Mazie is a senior in high school who has bigger dreams than her farm in Nebraska. Her dreams are to be on a Broadway stage in NYC and days before her high school graduation she is on her way, much to her parents and the love of her life’s dismay. When she arrives in the city, she quickly realizes that dreams aren’t always what they seem. She books a less than desired role in a traveling tractor show and takes off. Along the way she learns may lessons, including not losing who you are. This book was really well written and I really enjoyed it. ( )

In 1950’s Nebraska, Mazie dreams of Broadway. But to follow her dreams, she’ll have to leave behind Jesse, the boy she loves who dreams of a career as a rocket scientist, but has accepted that his destiny is to run the family farm. Mazie doesn’t want a life as a farm wife, and runs off to NYC days before her high school graduation to see if she can make it on stage, breaking both their hearts.

Mazie’s got a heart of gold, and I was rooting for her to find her way. She has to learn to persevere through rejection and homesickness while dodging advances from sleazy directors.

It was a fascinating look at both 1950’s Broadway and the ties that bound girls like Mazie to their families and rural Nebraska. It also dove into the pressures the girls faced to have a certain “look” in addition to their talent, and Mazie’s struggle to figure out if she could stay true to who she was while still making it in show biz.

I recommend this book for anyone who’s ever dreamed of Broadway or a life beyond their small hometown.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )