Raw Talent

by Jocelyn Shipley

Fourteen-year-old Paisley loves to sing. She dreams of being a pop star just like her idol, Denzi, who also grew up in the small town of Stonehill. The problem is, Paisley suffers from severe stage fright. She can only sing in private. When word gets out that a famous Stratford actor who has worked with Denzi is staying at a local B&B, Paisley decides it's time to face her fears. She convinces the actor to tutor her and signs up to sing in a high-profile fundraiser.

Genres: Young Adult

144 pages, Paperback

Published August 28, 2018

About the author

Born and raised in London, Ontario, Jocelyn graduated from York University and has studied writing at St. Lawrence College and the Humber School for Writers. She always wanted to be a writer, and won her first award at age nine, for poems entered in the local Hobby Fair.


Jocelyn now lives in Toronto and on Vancouver Island. Her YA novel,How to Tend a Grave, won the 2012 Gold Medal Moonbeam Award for YA Fiction - Mature Issues.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raw Talent was a book that I liked. I found the MC to be sweet and her fear of being on stage realistic. I found Maxine wonderful and she encouraged Paisley very well. I liked how there really wasn't any romance in Raw Talent -- it was just about a girl trying to pursue her dream of music and overcome her stage fright.

*I received a complimentary eBook copy of this book for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paisley loves to sing and write songs, but she has never performed on stage because she suffers from stage fright. It was interesting watching her try to overcome it and seeing why it might have started. The ending was good and wrapped up the story nicely.

3.5 stars

[Julie Suzanne]

My student, grade 7, really liked it. She read it aloud to me over quarantine; she chose it because we have multi-user access to the e-book through Teen Book Cloud. My student, who is working on reading comprehension, likes Hi-Lo books, and this was a great fit.

The main character deals with bullying, self confidence issues, normal teen problems like feeling like a disappointment to one's parents, and performance anxiety, which all stand in the way of pursuing her dream to become a pop singer. All is happily overcome by the end, and my student was totally happy with that.

(While I give it a 2, she gives it "more than 5 stars if I could."

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw Talent
by Jocelyn Shipley
Orca Book Publishers

Children's Fiction , Teens & YA
Pub Date 28 Aug 2018


I am reviewing a copy of Raw Talent through Orca Book Publishers and Netgalley:

Paisley has a passion for signing, her dream is to be a pop star like her idol Denzi. Her idol just happened to grow up in Stonehill, just as sh was. Paisley has one big hurdle to overcome she has paralyzing stage fright.


Word gets out that the famous Stratford stage actress that worked with Denzi, is in town, staying at a local bed and breakfast, paisley convinced the actress to face her fears!



I give Raw Talent five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Paula Pugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming and delightful Young Adult novel about a talented singer teenager bucking her own stage fright and the petty barbs of a jealous classmate in order to perform live for a benefit show. Paisley lucks into private lessons with a famous singer who helps her overcome the odds and face her performance anxiety.
Teens will relate to the catty behavior of Paisley’s nemesis, Cadence, cheer for Paisley’s successes and cringe with her failures.

[Kriz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second middle grade book I read in some time. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very well written, light and cute read. Would recommend to teenagers for sure.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paisley really wants to sing in the fundraiser to save Sunflower Farm but even though she loves singing she has had some really bad experiences with auditions, so no one knows about her talent, including her own mother. However, her best friend persuades her to sign up and then gets a well known talent who is staying at her parents B& B to agree to coach Paisley about her performance anxiety and her singing before the big event.

As a singer, the coaching sessions are unrealistic in terms of how quickly they proceed regardless of how much natural talent Paisley has. However, it is a serviceable hi-lo story about doing what you love despite what other people tell you.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl with stage fright, overcome after much guidance from a popular singer. Although faced with hate comments and rejection from an audition, she picked up the courage to showcase her talent as a tenor by performing at a fundraising event for a sunflower farm. Little did she know that her raw talent could start off a career as a singer after the performance after being recognised by many. It shows that we should always try to confront our fears to be successful in life.

[Emily W.]

**I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**



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