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Age of Dreams
Highly-sensitive teen Nicola James is depressed. Growing up with a gambling addicted, alcoholic dad and having had endured constant bullying at school does that to people. And now her parents are divorced, and she, her mum and younger brother have moved to a new home. If that wasn't bad enough, Nicola has just left the hell that was school and walked straight into the most miserable job ever. But Nicola has dreams. Big dreams. She wants to be a singer. A pop star. Only then can she truly be happy. Enter Joe, her new neighbour. He plays in a band. Nicola is amazed at how quickly everything falls into place. She now has a boyfriend and sings in a band. And her dream has come true.However, fame only leads to more emotional trauma and Nicola, now on the road to self-destruction. finds herself tortured by the same inner demons as her father.Who will catch Nicola when she falls?Set against the backdrop of the 1980s music scene, Age of Dreams is a gripping coming-of-age story of fame, addiction and love. A must read for young adults (especially those with big dreams of pop stardom) and older adults longing for a nostalgic trip back to the hedonistic 80s.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 6, 2011
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About the author
Marie Symeou
10 books26 followersWriter, pet blogger, cat photographer, cat lover, animal advocate, animal healer.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 22, 2014
Honestly, I didn't like this book all that much. There wasn't any particular problem with it and I'm sure other people might like it...But I just found it boring. It didn't meet any of my expectations and I tried so hard to look past the bad writing.
What I expected from this book:
An in-depth look into the cost of stardom, i.e. addiction, partying, etc. I at least expected an in-depth look into stardom, anyway.
A troubled relationship between father-daughter, concerning alcoholism.
An in-depth look into addiction between both father and daughter. Also, covering depression.
A paced, well-written book with 3D characters.
What I got:
I never felt like we never got greater insight into stardom at all. In fact, if the singing was left out it'd be just like reading about a normal person. Besides a few references to fans, and some rushed performance, we never got a much deeper look into it. I mean, write about touring...Write about crazy fans...Write about traveling and living in style...Actually, include the performances.
The father-daughter relationship was horrible. It was so rushed. One minute she hated him, the next she was in the waiting room whilst he got a liver transplant, with no explanation whatsoever. Their relationship was so glossed over...In fact, he was hardly in the book, which felt like a bit of a cop-out, considering he was written about in the description.
The addiction was hardly covered, either. It seemed like she hadn't touched alcohol then all of a sudden she was an alcoholic. Where did it come from? How did it start? I actually felt offended when this so-called alcoholic suddenly 'quit' drinking just like that, and not only that but she started controlling her drinking. Meaning, she turned from a full-blown alcoholic into a normal drinker. I'm sorry but if you're an alcoholic you can't just go back to having one or two drinks, especially with no help from anyone but herself. I just felt that was so unbelievable.
Also, of course, the depression was hardly covered. She had a few days where she wanted get out of bed and then she was fine again. She didn't seem depressed to me at all.
The pacing is my main problem with this book. It was horrendous. It skipped out loads of time, so we were expected to fill in the blanks ourselves. It was as if the author just couldn't be bothered to write so she combated her laziness by skipping ahead a few years. I hated how every time Joe and Nicola broke up and then got back together, it was never shown how they got back together. They were just broken up then together again with a half-baked explanation. It was like this for a lot of the book, especially concerning their fame. It never showed how they got famous, just that they suddenly were.
The writing didn't help, either. Maybe if the writing was decent, I could have looked past the pacing, but the writing was terrible. It looked like something a school kid would write.
Finally, the characters. Honestly, I hated all of them. Nicola was whiny and stupid, most of the time. I hated how she flounced around with guys for half the book and expected Joe to just sit there waiting for her. I hated how she didn't even know he still had feelings for her. God's sake woman, you must be blind. She whined about every little thing...She sounded like a child even in her 30's. Honestly, I felt like I was reading the story of a 6 year old kid. If that was the narrator, you could imagine what the other characters were like. There were too many. None of them were developed. I forgot everyone's names apart from Joe and Nicola. I literally forgot Nicola's name just then.
The ending was so cliche, also.
In all honesty, I wouldn't recommend this book. I can't even say it's a short read either because it isn't. It's a long, agonizing read. I just wanted it to be over. I always finish books so I couldn't just put it down.
What I expected from this book:
An in-depth look into the cost of stardom, i.e. addiction, partying, etc. I at least expected an in-depth look into stardom, anyway.
A troubled relationship between father-daughter, concerning alcoholism.
An in-depth look into addiction between both father and daughter. Also, covering depression.
A paced, well-written book with 3D characters.
