My Life: The Musical

By Maryrose Wood

To best friends and devoted theater fans Emily and Philip, Aurora is no ordinary Broadway musical. Their love for the hit show (whose reclusive author has never been named) is nothing short of an obsession. Thanks to a secret loan from Emily’s grandma Rose, seeing the Saturday matinee has become a weekly ritual that makes real life seem dull and drab by comparison.
But when the theater chat rooms start buzzing with crazy rumors that Aurora might close, Emily and Philip find themselves grappling with some truly show-stopping questions. What, exactly, is the “one sure thing” in show business? How will they pay back the money they owe Grandma Rose? And why hasn’t Philip asked Emily out on a real date? As they go to hilarious lengths to indulge their passion for Aurora, Emily and Philip must face the fact that all shows close sooner or later. But first they’ll put their friendship to the ultimate test, solve Broadway’s biggest mystery–and spend one unforgettable night at the theater.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 11, 2008
• ISBN: 9780375846403

Maryrose Wood

Maryrose Wood is the author of the first five books (so far!) in this series about the Incorrigible children and their governess. These books may be considered works of fiction, which is to say, the true bits and the untrue bits are so thoroughly mixed together that no one should be able to tell the difference. This process of fabrication is fully permitted under the terms of the author's Poetic License, which is one of her most prized possessions. Maryrose's other qualifications for writing these tales include a scandalous stint as a professional thespian, many years as a private governess to two curious and occasionally rambunctious pupils, and whatever literary insights she may have gleaned from living in close proximity to a clever but disobedient dog.

Reviews for My Life

[abbylibrarian_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Emily and Phil are completely, utterly, head-over-heels obsessed with the musical Aurora. Ever since the first time they saw it (at the same preview performance; it was destiny for them to become best friends), they fell in love with the music and characters and quirky costumes. Funded by Emily's grandmother, they sneak into the city every Saturday to get rush tickets for the matinée. But vicious rumors are circling that Aurora might be closing for good... What will Emily and Phil do without their favorite musical? And can they do anything (ANYTHING at ALL) to save it??This fun, light book has a tinge of serious and a sprinkling of weird, but it's a good choice for theater buffs. One of my favorite things is that each chapter's title is a song from a different musical. I'd hand it to theatrical teens and tweens, although I liked E. Lockhart's Dramarama better.

[mjsbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Up front, let me admit that I am in the target group for this teen novel: fans of the American musical theater. So I really got a kick out of the references to famous Broadway tunes in each chapter heading. 16-year-old Emily Pearl is an obsessive fan of a (fictional) Broadway show called Aurora... so much so that she and her best buddy Philip take the train into New York City every Saturday to buy rush tickets for the matinee. Rumors of the show's closing send them into a tailspin, but all ends well. Humorous and knowing.