Fireworks audiobook

Full Review on The Candid CoverFireworks is the 90s stardom book I never knew I wanted. The hard work and intense training shown in the story is exactly what I love to see, and the main character has a complex backstory and is so likeable. What I especially adored is the female friendship between the two main characters, since it is actually goals. Fans of Katie Cotugno’s previous books will not be disappointed with her latest work!As a sucker for any book related to the arts, I naturally loved this one. What I especially enjoyed is the fact that this book doesn’t skip over the intense training of the band members and just mention the performances. The story is filled with voice lessons and intense dance practise, which I could never survive. However, there is also a cute boy band included, which I could definitely live with.I loved Dana’s character. She doesn’t have an easy life and has a hard time fitting in with the other girls in the band. Dana is so considerate to her friends and just wants everyone to have a good time. I sympathized with her because she is such a nice person and has a hard time saying no to the other girls. Her character is also so complex and well-developed, which I always love to see.One of my favourite things about Fireworks is the strong female friendship. Dana and Olivia have been best friends their entire lives and are basically sisters. Olivia even put an extra bed in her room for Dana to use during their frequent sleepovers. It really hurt to see the pressure of the music world start to come between them and watch them slowly start to drift apart. Even so, I think that the fact that Dana goes along with Olivia to live a dream that isn’t really hers is absolute friendship goals.Fireworks is a musical book filled with the behind-the-scenes aspects of a rising girl band. The main character is so complex and likeable, and the strong friendship is so adorable. I would definitely recommend this book, especially to fans of 90s music.

Review originally posted on Mostly YA Lit:Fireworks by Katie Cotugno features Olivia and Dana, best friends who live in small town Georgia in the 90s. Dana is poor, with a mother who drinks too much, and no prospects after high school. Meanwhile, Olivia has been dreaming of being famous her whole life. When the opportunity to audition for a new girl group by a famous producer comes up, Dana accompanies Olivia to Orlando - and ends up being picked as part of Daisy Chain as well.I'm a sucker for any kind of music story, especially ones where people have to train for success. I really liked how Katie Cotugno structured this book, though. It's definitely NOT your typical training-montage-to-big-concert kind of book. Instead, Cotugno focuses on themes of breaking out of a small-town existence, and being strong enough to understand, give, and receive love - platonic and non-platonic.It's a unique way to approach a seemingly fun setting, but as you get into the book, you realize how perfect it is. 90s Orlando is glitzy with Disney and heat, but it's also a sleazy place where teens are seen as products, and everything feels a little unreal.[caption id="attachment_3799" align="aligncenter" width="575"] This is 90s Orlando to me: were you a Backstreet Boys girl or an 'NSYNC fan?[/caption]It's also a place where teens can live relatively alone with little supervision. This leads to a lot of underage drinking and drug use going on, which felt realistic. It's the perfect breeding ground for teen melodrama. Not only is there a sheltered vs. worldly thing going on between the Daisy Chain members, but there's also a lot of jealousy, backstabbing, and frustration. And nowhere is that more obvious than when Dana ends up meeting and liking Alex, the lead in an up-and-coming boy band. Olivia has a crush on him, so there's a forbidden romance/love triangle going on.I really appreciated that the love triangle was never, ever the focus of the book, though. Nor was the focus the 90s - or even the music. While Fireworks does have moments of levity and 90s-ness, it's a bit deeper than I expected, exploring the realities of girl friendship. Cotugno's writing is confident, and she has a real grasp of what she wants her themes to be. I loved how she used each facet of this one summer experience to show more of the friendship between Olivia and Dana - how they grow, change, move on and stand alone. Above all, Fireworks is a book about learning your own strengths and what you really want - outside of what people might want for you. Book PLAYLIST: I actually had to go and make a whole playlist for Fireworks while I was reading, because it made me super nostalgic for my teen years. I really couldn't decide on a specific song for this book, so just listen and enjoy - and feel free to hit shuffle!  The Final Word: Fireworks is my first Katie Cotugno book, and I'm happy to say that it lived up to my expectations, with thoughtful, considerate writing, a strong and complex girl friendship, and a swoony boy. I went into this book expecting something fun and light, and came out with something more. While I personally would have liked a little more levity from it, I really enjoyed this classic summer contemporary. I whipped through it in a few days, and I'll definitely be reading more Katie Cotugno soon.

3.5 out of 5 I really enjoyed this! Going in I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I was just expecting some crazy girl band drama but got much more than that. Yes, there was definitely drama but there was also friendship. Granted that the ending didn’t really sit well with me in terms of the friendship but it happened for a reason. Dana now will have lots of possibilities for her future. Dana was a wonderful main character. She has seen a lot of struggle at an early age. Having to take care of her mom and providing to keep the family going. She really needed the chance to shine bright and she got it. She knew how much was at stake for her but still valued her friendship with Olivia more. And I loved her chemistry with Alex. He was so sweet and always believed in Dana. I loved their relationship. And Olivia was just not good enough for Dana. I did not like her. It seemed like all Olivia cared about was for her career. It was so easy for her to forget her friends back at home and then isolating Dana as well. Nope, I didn’t like Olivia. Specially, with what she did in the end. This was my first Katie Cotugno book and it’s suffice to say it did not disappoint. I can tell I am going to enjoy her books quote a lot in future.

