The Way Back Home by Alecia Whitaker

Alecia Whitaker wraps up her Bird Barrett series with this novel about a country singer who struggles to find balance in her life after becoming famous.

Eighteen year old Bird Barrett is on tour with her best friend Stella Crossley who is her assistant, her brother Dylan who plays in the band. and the rest of her crew.  Bird's brother Dylan has taken a year off college to tour with her while her parents stay at home helping her granddad recover from a broken hip.
Bird's Shine Our Light tour will visit forty-nine cities in North America over the next nine months and is the result of months of work with the Open Highway team.From the beginning of the tour, Bird begins to suspect that Stella has a crush on Dylan, making her feel a bit out of sorts.

In Los Angeles to do tour promotion, Bird runs into her nemesis, Kayelee Ford and twenty-three-year-old British playboy, Colton Holley. Holley invites Bird to his new nightclub in Las Vegas which Bird will visiting in a few weeks on her birthday. As the tour progresses Bird finds herself often away on related business and when she is back she begins to realize that Stella and Dylan might be an item. This makes Bird feel like an outsider on her tour and brings back memories of her failed relationship with Adam Dean.

In Las Vegas the concierge at the Venetian manages to arrange for Bird to visit Holley's nightclub with Stella and Dylan. They run into Colton Holley who treats them to a scrumptious dinner before heading to Club Colt. At the club they hit up the blackjack tables and have unlimited bottle service. Bird becomes increasingly intoxicated to the point where she has difficulty walking. When Colton comes on to her, Dylan steps in and eventually Bird refuses Colton's advances. Back in her suite, Bird is so drunk she pukes and passes out. The next morning a very hung over Bird gets through rehearsal but Dylan
reminds her that this is her tour and she is the boss, responsible for everyone on the tour.

When the tour is in Salt Lake City, Bird finally confronts Stella about her blossoming relationship with Dylan. She tells Stella that she wishes she had told her about her feelings towards Dylan. After Salt Lake City, Stella tells Bird that Dylan indeed does like her. Bird indicates to Stella that she does not want to be caught in "the middle if there's any drama" and she doesn't "want to be the third wheel" on dates.

Bird attends the VMA with Troy, her publicist Anita and her mentor, former country singer Bonnie McLain. She's been nominated for Best Video with a Message for
her hit Shine Our Light. While Bird has on a modest red cocktail dress, her rival Kayalee is dressed in a purple bandage dress that is very revealing. Even worse,Kayalee's provocative performance lights up social media much to Bird's annoyance.

After the VMAs, Bird learns that her opening act has suddenly quit citing a number of excuses. Bonnie suggests that Bird ask Adam Dean, who has just released his first single, to open for her. With Adam on the tour, Bird finds herself feeling the same attraction to him that she had last year. But can she and Adam keep it strictly business? Should she even try? And as the pressures of touring and fame begin to mount, Bird finds herself struggling to maintain a balance in her own life.

Discussion

The Way Back Home is a wonderful conclusion to the Wildflower series about a young singer getting a break and becoming the next country music superstar. It's hard not to see the parallels to real life star Taylor Swift's rise to stardom as the premiere country music performer in 2008 and 2009. To that end The Way Back Home does a good job portraying the pressures a rising young performer faces when breaking into the music industry.

In the beginning of the novel Bird recognizes how many people are depending upon her. "Over a hundred and fifty people have jobs because of this tour. It's massive, and if I let myself think about the risk involved, it causes me major anxiety. A lot of people are counting on me."

Bird struggles to retain some sort of normalcy in her life, attempting to maintain her friendships while dealing with the day to day pressures of traveling from city to city and performing. Her publicist works hard controlling Bird's image and we see how every situation can be easily taken out of context and exploited either against or for that image. For example, on her eighteenth birthday, Bird celebrates by going to a club but drinks to much. She quickly comes to understand that as a public person there is no privacy for her and that every action will be scrutinized. As a result, Bird begins to feel less and less in control of her own life.
"Okay, yeah, I am the boss. Except I'm not. I still have to answer to my parents, my label, and my fans. Oh, and I'm the bad guy, but they were both there partying with their boss last night."

The pressure is intensifies when a reporter with Rolling Stone magazine spends a few days with the tour. But when the reporter, Jase, ends her stint with a tough interview that results in Bird losing her cool. the stress causes Bird to argue with Stella and to tell Adam that she longs to be a regular person again, "No autographs or pictures or screaming fans." A series of situations gradually lead Bird to come close to a breakdown; she refuses to sing at a rodeo when it's discovered she's in attendance and the Rolling Stone article makes her out to be a "judgmental and hypocritical Goody Two-shoes who plays the part of the wholesome all-American girl but parties behind the scenes." She also treats Stella badly when she misses a wardrobe cue during a performance, and lashes out at her brother and Adam. In desperation, Bird reaches out to her mentor and former country music star, Bonnie who whisks her away to her farm to help Bird recover and refocus.

