High Note

by Jeff Ross

Hailey McEwan has many interests--soccer, field hockey, animation. She'd probably never have started singing if her best friend, Crissy, hadn't persuaded her to take singing lessons and join her choir. No one had any idea that Hailey would be such a natural, least of all Hailey herself. A shared love of music--from pop to opera--has been a big part of the girls' friendship, but when the two face off in a competition for a role in a production of The Marriage of Figaro, their closeness turns into a bitter rivalry. Hailey will have to make a tough decision. Is opera as important to her as it is to Crissy? And is landing a role worth losing her best friend?

Genres: Teen, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

Published September 13, 2016

About the author

Jeff Ross is an award-winning author of thirteen novels for young adults.

Reviews

[juliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

i know this book only has a two star rating but i personally thought it was really interesting and didn’t want to put it down. i think it was a good short story and did a great job at showing friendship betrayal and how in a split second things can change.

[Niarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so cute

[❤ Aly ❤ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like this book, it just didn't have enough story for me. I enjoyed the terms used in the book. I understood every one of them. Great connection for me!

Hailey and Crissy are best friends. Both of them are in choir and are in a show. When one of the leads gets sick, Hailey and Crissy are able to audition for the part. They both do. Crissy ends up dropping Hailey to hang out with other musicians. She also tries to get Hailey sick! Hailey ends up getting the part and we are left hanging about their friendship. Do they remain friends? What happens? We will apparently never know.

[Dr. Rugani · Rating 2 out of 5]

I fully admit I'm not the target demographic. But I'm also not sure who would be. This book is designed to be easy reading--and it certainly succeeds here, great for kids who are intimidated or can't handle a bigger or more complex novel. Which then makes the subject--opera--a little odd. I've not met many kids who are into opera, or Mozart for that matter, and the few that were, would probably be looking for a more filled out novel than this.

As a professional musician, I'm bothered by this idea that an opera company would fill a vacancy with a high-schooler. Universities and conservatories I've attended were very careful about what operas they would put on because they didn't want to ask more of their student singers' voices than the singers were capable of. I find it highly unlikely that a high school vocalist, let alone TWO, would be capable and prepared to take on even such a minor role as is the case in this book.

The girl drama is pretty par for the course. The zen-master friend is a bit annoying. And the competition and petty games everyone involved played seems rather plausible in the opera company. I just don't buy that a high school girl is capable of singing a Mozart opera role well, or that an opera company would take such a risk.

[Rachel Seigel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at opera and appreciated the central conflict of Crissy placing the desire to win & be the star over friendship, but everything seemed to resolve a bit too neatly for my taste and Crissy's sudden and absolute cattiness really annoyed me.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hailey and her best friend Crissy are auditioning for the same part in an opera. This is a big deal since they are still in high school and will be working with professional singers. The tension is taking a toll on their friendship, however.
Music kids will appreciate this hi-lo storyline.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was meant to be a fast and fluffy read for me, and while the book was full of singing and theatre (which I loved) it also felt a lot like a Buddhist sermon thanks to the fairly 1-dimensional philosopher best-friend character, Sean. I guess most of the characters were pretty 1-dimensional, but this book doesn't set out to be high literature, it sets out to entertain a certain demographic, and I think it succeeds at that. I read this book over the course of one day and enjoyed it, but if I ever think back about this story its going to be with more questions about the universe that it was built on. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, I guess.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hailey and her best friend have worked together as opera singers. While Hailey sees their relationships as bffs, Crissy sees it more as frenemies. The two begin competing for the same part and Crissy turns nasty. Hailey just can't understand what is happening. Will their friendship be able to make it through the competition?

The story was pretty flat and I don't know how Hailey didn't see the writing on the wall with Crissy.

[Desiree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being a music nerd, I appreciated the musical theater aspect of this story. It was a super quick read (just over 100 pages), but I felt like it just wasn't fleshed out enough. The side characters are one-note (pun absolutely intended). I'm glad I got this from the library. If I'd spent $10 on this I would've felt very let down.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read about two girls whose friendship is challenged when they compete for a coveted part in an Opera. I liked that it did not end with the friendship in tact (happily ever after), but more realistically showed that sometimes friendships end and you move on. Sadly, the book does not appear to have an AR quiz yet, which means I may be the only one who reads it in this library.

[Duffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a terrible book. I loved it.

It took me less than an hour to read this. I was not expecting much after reading the first chapter and finding the page count. Yet somehow I was able to keep reading and not stop. The character development was atrocious. Practically nonexistent save for Hailey. The plot was pretty weak and was surprising only in the way that it was not what you expected. This book was a literary disaster. But it sucked you in so much you couldn’t stop reading.