Better Nate Than Ever

I really enjoyed this. It's a different story than I've heard before. Early teen boy takes off to NYC to audition for a Broadway play only for things to go awry. I really enjoyed it, but there's a ridiculous amount of unnecessary filler.

Better Nate Than Ever is such a fun, cute read. It started a little slow for me, but it soon picked up and I suddenly wasn't able to put it down anymore. At this moment, all I can think is what I would give to have this little novel here published when I was younger—when I was Nate's age and could properly appreciate everything he went through; when I was starting to like musical theatre and couldn't understand exactly what it was or where to get recommendations. I just can't wait to read more about Nate and Libby and Freckles—I loved him so much, don't look at me like that—and everyone else.

Man! What a wonderful story! And the broadway references were really just excellent.

Nate Foster's journey from a small town outside of Pittsburgh to New York City is a wonderful bit of escapism, if not totally realistic. The charm of this series is not in its believability, however, but in its heart and charm. Nate is a charming and extremely likable kid with aspirations to appear on Broadway. His accounts of auditions, theatre people, and surviving the streets of New York are a fantastic insight into how the world of Broadway looks to a novice. As a fan of Broadway myself, I found a lot to relate to in Nate's travels and experienced not a small amount of jealousy. The author, Tim Federle, has appeared on Broadway and the specific stories definitely ring true.

Oh man, so perfect and hilarious and sweet! This was kind of what I wanted Seth Rudetsky's YA novel to be, but Seth Rudetsky's YA novel was nothing like this. Like, clearly written by a ~Broadway insider~ who totally nails the perspective of a clueless, theater-obsessed, exploring-his-sexuality kid from a shitty little town. Totally hilarious and relatable. Even to kids reading this who might not get that Nate is hilariously clueless will enjoy this and empathize with him, and it's just... really sweet. I'm definitely excited that a sequel is coming out.This is like a gentler, kinder version of [b:Dramarama 437590 Dramarama E. Lockhart http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348800443s/437590.jpg 3085471] and I love them both, but I'd give this to tweens & teens who might not be ready for the REALNESS of Dramarama.