Girl Who Became a Beatle

VOYA - Barbara Johnston

When Regina (Gina) Bloomsbury realizes that her band, the Caverns, is on the verge of breaking up, she desperately tosses off a wish to be as famous as the Beatles. A fairy godmother who communicates via computer grants her wish and, overnight, the Caverns replace the Beatles and claim their songs. The Caverns, featuring Gina, play a big MTV gig at Gina's high school. The fame feels wonderful, and Gina begins to think, "A girl could get used to this." When the Caverns head to L.A. for the Grammy Awards, Gina reconnects with her star-struck mother and discovers that she has a boyfriend, hunky film star Bradley Sawyer. Although Julian and the band are upset with her, Gina enjoys being in the limelight. Nevertheless, she still frets about obliterating the Beatles from music history and taking their success. Ultimately she decides to end her fantasy and earn her own fame. Since this novel is a fractured form of the Cinderella story, the players are familiar and the plot is predictable. Regina is a typical teen, insecure in her appearance, talent, and status with peers. Band member Julian is a true friend, media star Bradley is a cutout, and Gina's father is the responsible parent. In the end, "good guys" and good sense triumph. Narrated conversationally by Gina, the novel successfully captures the glittering world of a pop princess. Trivia about the Beatles, their music, and their tours add interest, and the novel will appeal to younger teens. Reviewer: Barbara Johnston

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Teenage musician and Beatlemaniac Regina Bloomsbury disappears into an alternative world when, frustrated with her high school bandmates, she makes a bedtime wish to be as popular as the Fab Four. When Regina wakes to discover that she and her band, the Caverns, are not only world-famous rock stars, but that they have also replaced the Beatles in rock-and-roll history, she is both grateful and dismayed. While she and the Caverns have achieved recognition, infighting among them inspired in part by Regina's stealing the spotlight leads to tension and the threat of group dissolution. And while she believes in the music of the Beatles enough to consider her new position as a conduit of their work something of an honor, she questions the price of this privilege. Taylor peppers his novel with a number of set pieces familiar to readers of the teen-celebrity novel: there are the obligatory scenes involving paparazzi and a brief romance with a teenage heartthrob who turns out to be much less appealing than the character he plays on television. These tropes don't overwhelm the story, which focuses more on Regina's musicianship, performances, and internal world than on the cosmetic aspects of fame. While the novel concludes predictably, its secondary focus on Regina's relationship with her father—particularly as it is threatened by the appearance of her estranged mother—and her discovery of other famous bands that were living through "replacements" provide some depth to the narrative.—Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston

Kirkus Reviews

This high-concept, wish-gone-awry modern fairy tale concerns an aspiring 16-year-old musician whose band, the Caverns, is splitting up. Devastated by her bandmates' desertion, the everygirl protagonist Regina wishes that she could be as famous as her musical lodestar, the Beatles. Her wish does come true, but with a twist: The Beatles have been obliterated from history, and the Caverns have replaced them song by song.Regina still has problems with her family and bandmates, but she's now the composer of the Beatles songbook and a famous rocker.She soon learns that she has a choice—to live in this fake fairy-tale world forever or return to her quotidian life. Told in fractured–fairy-tale mode but without that genre's lighter-than-air charm, the story skims the surface rather than attacking the deeper and more interesting ethical and intellectual dilemmas her situation raises. Similarly, a subplot with Regina's mother has the potential for emotional complexity and punch but remains largely unmined. Strong premise—a frothy fantasy with an enjoyable backstage peek—but disappointingly uninvolving. (Fantasy. 11-15)

From the Publisher

“As in his debut novel, Killer Pizza, Taylor has hold of an undeniably clever concept.” –Publishers Weekly

“Regina’s relationship with her father–particularly as it is threatened by the appearance of her estranged mother–and her discovery of other famous bands that were living through “replacements” provide some depth to the narrative.” –School Library Journal

“Easy appeal to fans of music-fueled novels.” –Booklist