not as much as the other ones.

This book was an enjoyable read. I liked the main character, Taylor, and I kept rooting for her as she basically became a "fish out of water" after her mother's tragic death. She's a teenager and she makes her fair share of mistakes, but I found her relatable in her attempts to adjust and adapt to the changes in her life.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a nice summer afternoon read.

One of those freebies that I downloaded a while back and am pleased to discover it is a book worth reading.

Emma is a student at Treadwell Academy but she is also a model for one of her family businesses, Hunter Lodge. When a summer weight gain bumps her from the catalog cover, Emma goes on an extreme diet to lose the extra pounds. But she soon finds herself trapped in anorexia. Of course she does not see it. As her modeling career skyrockets, her weigh and health plummet. What will it take to get her to ask for help?

The Treadwell Academy books are great. I really feel like I know these girls. And they are not perfect by any means. Emma is so self-centered at times that I wanted to kick her. It is clear that her eating disorder runs much deeper than just wanting to model. She needs to be accepted and she does not know how to communicate that. This book deals talks about drug use and sex, so it is probably better for older teens. It is definitely a lesson about money not being able to buy everything.

Betsey is a wild child living in the shadow of her famous sister. But that's OK because at 14 she is a world travelled kid with basically no supervision. Her mom is busy running her company and her father is in a famous band. Betsey has been kicked out of plenty of schools but when she gets tired of the icky attentions of her stepfather, she needs to pull her act together so she can get accepted and stay at the prestigious Treadwell Academy. So Betsey comes up with a plan.

This third book in the Treadwell Academy series deals with the very serious issue of sexual abuse within the family. However, it is not graphic. I felt so sorry for Betsey mainly because she did not think anyone would believe her and was so alone with the secret. But you have to admire her for being strong even if she makes some bad decisions. And I like the way these books are not tied up in neat little bows. At the end of the books things are heading in the right direction but there are still issues.

When on scandal leads to a criminal investigation for their televangelist father, Grace and her brother, Aaron run away to NYC. Grace has always been sheltered and believed in her family and their ministry without question. With everything she knew falling down around her, she builds a new life in the real world of NYC.

I loved this book. I lived Grace's adventure in the Big Apple. Everything is not roses, they have problems but they pull through and build real relationships with the people they meet there. There were a few things that were a bit unbelievable (I don't think it is that easy to get fake ID) but for the most part, I felt that the story was really happening. Grace has to face reality about her family but its a good thing in the end.

I really enjoyed this book from the beginning. The main character, Taylor, was connectable and love able, and instantly I sympathized with her plight. As the book progressed, I thought it was going to go in a completely different direction than it did, and the message the author conveyed made me feel all warm and sunny. Although this is far for a typical coming of age story, it is well worth the read.

Read the full Review at Witchmag's Boekenplank

Hmmm…. And that’s all she wrote. It’s hard for me to write about this book. It wasn’t spectacular or repulsive. It’s just not special, a dime a dozen story, that you’ll forget quickly. Of course there are some things that stood out for me, but the rest of the story is meant for a boring Sunday afternoon, when you’ve got nothing to do ^^

First of all, it was a bit hard for me to understand that you would take a child who just lost her mother on a tour. Hello? She needs plenty of time to grieve, which obviously won’t happen when you hop from one city to the next. Then we have Taylor’s reaction with everything that happens: stoical. She’s the one who wanted to stay at home, but if push comes to shove, she just goes with the tour. Okay, she just lost her mother, but wouldn’t you want to stay at the place where you lived with her? Where’s the big fight, the angry shouting, the tears?

And last but not least we have Taylor’s father. He’s a real piece of work. First of all he acts like a drama queen, which made me cringe and find the whole scene unbelievable. He’s a rock star for god’s sake! Since when do they have the image of drama queens? Okay, it’s not impossible, just highly unbelievable for me. And his behavior is totally unworthy for a father. His wife Jill, on the other hand, behaves much more like a responsible adult. She really has my sympathy. It’s not everyday you find out you’ll have to take care of the almost grown up daughter of your husband. Although her first reaction was a bit too much.

