Sara Bennett Wealer's Rival

Ever since I was as young as two or three years old, my passion was music – specifically, singing. I took singing classes for as long as I can remember and still do today, whether it’s choir at school, Indian classical music or singing with my vocal group in Seattle. Therefore, my personal interest is singing which led me to find the book Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer. When I read Rival, I compared it to how my interest of singing was approached in this book. There were similarities and differences, which can be good or bad for the novel because the way the novel had presented this interest may not have been the most realistic approach. I will be comparing Rival to my interest in singing in this essay, to show how books can over-dramatize a subject that need not be exaggerated that way.
One portrayal of singing as a passion that I thought was well done was the description of the two main characters’ voices. While one had a deep and rich voice, the other had a light and air one. I was happy to see that this author showed that each person has a different voice and can sound good with proper training and practice. I
This makes the plot less generic as the protagonist and the “antagonist” or the rival, hate each other completely but the protagonist always wins in the end. As stated in chapter four by main character Brooke about the other main character Kathryn, “She will never not be on my shit list” (Bennett, Page 33). This shows that Brooke outwardly expresses her distaste to Kathryn, especially since the two are competing for a first-place spot in a national singing competition. However, in page 32, Brooke states “I’ll come right out and say it because it’s pathetic to deny the obvious: Kathryn is really pretty.” (Bennett, Page 32). This shows that Brook and Katheryn aren’t your generic rivals who always hate each other until the