Rising Star-The Dani Truehart Series

I was contacted by the author to read this book and while it is definitely not a genre I normally read; this book is really good!

I think at one point or another we've all thought about what it would be like to be famous. The money, the clothes, the attention. But we rarely think about the tremendous amount of hard work and personal sacrifice that goes into gaining and maintaining all that fame. The author gives us a really good sneak peek into what that life is like. 

Dani Trueheart is definitely not your average fifteen-year-old. She lives at home with her mom, dad and sister, Geena. Things for the most part are great, except for the fact that her mother runs her entire life. From what she wears, to her schedule, even what she eats, keeping her on a diet since she was 10. She will stop at nothing to have Dani achieve success, because the success is something she herself was never able to attain. 

Danis mom has hired Martin, an ex-80's boyband member to help her along on her journey. He believes Dani will make it big, so he reaches out to his ex-business manager, Jenner and get a contract going. There's only one catch: Martin has to be given guardianship of Dani. Her parent finally relent, and Martin takes Dani on the journey of a lifetime. Starting with living at the Jenner compound in Malibu. 

Happy to leave her controlling mother at home, she moves into the mansion with Martin to begin recording her EP. Every day is a whirlwind of stuff to do. From dancing lessons, to singing for hours on end and more exercise. Being isolated from her friends and more importantly her boyfriend is getting harder and harder every day. Despite wanting to make it as a star, she misses her old life. Typical teenage things creep up, can she handle the demands that are coming at her or can she manage to keep it all together so she can make her dreams come true?

I was really surprised by this book. The characters development is outstanding. It was really hard as a parent to see the way her mother treats Dani and her sister. As a mother myself, this was really hard to read. I'm sure this is not an uncommon thing among young famous people but it's still sad. To use your child to gain money or fame yourself or worse, to fulfill some fantasy you had yourself of fame. I felt the author did a really good job of conveying the feelings and craziness that encompass the road to fame. The chapters are short, and the pacing is great. The books starts off slow but has a great build up, ending with a cliffhanger! I am definitely looking forward to seeing how Danis career and life go from here.