Teen Fiction - Girls & Young Women, Teen Fiction - Entertainment & Arts
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Overview
In Diva, the companion to Alex Flinn’s YA novel Breathing Under Water, Caitlin is dealing with a lot. She’s living through the aftermath of an abusive relationship, she has a youth-obsessed mother who just doesn’t understand her, and she’s on a constant yo-yo diet to live up the standards of her nitpicking friends.
All Caitlin wants is to escape her not-so-glamorous life and pursue her dream of becoming a singer, but when she’s accepted into the Miami High School of the Arts, her life doesn’t magically become perfect. Yet despite some struggles to keep up with her competitive classmates and the distraction of cute new crush, Caitlin never loses her sense of humor and eventually gains the confidence to achieve her goals.
Perfect for fans of such books as Carolyn Mackler’s The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Several shades lighter than Alex Flinn's Breathing Underwater, the sequel, Diva, traces a new chapter in 16-year-old Caitlin McCourt's life. After she breaks up with her abusive boyfriend, Caitlin enrolls in the Miami High School of the Arts, where she wants nothing more than to become an opera-singing diva. Her struggle to regain trust in people (mainly teenage boys and her mother) is as convincing and captivating as her journey to realize her dream. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature -
A "diva" doesn't always have it all. In fact, Caitlin McCourt has been through a lot. She got a restraining order against her physically and emotionally abusive boyfriend who obviously ruined her self-esteem. Luckily, she's picked herself back up again, but continually struggles with her weight, and she also has issues with her mother. Her mother would rather have people think of Caitlin as her sister, and is involved with a married man who doesn't have it all together, either. To make matters worse, she flirts with her friends and isn't a supporting anchor for Caitlin. Caitlin's remarried father is rarely in her life. Finally, something goes right and she gets into Miami High School of the Arts where she can practice her opera singing. Of course, she struggles with the dancing and with trying to fit in with the artsy students. She feels a bit more "normal" and decides she has to confront the problems she faces at her new school. Caitlin's story is told in many forms, including online journaling, or blogging. She's a multifaceted character who's empathetic and real to the bone. Her issues with family and friends are real and relatable to many teenagers.VOYA -
There is more to being a diva than wearing a T-shirt with sparkles. You need drive and vocal talent. Caitlin-who can nail the C above high C-admires the real divas of the world, such as Maria Callas. She wants a career in opera and secretly auditions for the Miami High School of the Arts. Her audition, though, does not just come as the result of wanting to join the ranks of Joan Sutherland. Ex-boyfriend Nick, who was abusive, still attends her current high school. Caitlin's "friends" don't understand her love of opera. Makeup and weight loss seem to be the only things that her mother cares about. A change of environment would not only help Caitlin further her dream of singing professionally, but it also might just give her a place where she can belong, make real friends, and definitely not think about Nick. But first, she has to survive dance class. Flinn, a trained coloratura soprano, gives Caitlin the opportunity to use all the determination she has in her singing to overcome her obstacles, even making parallels between operas and Caitlin's life. This sequel to Breathing Underwater (HarperCollins, 2001/VOYA June 2001) can stand alone. There are many themes in this book, including family relations, friendship, sacrifice, and deception, that complement each other and tie up well at the end. Chick lit fans will come to this book for the cover, but they will stay for Caitlin's strength and personal growth.KLIATT
Diva picks up where Breathing Underwater leaves off, but this time, it is Caitlin's turn to tell the story, relating her life post-break-up with her abusive ex-boyfriend Nick. Besides learning to forget about him, Caitlin is also dealing with other issues: since dating Nick, she's lost almost all her old friends, leaving her with a group of airheads she doesn't care about. As a result, she has more time to pursue her real passion, opera singing. Flinn explores Caitlin's passion in full, alluding to famous works and showing the reader how desperately Caitlin dreams of being an opera diva. Caitlin enters an arts high school, against her mother's will, but it is here that she finally blossoms. Caitlin becomes increasingly loveable as she wrestles her way through a new school, adjusting to the new social life and pressures of auditions and rehearsals. The contrast between her old cheerleading friends and new artsy friends helps Caitlin realize just how far she has come, and it is very satisfying to watch her grow as a person. She sets an excellent example as someone who follows her dreams, despite other people's opinions. KLIATT Codes: S--Recommended for senior high school students. 2006, HarperCollins, 272p., $15.99 and $16.89. Ages 15 to 18.—Joanna Solomon
School Library Journal
Gr 7-10-Caitlin, who was abused by her 16-year-old boyfriend, Nick, in Flinn's Breathing Underwater (HarperCollins, 2001), wants to put that relationship behind her. A talented opera singer, she gets into Miami High School for the Performing Arts despite her own nervousness and her mother's objections. Even there she feels like an outcast as she can't dance or sing pop and she obsesses about her weight. Her mother dresses like a teenager, is dating a married man, and seems to live off her ex-husband. At auditions, she meets another talented opera singer, Sean, but just as Caitlin's starting to fall for him, she realizes he's gay. While she's struggling to put all this into perspective, her singing instructor suggests that she try out for a summer opera program in New York. In the end, the teenager patches things up with her ex, who has reformed through counseling. After she gains new respect for her mother, and new confidence, she decides to pursue her dream and is accepted to the program in New York. Caitlin tells her story partly through online journal entries. Although her understanding of her mother comes too rapidly, this is a solid story, full of self-deprecating humor, snappy dialogue, and well-developed characters and situations.-Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Kirkus Reviews
Determined to become an opera diva, 16-year-old Caitlin McCourt transfers to Miami High School of the Arts (MHSA), where at first fitting in with her talented new classmates is difficult. However, thanks to her mother and ex-boyfriend, Nick, her transition is even more complicated. Flinn first introduced Caitlin and Nick's physically abusive relationship in Breathing Underwater (2001), and although the couple is separated, aftershocks from this earlier text are still palpable, especially Caitlin's major confidence issues, in particular regarding her weight. Although Nick makes several appearances (despite a restraining order), Caitlin slowly and plausibly moves past this destructive relationship by focusing on her transition to MHSA, her funky new friends, who are drawn with great depth, and the discovery of her powerful voice, both on stage and off, especially when dealing with her mother. Realistic and thoughtful. (Fiction. YA)Book Details
Published
May 14, 2013
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
304
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780062124340