Can Dreams Come True? by Krysten Lindsay Hager
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cecily Taylor is your typical seventeen year old girl, she has a close group of friends and a cute boyfriend who she loves, she also has a crush on the popstar Andrew Holiday and has for years, but it isn’t all sunshine and she has had people close to her leave and then not talk to her again, so she has some insecurities around it and a bit of a lack of self esteem, but which teenagers don’t have something like that?

Her boyfriend is in love with her, but he isn’t very romantic, but her best friend helps him out when needed and although it is sweet, Cecily would rather he thinks of these things himself on occasion, but he likes to spend time with her, be that on a coffee date at the library, or watching sports with her at home, even if she does fall asleep and misses the whole thing. However, when one of her friends gets an audition to be in the music video which is being filmed in their home town and Andrew Holiday is the one whose video it will be, Cecily is shocked when she asks her to go as moral support and her parents let her, as long as there is an adult chaperone there as well, but if not, then she would have asked to go to the open auditions with her friends anyway, it would be good practice if she wanted to pursue her career as an actress after all.

The next day, Cecily gets ready for school after she finds out that the private audition with her friend has been moved up, the video said they were looking for the “Girl next door” and that is how she looked normally, then she shows up at school and sees what her friend is wearing and she is not so sure what exactly that means anymore, but hopefully her anxiety wouldn’t get the better of her. As the day goes on all the school is talking about is the auditions, all too soon the day was over and they were heading to the playhouse where the audition was going to be held, her friends mum filled out the paperwork and then her name is called, but as she is going through the door, Andrew himself walks out asking about getting some coffee, walks straight past her and makes a beeline for Cecily, much to her amazement and asks he if she is auditioning too, when she replies in the negative, he asks her to reconsider and come in onto the set anyway. All of a sudden Cecily is being asked to be an extra by the director, saying that she has the “ethereal” look he is going for, he then hands her some forms to fill in and asks her and her friend to come back at 4am on Saturday for the shoot.

As she fills in her family, best friend and boyfriend about the turn of events, they are all surprised but really happy for her, however, her boyfriend starts to act weirdly, but blames it on his mum’s health and says nothing is wrong. The next day Cecily asks his what is going on when she eventually sees him, but he is talking to his ex and seems distracted, this continues the next couple of days, it turns out that he has been seeing more of his ex than normal, although the reason is because she has just broken up with her boyfriend and was upset, but Cecily can’t understand it and feels a little upset and betrayed herself, this feeling continues when the same thing happens and they end up arguing. As Saturday turns up and the filming day arrives, Cecily hasn’t slept well and has no idea what to expect, but Andrew puts her at ease and seems to be as nice as he projects, there is something there and their connection seems more than just superficial, but will Cecily follow her dreams of being with Andrew, or will she stick to her loving boyfriend and the small town familiarity he exudes? This is a sweet romance which will pull you along with Cecily as she figures out what her heart desires and makes the choices she needs to.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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