Review Detail

Described as “Fame meets Rent” LIMELIGHT takes readers on a journey back to 1996. Danny Victorio has been offered a chance to escape Staten Island and attend one of Manhattan’s top art schools. All he has to do is not screw it up. Which is easier said than done. When he arrives he’s thrust headfirst into a world filled with talent, ambition, and the ghosts of his past. Can Danny find where he belongs?

LIMELIGHT thrusts readers into this world. It transports them back to 1996 when Rent was just released and the city offered a mixture of hope and fear to young teenagers. The author did a fantastic job of capturing what NYC must have felt like in that time. The good and the bad of it all.

The plot moves quickly, keeping in pace with the lively city that it’s set in. I was never overwhelmed with the quicker pace of the book, but other readers may struggle with it. It comes down to what the reader prefers in their books.

Danny is a beautifully flawed character. Andrew Keenan-Bolger writes him in a way where you sympathize with his plight, but you don’t always forgive his actions. He’s a genuinely fun character to follow not because he’s always going through fun situations, but because he feels real. He feels like that theater kid who dreams of bigger and brighter things but has been held back by his family. It’s charming. Awkward and flawed and messy, but charming.

The book is tagged as magical realism, but that shouldn’t be a reason to avoid the book. The magical realism is there, but it doesn’t feel like it takes up a whole lot of the book. It’s metaphorical and powerful, driving home the community aspect of the book. It felt out-of-place at first, but as I continued reading it felt more commonplace.

LIMELIGHT is perfect for theater kids who want a book about found family and finding where you belong.