Review by Frank Plowright
Erika has always been the outsider kid, a talented dreamer who observes life too long before participating and then misses out, only to withdraw back into the comfort of her own world. Perhaps a new school will draw her from her shell. An immediate bonus is a drama class, and she immediately develops a crush on classmate Christian. When the class are told to develop their own single act plays, she writes one based on her imaginary version of him and he agrees to take the role.
Victoria Grace Elliott is greatly influenced by the storytelling methods of Japanese comics, all exaggerated reactions and characters so sensitive they’d bruise if stroked by a feather, and so nice and understanding about absolutely everything. It means rather than facing the usual traumas of high school, the artistic and enthusiastic Erika’s greatest enemy is her negative inner voice constantly feeding her doubts. It’s represented by a smirking black and white emo avatar, contrasting Emma’s own look of charity shop green blazer and massive spectacles. Are we to assume from the lack of them on the avatar that they represent perfect foresight?
Expressive art does much to patch over narrative concerns. The cast look attractive, and transmit what they’re feeling, although rarely via anything other than head and shoulders shots, compensated for to some degree by creative colouring.
The back cover blurb notes Please Be My Star to be an interpretation of The Phantom of the Opera, but that’s misdirection. True, Erika’s habitat of choice is the theatre’s projection box, and there’s a creepy discovery awaiting, but the comparisons are superficial. However, what they do is draw attention to the strength of feeling and plausible motivations Gaston Leroux’s story has, and how paper thin and unrealistic this cast is. Emma’s inner voice apart, the only negativity is an occasional snarky comment, and even allowing for her insecurities, what plays out lacks plausibility, and that’s before we take the impossible leap to the happy ending. If you’re going to tell young readers everything will turn out okay in the end this needs to be built naturally, not a convenient patch.
