Exit Stage Right may appeal to teens who aspire to a career in dance. The artsy people I’ve known in life tend to have a passion that others barely understand. The desire to perform, excel, and become immersed in their art can overwhelm a quiet soul.

I didn’t feel connected to the main character Coco or the events of Coco’s story. Coco was rather bratty, and I honestly thought she was lucky that her high school friends gave her the time of day. As the story went on, Coco’s growth and maturity improved only slightly.

My favorite characters of the story were Coco’s friends Amy and Mike. Coco’s parents were also decent. They showed grace, forgiveness, and love over and over. The deeper connection between Coco and the prodigal child was clear.

The story’s setting swivels between a small town and an elite school for the arts. This setting creates a symbolic distinction between the two phases of Coco’s young life. Many readers will relate to the twists and turns Coco experienced. Though Coco’s father is a minister, evangelism doesn’t play a strong role in this story.

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for the Exit Stage Right by Jennifer Wilcock, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Exit Stage Right

Author: Jennifer Wilcock

Publisher: Word Alive Press

Genre: Young Adult

Release Date: November 30, 2019

She wants to dance, and she’s willing to sacrifice everything, everyone, to get it.

Coco Bradley is a talented ballet dancer, and when an opportunity arises for her to audition for the prestigious Spencer School of the Performing Arts, she’s not about to let anyone stop her— including her parents, her friends, and any of the prima donnas of the art school. A pastor’s kid, Coco has grown up serving God and people, but gaining entry to Spencer means leaving behind all the expectations that come with growing up in the pastorate, as well as the dead-end town of Wyattsville.

Coco lives by the creed “Ballet First,” but she’s about to find out in a painful way that there’s more to life than dancing.

Opportunities, fame, and love all come calling as Coco chases her dream. But in going after what she wants, will she lose the things that matter most?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Willcock grew up telling herself stories in the middle of the night to keep away the monsters that lurked in the dark. Once she realized there weren’t any real monsters, she kept telling stories. A voracious reader, Jennifer reads many different genres, but she never outgrew young adult fiction. A degree in English Literature enabled her to keep her love affair with reading and writing alive. A blogger, speaker, and writer, she belongs to the MOPS Network of Speakers and the Word Guild of Canada.

Jennifer studied ballet through the Royal Academy of Dance during her teen years and into adulthood. She has taught in private and community settings and choreographed productions for her church over the years. In 2017, Jennifer decided she was brave enough to try and write fiction and joined NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November. She “won” it, writing 50,000 words in thirty days. The result is Exit Stage Right, a dream she thought was impossible to achieve. In 2019, the novel made the shortlist of the Word Alive Press fiction writing contest.

Besides being a mom to two sons, she is married to Mark, a pastor. She works part-time in the local library, where she’s inspired every day to write a book that will one day be on the shelves. The family’s pet dwarf rabbit, Whiskers, is her muse as he sits at her feet while she writes. She’d love for you to connect with her online.

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