29 May 2006 DIVA by Alex Flinn, Harper Tempest, October 2006, ISBN: 0-06-056843-7; Libr. ISBN: 0-06-056845-3

"There's only one direction in the faces that I see;

It's upward to the ceiling, where the chamber's said to be.

Like the forest fight for sunlight, that takes root in every tree.

They are pulled up by the magnet, believing that they're free.

" --Genesis, "The Carpet Crawlers" from the rock opera, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

Rock opera is about as close to opera as I usually get. But my lack of enthusiasm for the real thing wouldn't bother sixteen year old Opera_Grrrl, aka Caitlin McCourt. She is well aware that it is not everyone's cup of tea, but that does not at all diminish her passion for experiencing and singing opera. Furthermore, my own lack of interest in experiencing opera did not in any way diminish my becoming thoroughly and enthusiastically engaged in DIVA, the story that begins with Caitlin's successfully auditioning to become a student at Miami High School of the Arts, and leaving behind her old school in the wake of the serious events in her life that were chronicled in Alex Flinn's first book, BREATHING UNDERWATER.

(But don't worry about needing to read that book before reading DIVA. I still haven't gotten a chance to read BREATHING UNDERWATER. This is not like a fantasy trilogy where it's essential to go in order.)

"The thing about losing a lot of weight is that it feels temporary, like you're just a thin fatgirl, and one good Big Mac will send you exploding from your jeans again. I weighed a hundred and five when I left [the weight reduction] camp last year. Since then I've gained and lost the same fifteen pounds a dozen times. Right now, I weigh one-fifteen, which is what the weight charts say you're supposed to weigh at five-three. The guy who made the weight chart (and I'm sure it was a guy) didn't go to my school, though. At my school, the most you can weigh is one-ten, even if you're five-foot-nine."

Some may question the wisdom of Caitlin's ongoing struggle/obsession with her weight, and her incorporating the daily tale of the scale into her online journal. I found the teen's search for a consistent nutritional regime to be both realistic and admirable. In light of the horrifying estimates of childhood obesity and diabetes I discussed earlier this year in reviewing Eric Schlosser's CHEW ON THIS: EVERYTHING YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT FAST FOOD, I found a teen character here who has an ongoing investment in maintaining a healthy weight and who is not suffering from an eating disorder. Of course, getting away from her old school and her old friends aids in her being significantly more sane about it.

Another bit of sanity that I found in the story is the reality that it is not sufficient for Caitlin to have a gift for singing opera. She needs the commitment to work long and hard every day to achieve what she desires. Having been accepted into the performing arts school based upon her singing audition, she immediately struggles with the dancing that is required for class ensemble performances but, because of that commitment, she seeks assistance and does the work necessary to make the cut for the show. Most telling is a scene in which an older student with lots of initial promise but a preference for partying is informed after a mediocre performance that she should change majors.

"At lunch, I tell Gigi [about Mary]...

"Gigi rolls her eyes. 'You said yourself the girl wasn't very good. Rowena probably did her a huge favor. Why does it bother you?'

" 'But can you imagine not singing anymore? Why wake up in the morning?'

" 'But that's how you feel about it. If she felt that way, she'd have practiced more. Then she wouldn't be getting this news.'

" 'I guess.'

" 'Absolutely. It's like a reality show where they vote the weaklings off first. When you're five and dancing in your mom's dresses, everyone's a superstar. But then some people get picked to be "listeners" in music class, and others don't make the good chorus in middle school, and others don't get in here. And some people screw up. But that's not you, Cait. You can make it.'

" 'I guess,' I repeat.

"But that night and both days of the weekend, I sing scales for an extra hour."

I haven't even mentioned Caitlin's ongoing struggle to deal with the aftermath of having been the victim of physical abuse by the hands of her boyfriend in BREATHING UNDERWATER, or the struggle of Caitlin's dealing with a mother who resorts to making herself feel better at Caitlin's expense, and who becomes involved in a very questionable relationship herself. In fact, Alex Flinn packs an amazing amount of high-interest story into this book.

But for this oblivious-to-opera Deadhead, I was entranced, above all, by the aspects of the story involving a complex teen with a passion for a relatively unusual flavor of performing arts, who pays attention to priorities and is faced with overcoming a fear of failure while simultaneously dealing with the rest of her life.

Richie Partington

http://richiespicks.com

BudNotBuddy@aol.com