Review of The Girl Who Became a Beatle

The Girl Who Became A Beatle by Greg Taylor
Greg Taylor's Website
Description:When Regina Bloomsbury’s band, the Caverns, breaks up, she thinks it’s all over. And then she makes a wish—

“I wish I could be as famous as the Beatles.”

The Beatles are her music idols. The next day, she gets up to find that the Caverns are not just as famous as the Beatles, they have replaced them in history! Regina is living like a rock star, and loving it. There are talk shows, music videos, and live concerts with thousands of screaming fans. And Regina is the star of it all.

But fame is getting the better of Regina, and she has a decision to make. Does she want to replace the Beatles forever?


Review: Well. The Girl Who Became A Beatle is my first ever ARC, so thank you Feiwel and Friends for sending it to me. I completely understand that this book came out in January. Here is a picture of the book. If you cannot tell, there is a sticker over the title, because they changed it! (Sorry, that's me dorking out about this book:P)Plus, it arrived the day of my Sweet 16, so I was pretty stoked.

The Girl Who Became a Beatle tells the tale of Regina 'Gina' Bloomsbury. Her father introduced her to the Beatles at a young age, and she's loved them ever since. When he band, the Caverns, is on the verge of breaking up, Regina wishes she could be as famous as the Beatles. From that day on, the Caverns replace them. There is no such thing as the Beatles anymore! Regina has to choose between staying in this fantasy world filled with luxury and fame, or returning to her old life.

Greg Taylor took a much used story and created something all of his own. Regina was close to losing the Caverns when she made that wish. She was desperate, and trying to cling to the one thing she loved.

I really felt for Regina throughout the book. Though at times she made stupid decisions, like trusting her mother who only talked to her when she was rich and famous, and for being with Bradley, who was her super-star boyfriend. She was letting the fame get to her head. In a quote by Abernathy, who was her mentor/limo driver,

 "From what I’ve seen, Regina, fame is kind of like a tidal wave. You might see it coming, sense it coming, but here’s not much you can do to avoid getting swept up in it. It’s just too powerful."

It basically described what happened to Regina, and every other self-obsessed celebrity. She started off the nice girl who was in it for the music, but sometimes she had her diva moments.

I thought it was really cool that Taylor made the Caverns the Beatles. They had all the Beatles songs and album covers. At first, Regina felt bad, because she was stealing another artists work, but she confides in someone who reassures her it's okay, since technically, the Beatles never even existed. 

The Girl Who Became a Beatle was verrrry music oriented, as you can obviously tell. They included many Beatles songs, and experiences Regina and her band had while playing and watching. I think my favorite part of the book was when Regina got to see the Beatles live. The whole scene was just just powerful and a real turning point for Regina. 

I felt very differently for Regina's parents. Her mother left at a young age, and her father raised. When Regina was in her famous world, her mother was a big part and wanted to basically use her for her money. She was buying houses and going shopping. She just seemed soo immature. And Regina felt for it! She was totally playing into her mothers trap. Her father, on the other hand, was actually there for her. He wanted her to go home with him to their small town of Twins Oaks. I actually cried when I read the scene between him and Regina, with him telling her that he's okay with her staying.

And Julian. Julian is the guitarist of the Caverns. Regina is also in love with him. When she's in her fame world, she comes to realize that they once went out. There aren't a ton of scenes with them that deal with the romance. There's actually only one. But I really liked seeing their friendship develop. Because when Regina enters this world, the Caverns are going to Los Angeles, the band is already developed. I probably should have mentioned this sooner. So, Regina is trying to figure out what the hell happened between then and now. How did she wind up dating a superstar, driving in limos and being on billboards? 

I also really liked it because it was a stand alone novel. There was no trilogy set, everything was solved in this novel, and hat is a nice surprise, since everything these days is a 5-book series.

Overall, The Girl Who Became A Beatle is a book dealing with forgiveness, reconciliation, and finding out that life is just how you want it!

"Bradley smiled, gave me a quick kiss, then headed off down the pier. As I watched him go, I noticed that some of Bradley’s tan had rubbed off on my jacket. He wasn’t bronzed after all.

It was just make-believe. "

-The Girl Who Became a Beatle; Greg Taylor