[pb]Better Nate Than Ever, by Tim Federle, 4 stars

[NancyJ]

Sorry if this is a duplicate. I feel like I wrote this already, but I don't see it anywhere.

Better Nate Than Ever is a joy to read. It's about a short 13-14 year old boy who is short, stocky and bullied for being gay, (He feels it's too soon to know whether he is or not, but kids hear him singing show tunes in the hallway at school, so they figure it's a good bet.) He wants more than anything to be on Broadway. He's a triple threat, yada yada. He wants to go to New York City for an open audition for E.T. The Musical. He and his best friend come up with a scheme to get him there while his parents are out of town. It's a fabulous plan (until it's not) and he makes it to the audition. The rest is a great story, but warning - it ends on a cliffhanger, so get the next book ready.