But I'm Eponine: Book One in the Altoverse

by Christine Dzidrums

Cinderella. Evita. Millie. Glinda. Elle.

Fifteen-year-old Lyric Teague sings like an angel and has already played all the great musical theater roles—in the privacy of her bedroom. Haunted by her mother’s death, she is too timid and insecure to chase her dreams or form any friendships.

After Alto High School announces a fall production of Les Misérables, the shy teenager finally steps into the spotlight and auditions for the role of the neglected, impoverished Eponine. After all, she’s perfect for the part, having felt unwanted and unseen her whole life.

When others hear Lyric’s lovely voice, their reactions confuse her. Les Misérables’ director sees her as a pretty ingenue. Her longtime crush, Nick Bowman, starts flirting with her, and the enigmatic Cai Shipley delights in pushing her buttons. She must also contend with castmates who resent a newbie like her for landing a lead role.

Lyric is suddenly receiving a lot of attention for a girl who’s always felt invisible. With opening night approaching, she wonders how anyone can see her as the beautiful, desirable Cosette when she feels like the plain, unwanted Eponine.

356 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2022

About the author

A proud Angeleno, Christine Dzidrums was born raised and lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, two sons and daughter. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts from California State University, Fullerton. She previously wrote the biographies: Joannie Rochette: Canadian Ice Princess,Yuna Kim: Ice Queen, Shawn Johnson: Gymnastics’ Golden Girl and Nastia Liukin: Ballerina of Gymnastics. Her first novel, Cutters Don’t Cry, won a 2010 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award in the Young Adult Fiction category. She also wrote the tween book, Fair Youth, and the beginning reader books, Timmy and the Baseball Birthday Party and Timmy Adopts a Girl Dog. Christine also authored the picture book, Princess Dessabelle Makes a Friend. She recently competed her second novel, Kaylee: The ‘What If ?’ Game.

Reviews

[Jennie Rosenblum · Rating 4 out of 5]

High school can be rough, but especially for Lyric. After growing up way too quickly as she cared for her younger brother and a mother who ran the gambit of emotions, her world was ripped away. Her mother died, leaving her and her brother to be taken in by her Aunt and Uncle. Lyric is not sure of her place in the family or the world. The Aunt and Uncle, having no children of their own are also dealing with the new family dynamics. Add in that the younger brother seems perfectly happy and Lyric’s life is in a bit of turmoil.

The story centers around Lyric as she tries out for and obtains a role in her high school play of Les Miserables. No worries if you are not familiar with the play, as the author starts many chapters with a snippet of the story to keep you in tune with the actors and their roles. Lyric is surrounded by two close friends as she tries to figure out the social interactions of the other characters portrayed with authentic high school drama.

With chapters that are text conversations and dialogue presented in script format, the reader can quickly keep up with the story and the emotions of the characters. While the characters are all high school age, I think this book would be appropriate for middle school through New Adult readers (and beyond).

[Theresa Rohrer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The intended audience age for But I'm Eponine: Book One in the Altoverse seems to be pre-high school to young adult. I'm an adult, an old adult, and I really liked it. The main character, Lyric, is a shy teenager whose depressed mother dies when Lyric is 11 or 12 years old. There are flashbacks of Lyric's interactions with her mother from the age of four. One conversations was when Lyric was 11 hints about Lyric's early years. Mom: Only one in four robins will survive their first year. Erik, Lyric's brother, Which bird will live? The mother didn't answer right away and then said....The unlucky one. Lyric goes on to perform in her high school's presentation of Les Miserables and dedicates her performance to her mother! I think teen girls will love this!

[Carmen Liffengren · Rating 4 out of 5]

You better know your Broadway cast albums because this is YA specifically for the theatre nerd! I enjoyed the quick banter and the all too-familiar world of musical theatre. Lyric (yep, that's her name) plays all the amazing leads in her own imagination, but can she play one in real life? I am definitely interested in book 2!

[Cathy Hahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I have seen Les Mis many times ... perhaps if I did not know the story, the book may have been difficult to understand. I like the idea of a young girl thinking that she knows herself and then finds out that she is so much more!

[Sarah Stamm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bet a high school drama kid would love to read this. Me? Not so much.
I loved that it was Les Mis, but aside from that, a bit cringy.