Bird tells Bonnie that she feels like she's living a lie, that everyone believes she's "this charming, sweet, perfect role model" when in reality she wants to be different from that sometimes and that she can't say anything off script because "my team is carefully curating my aura..." But Bonnie tells her that with today's social media almost everyone has a public persona that isn't real and that maybe she's a bit jealous because "your family gets to go eat wherever they want whenever they want. And your friends can date and make new friends without ever wondering if the people they meet have ulterior motives...And they all get to make mistakes...but they all get to make their "just human" mistakes behind closed doors." Bonnie helps Bird recognize that "life is short, every moment spent with the people you love is precious, and every moment spent doing what you love is a gift."  With this new perspective, Bird returns to the tour and works hard to repair her relationships with Stella, Dylan and most importantly, Adam.

At times Bird almost seems too good - she wins two Grammys; one for Best Country Song and a second for Best Country Album. When Kayalee Ford crashes and burns at the awards and ends up puking drunk in the bathroom, Bird rescues her and later on with the help of Bonnie gets her into rehab. Bird and Bonnie visit Kayalee leading the two girls to end their feud. Bird looks beyond the Kayalee who has hurt her and recognizes "the pressure to make sure your parents didn't sacrifice everything for nothing, the pressure to make it to the top, the pressure to hone a public image, and then the pressure to maintain it." Although someone cheesy, the scene is in keeping with the character Whitaker has created and developed throughout her three novels.

The novel's subplot is the reappearance of Adam Dean and Bird's second chance to start a romantic relationship with the guy she's been crushing on for some time now.  After attempting to play it cool when Adam joins the tour, Bird acknowledges "The feelings I've always had for him have taken root in my heart again..." Complicating matters is the fact that Bird is Adam's boss. Their relationship is kept under wraps so that it can be revealed to the public at the right time. Bird is very accepting of Adam's difficult and troubled family situation and supportive of his career and he in turn is able to support her because he understands the pressures of working in the music industry. Readers will be rooting for them as their love blossoms.

Capitalizing on the current fame of Taylor Swift, Whitaker's The Way Back Home will probably appeal to younger teens who are also Swift fans. The relatively clean romance and the positive messages in this novel about living life with appreciation and gratitude along with the themes of forgiveness, the importance of friends and family when you need them most, all add up to make a good story.

Book Details:

The Way Back Home by Alecia Whitaker
New York: Little, Brown and Company 2016
327 pp.

The Road To You by Alecia Whitaker

The Road To You is the second installment in Whitaker's Wildflower series about fictional country music star, Bird Barrett.

Bird's debut album, Wildflower, has been out for two months and has been selling well. Signed by Dan Silver of Open Highway Records, Bird's days are organized by her publicist, Anita, who guides her through appearances. She also has a stylist, Amanda, a hair stylist, Tammy and a make-up artist, Sam traveling with her.

The story opens as Bird, her father/manager, her mother Aileen and her two brothers, Dylan and Jacob, jet to Omaha where Bird is the new opening act for country superstar, Jolene Taylor. During the flight, Bird reads online that Kayelee Ford, who was signed by Randall Strong of Great American Music, has a hot first single. Just like Bird, Kayelee is a promising new country singer. She is also shocked to discover that a tabloid has done a side-by-side comparison of her and Kayelee, in an attempt to create a rivalry between the two singers.

In Omaha, Bird meets and practices with her back-up band. Grateful to have the opportunity to open for Jolene, Bird attempts to thank her but finds Jolene somewhat distant. Bird's best friend, Stella Crossley, shows up along with her mother, Shannon who has mentored Bird, to watch her set. Missing Adam, the guy she fell in love with back home and gave up in order to pursue her music career, Bird has Stella text him just before going on stage. Adam responds by wishing her well. Her first opening is a great success leaving Bird completely overwhelmed. As she's recovering backstage she briefly encounters a handsome roadie. Bird and her mother also meet a famous country singer, Bonnie McLain. Bonnie advises Bird about life as a star telling her "Everybody loves you, but nobody knows you....It's just very important that through it all, you remember who you really are."

The next day Bird meets the roadie again at lunch and learns his name is Kai Chandler. Bird and Kai immediately connect over their love of music. Kai's easy going manner sets Bird at ease. From Omaha Bird and her entourage head out as part of Jolene's Sweet Home Tour to Los Angeles. Kai who is from L.A. gives Bird a list of places to visit when she arrives.