What I got:
I never felt like we never got greater insight into stardom at all. In fact, if the singing was left out it'd be just like reading about a normal person. Besides a few references to fans, and some rushed performance, we never got a much deeper look into it. I mean, write about touring...Write about crazy fans...Write about traveling and living in style...Actually, include the performances.
The father-daughter relationship was horrible. It was so rushed. One minute she hated him, the next she was in the waiting room whilst he got a liver transplant, with no explanation whatsoever. Their relationship was so glossed over...In fact, he was hardly in the book, which felt like a bit of a cop-out, considering he was written about in the description.
The addiction was hardly covered, either. It seemed like she hadn't touched alcohol then all of a sudden she was an alcoholic. Where did it come from? How did it start? I actually felt offended when this so-called alcoholic suddenly 'quit' drinking just like that, and not only that but she started controlling her drinking. Meaning, she turned from a full-blown alcoholic into a normal drinker. I'm sorry but if you're an alcoholic you can't just go back to having one or two drinks, especially with no help from anyone but herself. I just felt that was so unbelievable.
Also, of course, the depression was hardly covered. She had a few days where she wanted get out of bed and then she was fine again. She didn't seem depressed to me at all.
The pacing is my main problem with this book. It was horrendous. It skipped out loads of time, so we were expected to fill in the blanks ourselves. It was as if the author just couldn't be bothered to write so she combated her laziness by skipping ahead a few years. I hated how every time Joe and Nicola broke up and then got back together, it was never shown how they got back together. They were just broken up then together again with a half-baked explanation. It was like this for a lot of the book, especially concerning their fame. It never showed how they got famous, just that they suddenly were.
The writing didn't help, either. Maybe if the writing was decent, I could have looked past the pacing, but the writing was terrible. It looked like something a school kid would write.
Finally, the characters. Honestly, I hated all of them. Nicola was whiny and stupid, most of the time. I hated how she flounced around with guys for half the book and expected Joe to just sit there waiting for her. I hated how she didn't even know he still had feelings for her. God's sake woman, you must be blind. She whined about every little thing...She sounded like a child even in her 30's. Honestly, I felt like I was reading the story of a 6 year old kid. If that was the narrator, you could imagine what the other characters were like. There were too many. None of them were developed. I forgot everyone's names apart from Joe and Nicola. I literally forgot Nicola's name just then.
The ending was so cliche, also.
In all honesty, I wouldn't recommend this book. I can't even say it's a short read either because it isn't. It's a long, agonizing read. I just wanted it to be over. I always finish books so I couldn't just put it down.
July 11, 2012
Age of Dreams chronicles the life of rising and falling star Nicola James, a depressive singer who's so wrapped in her own trauma she lets it drive to her to make one bad decision after another, but life finally works out for her in the end. Joe was my favorite character; he never gave up on anyone (especially Nicola) even after she hurts him repeatedly. The book goes from one year to the next, over the span of about 20 years. I enjoyed the 80s the most - all the silly fashion and music references made me smile, but Symeou balances it with the darker side of drug and alcohol abuse. Nicola has all kinds of complicated relationships over those 20 years: with the band, with her family, and with her romantic interests (who never quite seem to measure up to her first love).
It's a fast-paced story that covers a lot of ground and has some flashes of literary brilliance. My only criticism is that I had a hard time connecting and empathizing with the main character, but there were plenty of others that made up for it. It's definitely worth checking out.
Kelly Hitchcock
Author of The Redheaded Stepchild
It's a fast-paced story that covers a lot of ground and has some flashes of literary brilliance. My only criticism is that I had a hard time connecting and empathizing with the main character, but there were plenty of others that made up for it. It's definitely worth checking out.
Kelly Hitchcock
Author of The Redheaded Stepchild
June 11, 2012
Although this book started a little slow for me and seemed a bit choppy, it wasn't soon before I was hooked. Personally, I felt the writing didn't grab me enough in the beginning as I would have enjoyed a slower pace and getting to know the characters more instead of being rushed into the non-stop world of the music business. Having said that, I have nothing else to say than read the book! It's funny, sad, and offers a view of the innermost circle of being famous that most people never experience or see. As a singer/songwriter I have seen much of the seamier side of the way the business works, but even I was surprised. I was at times sad to the point of tears for the heroine, Nicole James, and at other times I felt like wringing her neck for being such a spineless twit. For that, I give Ms. Simone kudos, as she wrote her character with actual feelings and defects that the reader identifies with. I found myself spellbound, hoping that Nicole would come to her senses, watching her wade through years of abuse and self doubt. From coming to grips with the past and looking forward to the future, the reader follows a famous woman who has no feelings of self worth and must learn to love herself before she can love someone else. You won't be disappointed in this book!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews