Izzy's Popstar Plan by Alex Marestaing

Photo taken from Booksneeze

Book Info

Title:  Izzy's Popstar Plan

Author:  Alex Marestaing

Publisher:  Thomas Nelson 

Language: English

Format:  Paperback

Pages:  256 pages

ISBN-10:  1400316545

ISBN-13:  978-1400316540

Source:  Publisher, Booksneeze

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Summary

From Booksneeze:

"Izzy Baxter has big plans—popstar plans. Ever since she was six, she’s dreamed of becoming the world’s next singing sensation. Now sixteen, her singing career is on the rise, and she’s been selected to compete on the hit TV show International Popstar Challenge. As Izzy performs in far off locations such as Tokyo and Paris, it seems as if her plans are coming off without a hitch. But God has plans of His own, and Izzy will soon discover that living for Him is “way cooler” than megastar fame.

Presented like a daily blog, set up like a devotional, and read like a novel—this book will be an instant hit with tween girls. This cutting edge new product will meet girls where they are, and girls will love following Izzy on her incredible adventure. Plus, they’ll get daily spiritual food to equip them on their own incredible adventure with God."

Review

Who among us did not want to be a pop star when we were younger?  I admit I imagined myself eclipsing Britney Spears at some point in my teens, but apparently I was meant for other 'bigger things' so instead of going to Hollywood, I went to college and got myself a nursing degree (ignore the fact that what I call dancing is actually just swaying side to side and my singing is better kept within family gatherings; except for church choir but hey singing alto is not very difficult - for me that is.).  Enter Izzy Baxter, a young lady who dreamed of being a pop star since she was six years old and singing with her hairbrush in the bathroom for hours, pretending to be performing in a huge concert.  In helping her reach her dreams, she would practice singing and write songs every day and lead the worship in their Christian church group.  Readers are treated to a blog account of what happens in Izzy's life as she prepared for her audition for the hit television show, International Pop Star Challenge.  Adding to the whole inspirational and devotional aspect were Bible passages and prayers related to a particular blog entry.  

Story-wise, I thought the writing was very solid and believable, yet imaginative.  This is the first time I read a story written through blog entries and I admire unique presentations of a story.  It's difficult to maintain that authenticity when writing a blog post because the prose becomes too impersonal and too 'out there' that you just read for the sake of reading, not really for getting into the story.  In this case, it was done creatively that you find yourself getting sucked into Izzy's world and feeling like you were actually there just reading through her 'blog.'  You also don't just get into what's currently happening to Izzy, you can also read between the lines with what's happening to her friends and family.  For example, there was an incident wherein Izzy had a covert falling out with her best friend and although it was not too obvious and told through Izzy's perspective, you knew how the best friend felt as there were no blog comments from her for a few days and even when she commented, it sounded stilted and reserved and you knew that things weren't fine yet.  Just because the story was told through Izzy's point of view did not lessen the experience of getting to know the other characters involved.

Non-fiction-wise, this daily devotional that read like a novel kicked up the standard of daily devotional books a notch as it made each day's message more inspiring and enlightening through Izzy's story.  The reader would be able to appreciate the Bible passages more as Izzy's story provided a good example for what the verses talked about.  This is a good book for young girls and teenagers to read daily, I am very sure that this would help them get through their daily lives and following their dreams.  For an adult of twenty-five, I found this pretty moving and empowering and it made me feel closer to God because I was able to recognize His hand through everything that happened in Izzy's life, which in turn made me see His hand in everything that happened in mine.  This is a very compelling and endearing read that many people would enjoy.

If you are like Izzy who has a dream to reach - and I bet we all have one - this is a very good book to read in order to help you make yours a reality, and to understand God's plan for everything that happens in your life.  That sometimes, what you want may not be what God wants for you, but He has something greater that would fit you even better than what you wanted for yourself.  If anything, this book tells us that everything happens for a reason, and that what you want is not always what you need - what you need may even be better than what you wanted, after all.

Rating

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Notice 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
 

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