My Mistaken Identity

Tuesday is a beautiful, talented and obedient child star, ordered around by her bipolar stage mother, Constance, and her agent, Uncle Monty. The two adults are Tuesday’s entire, lonely, rule-filled world until the singer meets Zelda-the daughter of Tuesday’s housekeeper and a fellow teenager-who plots to show Tuesday a good time. Horrified by Tuesday’s sheltered and puritanical life, Zelda compels her to re-examine the way her mother pushes her around, spending her daughter’s money and not allowing her any freedom. The two grow close as Tuesday recognizes how isolated she has become, having only her song lyrics for solace. Under Zelda’s influence, Tuesday begins to fight back, demanding to change her image from a clean-cut role model for tweens to an edgy rocker who sings about harsh, personal conflicts. As Constance plans for Tuesday to sing a new, wholesome song at a prom, Zelda becomes even more important as a supportive friend who encourages the young star to think for herself. The singer then meets Brady Paul, a good-looking boy at the high school where she will be performing, and she realizes that, with Zelda by her side, she can discover all kinds of new ways to get what she wants. Written in a light, easy style, Tuesday’s story of emotional emancipation is one that any teenager can appreciate. Eadie’s work stands out from the usual teen novel: It doesn’t glamorize Tuesday’s celebrity life but highlights the loneliness it brings. The protagonist is a well-drawn, likable heroine whose impossible home life makes her sympathetic.