Diva (review)

As part of Caitlin's recovery from a traumatic year with an abusive boyfriend, Nick (described in Breathing Underwater, BCCB 7/01), she decides to audition for a spot in the musical theater program at the Miami High School of the Arts. Her only support is her voice teacher; she can't explain her love of opera to her friends, who don't know opera from Oprah and who are really Nick's friends anyway, and her parents are too involved with their own projects—a new family for Dad and a quest to stay forever young for Mom—to get behind hers. Thanks to her amazing voice, she gets into the school, but it seems that Caitlin's spent so much time without friends—all through her fat years and then through her hideous ordeal with Nick—that she doesn't know how to act when she has them. Most of the kids at her new school find her standoffish, but she does manage to connect with a former pageant-girl-turned-candy-goth singer and dancer named Gigi and a megahot boy named Sean. The latter connection doesn't go as planned, however, as she figures out, not a minute too soon, that he's gay. Mostly, this is an effective and moving sequel to Breathing Underwater, as Caitlin slowly but surely finishes her emotional business with Nick, finds peace with her new body, and develops a more mature understanding of her outwardly tacky mom, who loves her despite their wildly different outlooks on what constitutes both personal style and a good life. There is enough reflection, reminiscence, and explanation for readers who haven't read the first installment of Caitlin and Nick's story; both teens emerge here as characters of depth and complexity who have a lot to overcome and the will to do it.