It’s not every boy that has dreams of starring on
Broadway. It’s not every boy that can
belt out “Defying Gravity.” And it’s
really, really, really not every boy
that lands a role in a Broadway musical on his first audition. But that is just what Nate Foster did in Better
Nate than Ever by Tim Federle. In
the sequel, Fix, Six, Seven, Nate!, Federle takes his main character
through rehearsals, crushes, learning lines, learning new lines, learning new,
new lines and a surprising opening night.
Nate Foster snuck away from home to go to New York City to
audition for “E.T.: The Musical” and his gumption paid off when he earned a
space in the ensemble and was even chosen to understudy for E.T. But now rehearsals are starting for real,
Nate’s Broadway dream gets grayer and grayer all the time. Some of the other kids are mean, the director
and the producer don’t get along, and it seems like no one can agree on
anything! Nate starts to work secretly
with an actress named Asella who is also understudying for E.T., helping her
learn her new lines in exchange for some hard earned backstage wisdom. A twisted vine of events involving mistaken
identity, bad first impressions and a poorly timed case of laryngitis land Nate
in a once in a lifetime opportunity: playing Elliot, the human lead of the
show.
With TV shows like “Glee” on the air, musical theater has
been enjoying a boom of popularity in young people, at least from where I
sit. This is where first time author Tim Federle
wins big, because his books about Nate Foster are a Broadway lover’s
dream. Nate and his best friend Libby
are fanatics; when they swear, they substitute the names of notorious Broadway
flops. Federle name-drops all over the
place, and gives fascinating insights into a life in greasepaint. And Nate himself is such a lovable character,
flaws and all. He’s sarcastic,
self-deprecating (he has concerns about his weight), a little naïve and
generally good-hearted. Federle puts
Nate through the wringer, but ultimately lets his hero come out on top.
There are not a lot of books out there for middle grade
readers that feature LGBTQ characters, and this is another reason why the Nate
books are so valuable. In Better Nate
than Ever, Nate is ambiguous about his sexuality. He doesn’t quite understand it himself. In Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, things
come more into focus when Nate develops a crush (which he later learns is
reciprocated) on his co-star and rival, Jordan.
Federle’s use of first person narration make Nate’s feelings about his
sexuality and his romantic prospects important, but no more important than
learning the insane lyricists new chorus for the show-stopper, or figuring out
how to become a star. Nate’s sexual
orientation both is, and is not a big deal.
It is, in so much as it would be a Big Deal in any story about a young
teenager experiencing their first real crush, and is not, as neither narrator
nor author define Nate’s preference as anything exceptional. Nate describes in an almost bored tone how “last
year somebody created a Nate Fagster page on Facebook.” It’s obvious this is something that hurt him,
but also that it’s not something upon which he dwells. When Libby asks Nate is she has been
replaced, Nate thinks, “Only in that a kiss with him felt like a real kiss.” Nate’s emotions are a big deal. Who is chooses to express those emotions
with, isn’t.
Better Nate than Ever was a 2014 Stonewall Award
honor book for youth literature. Five,
Six, Seven, Nate! was released in January of 2014, and as of this writing,
has not won any major awards, though I would not be surprised to see it
mentioned in the next few months. Kirkus Reviews wrote that “[w]hile humor
is clearly one of Federle's strengths, what sets this novel apart is how
beautifully he explores Nate's vulnerabilities, particularly with regard to his
sexuality, his family and his own self-esteem.”
Federle’s sensitivity to his characters feelings extend beyond Nate as
well. Nate’s crush/nemesis, Jordan says
of his mother, “She’s go on and on about how a real leading man has to behave like…a
real man.” Publishers Weekly calls Nate! a “funny, tender coming-of-age
story… that will appeal to every budding theater geek.”
Readers of Tim Federle’s Nate books would (and should)
easily transition into Raina Telgemeier’s wonderful graphic novel, Drama,
and a troupe of middle school theater fans, led by their stage manager Callie,
attempting to put on a production of “Moon Over Mississippi.” Callie works behind the scenes, but her
relationships, both romantic and platonic, echo Nate’s trials. Kieran Scott’s Geek Magnet: A Novel in
Five Acts is another great teen title about the backstage geekery with
relationship drama. Finally, John Green’s
YA novel Will Grayson, Will Grayson touches on sexuality, identity and,
of course, theater!
Federle, Tim. Five,
Six, Seven, Nate! New York: Simon
& Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014.
ISBN: 9781442446939
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