A 2014 Stonewall Honor Book in Children's and Young Adult Literature
2014 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults
Middle schooler Nate Foster has a dream to some day star in a Broadway show. So when his best friend, Libby, sees on Facebook that auditions are taking place for E.T.: The Musical, she and Nate hatch a plan for him to sneak away from his home in Jankburg, Pennsylvania and head to New York so that he can try out. Taking advantage of his parents going out of town and leaving his brother in charge of him (and more than happy to let Nate spend the night at Libby's), Nate is supposed to be in and out of New York by the early afternoon, but naturally, things don't run as smoothly as he plans. Between the arrival of his aunt Heidi, who his mother hasn't spoken to in years after a major falling out, and surprise callbacks, Nate is determined to do anything if it means stardom and a chance to tread the boards. And maybe, just maybe, he'll find himself along the way.
This is one of those books that kind of just rolls along, throwing a new mishap or obstacle in the way at every turn. In some cases, a story like this can strain belief, but Nate is such a likable character, that it's easy to suspend your disbelief and just roll along with him. Tim Federle does a great job making Nate seem real enough and drama-kid-crazy enough that all of this seems plausible (and if you've spent any time at all around theatre types, it'll definitely seem real). And even though Nate's immediate focus is on auditioning and getting the part, he's also hoping that all of this will catapult him into a bigger and better self. New York is basically one big It Gets Better video, a place where you can be you, and nobody cares, unlike Jankburg, where simply liking musicals is enough to get you shoved into lockers and picked last in gym class. Better Nate Than Ever is a charming, easy-going book, with a good dose of humor, even when dealing with a few serious issues.
(Read as part of YALSA's Hub Reading Challenge.)
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