This review was originally posted on Andi's ABCsSometimes you pick up a book and you just don't know how it is going to go for you. You've read books by the author and enjoyed one and was conflicted on the other. You like the premise but know it has the potential to go in a different direction than you expect. Because of these things you are almost scared to pick up the book. This was me with Fireworks. I was worried how I would feel about it. I was scared I wouldn't love it. I was scared I would be disappointed or conflicted. Instead I got one of my favorite books of the year. Simply put...it was freaking fantastic.There was so much I loved about Fireworks. The setting, the characters, the romance, the friendship, the plot, the writing. I loved it all and I loved it all because it meshed flawlessly together. As soon as I started reading and realized these girls would technically be my age now, I was sucked in. Then I got the the 'boy band' part and I was transported to the 90s. Then I got to the romance and I swooned. And finally I got to the heartache of strained friendships and I bawled. The book was magical in its beautiful woven parts and made me a fan for life.I really can't even find the words to tell you how genuinely in love I am with Fireworks. It was a book that just got me. I felt a connection to it and I just can't explain why. It wasn't what I expected yet it was what I wanted and more. Another must read in 2017.

Originally posted on Super Space Chick:Personal Thoughts: As I may have (definitely) mentioned, Katie Cotugno is one of my favorite contemporary YA authors. In fact, she’s definitely in the top three. I love her words to pieces so when I heard that her newest novel would be set in Orlando in the 1990’s during the boy band craze, I couldn’t possibly be more on board. And the cover! And the endpapers! While Fireworks didn’t end up being my new favorite of her’s (the number one spot still belongs to How to Love), I did thoroughly enjoy it, especially for the setting. And possibly the most exciting part (for me) is that a character in the girl band is named Kristin! Spelled the same way as me! I didn’t even care that she’s kind of a bitch because I’ve never read a book with a character that has my name and for it to have been in a Katie Cotugno book just amplifies my excitement.Plot Summary: Best friends Dana and Olivia leave their small Georgia town and head to Orlando where Olivia is going to be auditioning to become a pop star in a new all girl band being formed and Dana is there as her moral support. During the audition, Dana gets picked out of the crowd to show off her skills and both girls end up being chosen to move to Orlando to start rehearsing. But things get complicated when Dana’s lack of formal training start inhibiting what has always been Olivia’s dream and the girls start to become each other’s competition.Do I Recommend?: Yes! Especially if you are a fellow fan of the Britney Spears / Christina Aguilera and Backstreet Boys / N’SYNC era.

This was a quick easy contemporary although not my favrouite.

Ah, I love Katie Cotugno. Her stories have such a bittersweet quality to them. They never quite end how I expect them to. Dana always felt stuck within her small town routine. Olivia, her best friend, was the one on the path to success, not her. But after being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or perhaps the right place at the right time, Dana finds herself along side Olivia training to become Daisy Chain, the next big girl group. With no prior experience in singing or dancing, however, Dana becomes isolated by the other group members, and the experience of a lifetime becomes a test of friendship.Dana was such a sweet character. She was the weakest of the group, and because of this, being ridiculed became a daily feat to overcome. Despite being constantly yelled at, told she's not good enough, and left felling inadequate, Dana remains consistently loyal to those who don't deserve it. Fame can change people, but Dana remained grounded. As if the 90s setting and girl group wasn't enough, the romance was perfect. Both in singing groups, they were the perfect complement for each other. Dana was hard on herself. She could never accept that she was chosen for a reason, but Alex always remained the adorable supporter and flirtatious tease. These two could look at each other across the room and I'd be in a fit of giggles. It all started with 99 Days, which like this one, seemed to get mixed reviews. I don't know, but I'm clearly on the same wavelength as these books. They're incredibly addicting.

"Can you allow for the possibility that you're more special than you give yourself credit for?""I never knew that looking could do that before, that it could feel so obscenely intimate.""I wanted to know everything there was to know about him, wanted to hear every single one of his stories and learn all his memories well enough that they became my memories too, until there'd never been a time when we didn't know each other."This was a sweet story.

Actual Rating: 4.5*Full review to come on Books Are My Fandom closer to release date!

If you are of a certain age where you remember:• The names of various members of Backstreet Boys, N*Sync and 98 Degrees• The euphoric feeling of unwinding after school with Carson Daly and MTV's TRL• counting down the hits of late 90s/early 00s boy bands on Top 40 Radio's "Top 8 at 8" • and/or the name of Lou Pearlman, the shyster Orlando-based manager of several aforementioned bandsthen do *I* have the book for you! (Hint: It's this one right here.)"Fireworks" author Katie Cotugno is one of my favorite YA writers. She nails the female voice, writing her characters in such a way they feel instantly relatable—as if you went to high school with them yourself. In the case of this book, despite the YA moniker, you certainly don't have to be 16 to enjoy it. Namely because its protagonists—two BFFs (Olivia and Dana) who wind up pitted against one another after auditioning for the opening act of a hot new boy band—graduated high school in 1997. So basically, whether you're 16, 26, or 36, if you know the words to "Bye, Bye, Bye" you're gonna love this book, this I promise you (catch that inside joke there? ;) )

(4.5) RTC

this was such a cute book. although the characters pissed me off sometimes i really enjoyed it. i like to think olivia and dana made up in the future :)