The Victoria in My Head

June 26, 2017
Victoria Cruz, 15, has always done everything she needs to do to maintain her high GPA. She runs cross-country and track, but only because Harvard wants well-rounded students, and Harvard is the only option, as far as her Cuban parents are concerned. But Victoria has an active dream life, one with carefully curated playlists for everything she’s never done (“There’s a playlist for skinny-dipping, for sleeping under the stars”). Music is her secret passion, one she refuses to indulge until she meets 17-year-old Strand as he’s posting a notice seeking a lead singer for his band. With a nudge from her best friend, Victoria auditions for the band, and her boringly predictable life takes a dramatic turn. Milanes’s brisk and confident debut is ideal romantic reading. Though the plot is fairly typical, a robust supporting cast brings color and charm to a world that Victoria sees as all too ordinary, from bad boy Strand with his piercing blue eyes to almost-too-perfect bandmate Levi to Victoria’s strict but loving immigrant parents. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret

July 15, 2017
Sick of playing it safe, straight-A sophomore Victoria Cruz auditions for a high school rock band and ends up falling for both the perfectionist bassist and the gorgeous guitarist.Fifteen-year-old Victoria, a middle-class scholarship kid at Evanston Academy, a posh Manhattan prep school, is tired of her routine life and her "overprotective Cuban parents," who desperately want her to get into Harvard. So she auditions to be the lead singer for Debaser, a school rock band made up of three diverse juniors: by-the-book bassist Levi (who's Jewish), "sex god" guitarist Strand (who's biracial), and rebellious, mohawked drummer Krina (who's Indian). With help from her Chinese-American bestie Annie, Victoria loosens up enough to earn the spot. Despite her obvious attraction to Strand and his "midwinter sky" eyes, inexperienced Victoria deems him too much of a player and accepts the advances of reliable Levi even though their sparks are tepid by comparison. The first-person narration thoughtfully explores the tension between Victoria's desire to please her well-meaning, hardworking immigrant parents and her need to be more adventurous. Although the love triangle is predictable (there's little debate about which guy is the better fit for Vi), the debut offers an endearing, fast-paced read with a realistically sweet, if sheltered, first-generation-American protagonist. Appealingly imperfect Victoria makes this an enjoyable and humorous music-fueled coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 12-16)

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August 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Victoria Cruz's parents expect her to go to Harvard. She attends prestigious Evanston Academy to study hard and score a scholarship. Her life is all laid out, a trail of future glory; at least, according to her hardworking Cuban immigrant parents. She appears to comply with overachieving expectations until she decides to join a band. She quickly overcomes stage fright and social reticence to become lead singer, and to date first one of two male band members and then the other. Herein lies a weakness of the book. Victoria's self-esteem centers around these boys and what they think of her. While dating the band's ultra-nerd, Levi, Victoria feels lost without his affirmation. It takes a while to realize that her heart actually belongs to gorgeous girl-magnet, Strand. Despite Strand's tendency to be a player, his character provides one of the book's strongest appeals. Teens will be charmed by his slick humor and by the depth of his character. Readers will laugh out loud at the witty repartee between Victoria and Strand, and the romance will draw in those looking for a sweet love story. Each chapter heading is a song title, creating an automatic playlist. Another positive plot element involves Victoria's increasing appreciation for her family's Cuban heritage, although its handling stays at surface level. VERDICT Fans of Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park will appreciate this slightly off-kilter romance and its ready-made playlist.-Melissa Williams, Berwick Academy, ME

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