The ending came as a big surprise. No HEA, not even a real HFN, just different, more of a real life ending. This came as a welcome change to the very predictable endings you have nowadays (which I also like, some people just are made to be together ;) ) Although I preferred a bit more of an epilogue…

Conclusion

2 HEARTS. This book was OK. No fireworks, no throwing things, just a nice story for a dull afternoon. But with an unusual ending, which made it more refreshing to read.

I loved this book - a fun and frothy tale of Taylor, the rock star's daughter. Romance, teenage angst and rebellion. A great tale - glad I discovered this author and looking forward to more Treadwell Academy stories.

This is the 2nd Treadwell book I've read, and I really enjoyed both of them. I've especially enjoyed getting to know Betsey much better after first meeting her in The Rockstar's Daughter.
This book is much darker, as we find out that Betsey is keeping a terrible secret that threatens to destroy her family. Betsey is much misunderstood, and her seemingly dreadful behaviour is due to the secret that she must escape from.
Brilliant stuff - looking forward to the 3rd Treadwell encounter.

I really enjoyed this book, as I have all the Treadwell stories thus far. I found some of the writing very moving, the struggles that Grace & Aaron had when they had no money or food and Grace's meetings with Felix particularly.
This is one of those books that pulls you right in...I felt like I was in New York with Grace, feeling all those emotions and confusion at her parents deceptions.
Absolutely loved this book. Hoping to read more by Caitlyn Duffy very soon.

An overall “meh.” It’s not boring enough to knock it down to two stars, but there were points that I did want to shout “Get on with it!”

What I did like about this is that a good chunk of Taylor’s characterization is her dealing with her mother’s death and suddenly being thrust into her father’s world. It’s not completely explored, but I like that there’s more of an acknowledgement every now and then, and that while Taylor did think of her mother being irresponsible, they did care for each other. Plus, there’s a fairly realistic development in Taylor’s relationship with her stepmother and half-sister; there’s unease between all parties, but then they end up being friendly and supportive to one another. And Jill isn’t even horribly vilified to begin with.

That said, there’s really not much to the book. It’s fairly rote fluff, girl dealing with sudden fame. There were parts that really dragged, bits when Taylor started acting out of character. It’s not boring enough to make me go and want to rip my eyes out, but it still drags. And there’s really not much to this book. The character development of Taylor was good, but the rest just dragged. Not really one that I’m jumping up and down to read. (Okay, so it was free in the Kindle shop. That’s my reasoning.)

It's a sweet, simple book. It kind of felt like fanfiction [the whole band/rockstar thing, probably] but it wasn't that bad.

Fast and Easy

The Rock Star's Daughter by Caitlyn Duffy is a contemporary YA novel about a 15 year old girl who goes on tour with her rocker dad after her mother dies accidentally.

I zipped through this light read chosen from Amazon's Top 100 List. A nicely written and conceived YA novel that I think has good appeal for that demographic.

From the first chapter I enjoyed the writing style, like that of a confidante, even though I usually don't enjoy first person narratives.

Our protagonist, Taylor, seems mature on the surface, but reveals her immaturity in her bad choices and volatile emotions. She'll turn out just fine though as her internal compass is on the right course.

Enjoyed this coming of age story and would recommend it.

Taylor is on summer break from boarding school and home with her mom in LA. She has all sorts of plans but they are cut short when her mother dies and her father, a rock star she barely knows, take custody of her. Now she is traveling with his band while they are on tour, and as fun as this might sound, the shock of her mother's death, and being removed from everything she knows leaves her feeling lost. She is also not crazy about her dad or his wife. One bright light appears, when a guy who is on the tour with them starts showing interest in her.

This was a fun book. Taylor is an interesting girl who has a pretty good head on her shoulders. She makes mistakes but overall she learns from them. She also learns to give people a chance and accept their flaws. This is a good coming of age sort of book with a chick lit twist.

Spoilers. Not much to say. Young girl with a pretty screwed-up mother; mother dies so she gets taken in by her father the rock star, and his family & his band. She learns a lot & grows up & by the end she has a family.