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The Love Song of Jonny Valentine A Novel Teddy Wayne 9781476705859 Books

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The Love Song of Jonny Valentine A Novel Teddy Wayne 9781476705859 Books

For as long as there have been child stars, it seems, there have been child stars gone awry. One of our most recent examples is Justin Bieber, and it's obvious who was the inspiration behind the protagonist of Teddy Wayne's The Love Song of Jonny Valentine. A preteen singer with a trendy haircut, discovered on social media, with a mother who manages his career, Jonny is on his second nationwide tour when we meet him. It becomes clear pretty quickly that for all his stardom, Jonny is actually very lonely: besides his mother (whose "momager" position means that her monetary interests are bound up in what's best for Jonny's career, not necessarily what's best for Jonny, and who he refers to by her first name, Jane), his closest confidants are his tutor and his bodyguard.

Jane keeps a very close eye on Jonny's access to the internet, and it's this that kicks off the action: one night when she's out, he sneaks into her hotel room to read about himself. And it's there that he finds a message from a man claiming to be his long-lost father. As his tour continues, Jonny tries to figure out if the commenter is really his father (and what to do if he is), watches his mother struggle personally and professionally, has his own professional struggles, negotiates a fake date with a fellow preteen star, and breaks out of his cloistered bubble a little when a 20something rock band becomes his new opening act.

This sounds like a lot of plot, especially when you're talking about a 300 page book, but Wayne handles it well. Part of the reason he's successful is the way he structures his book: with sections for each day of each stop on the tour, it keeps a constant sense of propulsive motion forward, building naturally towards the climax, the final show. A bigger part of the reason the book works is the voice he creates for Jonny. Simultaneously hopelessly naive in the way that 11 year-olds should be, and cynically jaded about his career and the industry in which he works, there's a tricky balance Wayne pulls off, making Jonny neither a complete sap nor completely bitter.

Some of the themes are handled in a way that's a little too on-the-nose: Jonny's coming-of-age is symbolized by his attempts to figure out how to successfully jack off, and his tutor assigns him a unit on slavery in a clear attempt to draw the parallels with Jonny's situation to both the singer himself and, of course, the reader. And while the story is about Jonny, from his own perspective, I actually found Jane the most interesting character and wish I'd gotten more about her. But having too many interesting and well-rounded characters is a good problem for a book to have. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it!


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The Love Song of Jonny Valentine A Novel Teddy Wayne 9781476705859 Books Reviews

I had a really hard time deciding how I felt about this book; I thought it was absolutely entertaining, but I thought there was something maybe missing. My conundrum

Positives
- The story is quite plot-driven, making it an interesting read. The book is set up by tour stop, moving from LA to the New York eventually
- The relationship between Jonny, and his mother, Jane, seems to be what I'd imagine it to be when a parent has taken control of their child's career. She wants to the best for him, but she also wants the best for her business... which just so happens to be her child...
- Getting into Jonny's psyche and seeing his struggle between wanting fame and a regular childhood makes him a very sympathetic character. You have to wonder how many of these poor child stars are absolutely miserable and feel forced into their insane schedules.
- My favorite character was definitely the bodyguard Walter, the most down-to-earth character in the novel. He genuinely cared for Jonny, protecting him from dangers and trying to give him some tidbits of normalcy.

Negatives
- I thought the "find my father" subplot was weakly developed.
- The book lacks the depth it could have; at times I thought this on-the-surface aspect was actually a trick, that the reader had to look further to really see the depth. And all I came up with was poor little rich pop singer kid who doesn't know his dad, may want a chance at a regular life, and has a mom with some serious issues. I can get that in an E! Special or in an issue of People.

I think is in a great airport of beach read- definitely entertaining with some really great parts, but as a whole it may not live quite up to the hype.
The premise of the book is simple What if Justin Bieber, age 11 3/4, was a very smart, funny, likable kid who was trying to make sense of his life as a teen idol. And while it would have been easy to veer into stereotype and parody, Wayne doesn't go that route. Instead, he creates a very believable precocious 11 year old who is mostly self-aware and a lot lonelier and sadder than he realizes. Jonny is a great narrator, a latter-day Holden Caulfield, and a truly unique voice who's both timeless and a reflection of his times. Wayne has done an excellent job overall with the book the secondary characters are well fleshed out and Hollywood celebrity culture is laid bare without condescension - like Jonny, it just is what it is. Highly recommended.
This book was pretty good...the writing was excellent in conveying Jonny's thoughts that swung between being a typical 11 year old boy and a way too mature 11 year old child pop star. I felt his mother was too interested in using her son's talent to keep her out of the life they used to have versus making sure he experienced a relatively normal childhood. The constant reference to the "chub" really grated on my nerves considering how many children ( and adults ) view what they see in the mirror as unacceptable. His father on the other hand is a huge disappointment and the manner in which Jonny handled him would have been great if it hadn't been thought up by an 11 year old. That just made me sad.
I have mixed feelings about this book. Whichever way I think about it, it still deserved a 4 star rating. Is it a cautionary tale about how to survive in a cut throat industry if you're just a kid? A tale about a stage mother doing the best she can for herself over what might be best for her kid? A tale about a kid being asked to make decisions far beyond what an 11 year old should have to make? A tale about "the road not taken", choices discarded, friendships lost, relationships lost....,is the fame, the money, worth it? A coming of age story, told from the boys point of view, with some good for thought for us all.
For as long as there have been child stars, it seems, there have been child stars gone awry. One of our most recent examples is Justin Bieber, and it's obvious who was the inspiration behind the protagonist of Teddy Wayne's The Love Song of Jonny Valentine. A preteen singer with a trendy haircut, discovered on social media, with a mother who manages his career, Jonny is on his second nationwide tour when we meet him. It becomes clear pretty quickly that for all his stardom, Jonny is actually very lonely besides his mother (whose "momager" position means that her monetary interests are bound up in what's best for Jonny's career, not necessarily what's best for Jonny, and who he refers to by her first name, Jane), his closest confidants are his tutor and his bodyguard.

Jane keeps a very close eye on Jonny's access to the internet, and it's this that kicks off the action one night when she's out, he sneaks into her hotel room to read about himself. And it's there that he finds a message from a man claiming to be his long-lost father. As his tour continues, Jonny tries to figure out if the commenter is really his father (and what to do if he is), watches his mother struggle personally and professionally, has his own professional struggles, negotiates a fake date with a fellow preteen star, and breaks out of his cloistered bubble a little when a 20something rock band becomes his new opening act.

This sounds like a lot of plot, especially when you're talking about a 300 page book, but Wayne handles it well. Part of the reason he's successful is the way he structures his book with sections for each day of each stop on the tour, it keeps a constant sense of propulsive motion forward, building naturally towards the climax, the final show. A bigger part of the reason the book works is the voice he creates for Jonny. Simultaneously hopelessly naive in the way that 11 year-olds should be, and cynically jaded about his career and the industry in which he works, there's a tricky balance Wayne pulls off, making Jonny neither a complete sap nor completely bitter.

Some of the themes are handled in a way that's a little too on-the-nose Jonny's coming-of-age is symbolized by his attempts to figure out how to successfully jack off, and his tutor assigns him a unit on slavery in a clear attempt to draw the parallels with Jonny's situation to both the singer himself and, of course, the reader. And while the story is about Jonny, from his own perspective, I actually found Jane the most interesting character and wish I'd gotten more about her. But having too many interesting and well-rounded characters is a good problem for a book to have. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it!