Mazie

Mazie

*"Deserves a standing ovation." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *" This is a terrific and realistic piece of historical fiction that is perfect for theater lovers and historical fiction fans." -- SLC (starred review) *"The peppy first-person narrative keeps the story zipping along, and adroitly placed period details make the setting come alive in this bighearted, exuberant novel." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) An eighteen-year-old aspiring actress trades in starry Nebraska skies for the bright lights of 1950s Broadway in this show-stopping novel from award-winning author Melanie Crowder. Mazie has always longed to be on Broadway. But growing up in her small Nebraska town, that always seemed like an impossible dream. So when an opportunity presents itself to spend six weeks auditioning, Mazie jumps at the chance, leaving behind everything--and everyone--she's ever known. New York City is a shock to the senses: thrilling, but lonely. Auditions are brutal. Mazie's homesick and she misses the boyfriend whose heart she broke when she left. Nothing is as she expected. With money running out, and faced with too many rejections to count, Mazie is more determined than ever to land a role. But when she discovers that booking a job might mean losing sight of herself, everything Mazie always thought she wanted is called into question. Mazie is the story of a girl caught between two lives--and two loves--as she navigates who she is, what matters most, and the cost of following her dream. Praise for Mazie : "Entertaining and heartfelt."-- Booklist "Mazie’s authenticity makes this novel stand out. Recommended for all collections, especially where theater is popular."– School Library Journal * "Filled with Broadway trivia, the book is a dream for musical theater fans, and the love story between Mazie and Jesse is heartfelt. The characters, including secondary ones, are well developed and fully realized, and the book features noteworthy queer representation. Deserves a standing ovation." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review " Crowder’s latest is an inspirational story of bravery and confidence, following an easily charming heroine. Readers will be swept away to the 1950s and a post-war Broadway scene alongside Mazie as she leaves everything that she’s known, journeying to a new city to chase her acting dreams. Entertaining and heartfelt." -- Booklist MELANIE CROWDER holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the author of the critically acclaimed Audacity and An Uninterrupted View of the Sky . She lives with her family on the Colorado Front Range. Visit Melanie online at www.melaniecrowder.net. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @MelanieACrowder. NEBRASKA, 1959 1 IF YOU HOLD a map of the United States in both hands and fold it top to bottom, then again lengthwise, and open it back up again, chances are you’ve landed smack-dab in the middle of the Butterfield family farm. I should know—I spent half my childhood at my grandmother’s hip, poring over her unruly stack of maps. I’d lie for hours on my belly, chin in hand, clacking my heels in the air, the braided rug over the old hardwoods in the living room digging permanent imprints into the skin at my elbows and knees. Nana says you have to know where you come from to have any hope of figuring out where you need to go—otherwise a compass is no better than a child’s spinner toy, and a map is just a fussy drawing for folks to bicker over. I’ve hardly stepped foot outside Nebraska, so I can’t say as I know one way or the other. As any agricultural map will show you, the heart of this country is corn country, and my hometown of Fairbury is no exception. In the middle of town, you’ll find the Frosty Top drive-in diner, where I spend my weeknights on roller skates delivering trays of burgers and fries, shakes, and ice-cold bottles of Coca-Cola. The giant ice-cream cone rotating high above the outdoor dining  section is like a beacon drawing folks in from all over Jefferson County. Or maybe it’s the weather. Tonight’s one of those sparkling spring evenings when the place is packed. Everybody’s got their windows rolled down despite the chill, folks so eager to believe winter is finally behind us, they don’t mind their teeth chattering so long as the sun is out. I take an extra second to steady the tray on my palm, toe the brake on my right skate, pivot the other, and holler, “Door!” before I clip it with my hip and wheel outside. The air is crisp, fluttering the pleats of my skirt and tugging at the pins that hold my Frosty Top cap on my head at a jaunty angle. A song takes form in my mind like it does every time I get so much as a second to myself, building in my chest and begging to be set free as I skate toward the pickup trucks parked in V formation. This time it’s “Getting to Know You” from The King and I. The notes are simple enough and the breath work isn’t too tricky, but hitting those staccatos