"The Reece Malcolm List" by Amy Spalding

NOTE: I received the arc through Netgalley.

I don't want to insult anyone, but I must say what I think, so I should say that this book was mediocre, average and closer to 'ok' than 'good'. I gave it an extra star because it was informative on a lot of choir related stuff I didn't know, because there were funny moments that cracked me up, and because it was fast-paced, so it didn't require too much attention.

One thing I definitely liked was the writing style. It was light, and I really liked all the (inclusions), which were sometimes funny to read. In my opinion, those (inclusions) were creative.

I didn't like how unrealistic most of the characters were. I think only Brad felt believable the entire time, and perhaps Reece Malcolm as well, so I liked those two a lot. But besides them... well...let's just say that everyone was either too cliche, or an obvious attempt to escape the cliche.

Here's what I mean:
-Devan, the narrator/lead female was so shy and absolutely kind and selfless most of the time, I thought she was too shallow as a character. Also, she didn't see herself as someone special, when she's this super amazing singer or whatever(cliche, no?). I mean, real people have shades, depth, you know? With her, everything was the same. I can't remember how many times she wanted to say something, but didn't. It got boring. At the end, we're supposed to think that she's changed, grown, because she found it in her to lash out at her mom and the guy she liked? I don't know. It just sounds superficial.

-Sai was definitely not my favorite character at all. He was supposed to be 'oh-so-good', you know, in looks, and he was so 'absolutely nice', no one could actually hate him. Right. But in truth he just played two girls and they both responded at his beck and call. He wasn't a jock, but then again, does it really matter who the player is?

-Elijah was by far better than Sai. At least he was honest. And I hated it how things were doomed to not work between him and Devan from the very start.

-Travis was too full of himself; Mira was absurdly judgmental; Lissa was someone who only made me want to gag.

Another thing I didn't like was the fact that the reader was expected to know all those musicals, plays, and songs. To have at least heard of them and watched them once or twice. To know who the characters were and what happened in each scene. If you haven't (like me), you'd think that you're left out of the inside jokes half the time. It was annoying.

So, in conclusion I can say that the story needs to be worked on. It's got some serious flaws. But other than that it's a quick, silly read that can take your mind off of everyday life for a bit.

My rating is