The Secret Crush

by Tina Wells

I reviewed the prequel to this book, Mackenzie Blue, back last March. And well... I didn't really like it that much. I'm very pleased to say that I enjoyed the sequel much, much more.

In The Secret Crush, Zee's class is putting on its very first rock-and-roll musical. Zee is having a lot of fun working on the props, script, costumes, and more. Plus, the musical is her chance to get Landon (the cutest boy in school) to notice her. However, Zee later finds herself caught between several different directions (schoolwork, friends, the musical...). Will she be able to pull herself together in time for the musical?

This book was really cute and fun to read. I haven't read a book about a musical or school play for a long time, so it was great to read about the process of putting a musical together. I was worried that the characters would still be kind of cliched, as they were in Mackenzie Blue, but I was glad to see that all the characters were explored more in-depth. The mini-illustrations in the book were fun to see and really added to the story. Overall, The Secret Crush is a wonderful book for upper elementary school kids, and older readers will find themselves smiling as well!

(Review copy provided by publisher.)