Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read and review an ebook copy of For the Record by Charlotte Huang.
For the Record is about a girl named Chelsea who lost a TV singing competition show (think American Idol, X-Factor) and then she got the opportunity to be the lead singer for a band named Melbourne. Only she has to prove herself worthy during their summer tour. The book is about her summer with the band playing sold out shows in clubs, dating famous actors, falling for the band's bassist, and dealing with the rest of the band.
I really enjoyed this book. I was captivated by page one. If there is anything I like as much as books, it would be music. I've seen For the Record described on Goodreads as, "If Almost Famous were a YA novel." I can see that as far as the story following a rock band on tour. That's really where the similarities stop for me though. I was pleasantly surprised that For the Record was not a book all about drugs, sex, and drinking. While there was some light alcohol drinking, there wasn't any drug use. Which is a shocker!!! Also, even though there was sex it wasn't anything too crazy and it wasn't the main focus of the book. Of course there was some rock 'n' roll though!!
I thought the characters were all interesting, but there were a couple that fell a little flat to me. Pem and Lucas for example felt a little lifeless and dull. I couldn't connect with them at all or even imagine them as real people. I hope that makes sense LOL! :P Luckily it didn't make the book any less enjoyable. Another thing I didn't like was pretty much all of Chelsea's background story. All the stuff from her hometown and with her ex-boyfriend seemed pretty weird to me. I did not like how it was written because it all seemed false and too much like a story. Also, even though I love the ending it seemed to be a pretty abrupt one. I would read a sequel if the author wrote one.
Overall, For the Record is a great debut novel by Charlotte Huang. There were a few things that I didn't care for, but mostly it was a fantastic novel. I look forward to seeing what she will write in the future. I recommend this for fans of Almost Famous (if you don't mind a toned down YA version), music lovers, and for YA contemporary fans.