In L.A. Anita suggests to Bird that she consider moving to the city for part of the year so as to open up more music opportunities. Later on both Dan and Anita suggest to to Bird that she consider hiring a real manager to replace her dad. Dan also believes Bird should move to L.A. so she can eventually transition from country to mainstream. Bird is reluctant to consider any of their suggestions though, becoming upset about replacing her father.

At her first red carpet event, a film premiere that features one of her songs, Bird meets the leading actors, Jason Samuels and Devyn Delaney. Devyn and Jason were an item until only a few weeks ago. Bird is star struck over Devyn and her knowledge of people in Hollywood and quickly begins to realize that LA is definitely not Nashville.

Bird's relationship with Kai begins to heat up and she begins to slip more and more into the L.A. scene. But with all the stardom, the sudden wealth and publicity can Bird still hold on to who she really is?

Discussion

While the first novel, Wildflower focused on Bird's attempts to break into the country music scene, the second novel focuses on her life as a blossoming country music artist and the good and bad that brings with it.

In The Road To You, Bird must learn how to navigate the world of stardom. Through the character of Bird, Whitaker portrays the life of a rising music star including the many difficulties young artists experience. Bird quickly begins to experience first hand how being in the spotlight impacts her life. When her new friend, actress Devyn Delaney takes a picture of Bird holding a glass of champagne and posts it online, it causes some fallout for Bird. Her father is upset, fearing it will hurt her image and her rival takes advantage of the picture to criticize her. Bird defends herself, knowing she did nothing wrong even though the photo seems to show her drunk. Bird tells her father, "I did make the smart decision not to drink and yeah, it looks bad and I'm sorry, Dad. I really am. But you can tell Dan and Anita and Mom and stupid Kayalee Ford and whoever else cares so much about my life that you know the truth. I didn't get drunk last night. I didn't."

Bird begins to realize how difficult it is to maintain a relationship with someone. Her relationship with Kai takes off very quickly when they are on tour together but once he leaves and she's home first in Nashville and then in Los Angeles, the distance and the difference in their lives and ages work against them. Complicating things is the realization that Bird still has feelings for Adam.

She also starts to realize how easy it is to be influenced by others. Devyn takes Bird shopping on Rodeo Drive. At first Bird is reluctant to buy anything. "I'm eager to join in the fun - hey, why not? -- until I see the price tags. Some of this stuff costs four times as much as we'd make for a Barrett Family Band gig...and that had to feed five people!...So I resist the urge to shop for myself and try to be a good audience for Devyn without admitting to her that my parents would go nuts if I dropped this kind of change on my wardrobe." However later on, Devyn convinces Bird to spend the money that she has earned. Devyn tells her "It's not about needing anything, Bird. It's about celebrating your success." When Bird tells her her parents would kill her for spending this kind of money Devyn tells her "It's your money...And you're working your butt off for it, too." In the end, Bird drops nine thousand dollars on clothing, shoes and purses, much to the shock of her parents. Bird must deal with her parents disappointment. 

Bird begins to experience the competitive nature of the music industry as exemplified by the tabloids creating a rivalry between herself and Kaylee Ford who was signed by the producer Bird turned down. Adam brings some perspective to the situation when he tells her that Kayelee is not responsible for what is happening and that her label has pitted the two of them against each other.  He reminds Bird that her parents have put enormous pressure on Kayelee and that this has created a strong fear of failing in her.  "And I just don't see how the bad blood helps either of you," he says, shrugging. "Seems like a waste of energy and a huge distraction to me." The situation is made worse by the fact that the one person she thought was her friend - Devyn sets her up for a confrontation with Kayelee at a friend's New Years Eve party.

One strong theme in this novel is that of friendship. Both Stella Crossley and Adam demonstrate that they are Bird's true friends. While Devyn gossips about Kayelee and manipulates Bird into a confrontation with her rival, Stella is there to try to encourage Bird to step back and to leave the party. Similarly Adam encourages Bird to "not get lost in it" referring to the constant scrutiny.

However, the novel closes with Bird beginning to regain her balance, setting the stage for a highly anticipated third novel. Look for Bird to restart her relationship with Adam, to become friends with Kayelee and to come to terms with her life as a celebrity.

Readers will enjoy Whitaker continuing to present Bird Barrett as a positive role model; she's honest, she cares about the people around her, she remains true to her belief that she wants to wait for the person who will be her life partner and she struggles to remain true to who she is.

Book Details:

The Road To You by Alecia Whitaker
New York: Little, Brown and Company      2015
337 pp.