jajalala

Cover of Tune in Tomorrow by Randee Dawn.

This is the last of the books I picked up from Boskone that I've been working through reading! I saved this one for the end because it was one of the longer ones and felt pretty professional, so I assumed I would have a good time. And overall, I did! It was a pleasant and fun read.

When I first picked it up and read the description though, I kind of worried it was going to be a little spooky, since there's mention of mysteries and the "dark underbelly" of this fantastical world of "reality TV" run by the fae. Turns out this book was MUCH more comedy-forward than I initially assumed, and I liked it! There were more serious bits, but plenty parts existed clearly just to be a funny bit. I lost count of how many times things were very obviously formed to be puns, but it was many! And it was fun!

I also enjoyed the casual diversity. The main character is fat and that's well established throughout, but it doesn't define or limit her or her charms. There were characters of various races, genders, and sexualities that felt well-incorporated. Even though the main character seemed pretty heterosexual, I didn't find that grating at all since there was a lot of other stuff going on around and the story wasn't like... heteronormative, you know? She just enjoys being whisked away to this somewhat fantastical set where she acts like a "regular human" for a mythical audience, and along the way she gets to have some heart-pattering time and attention from some guys she finds hot. It's just fun and nice!!!!

Overall I didn't get super invested in the book, like it being fun and nice most the time meant that it was mostly Not That Deep. The creative presentation of the various mythical creatures and their roles in the production kept things interesting, so although the plot sometimes meandered I still was just having a good time. It made it a nice book to read on the train every now and again, where it was dazzling to read but also didn't leave me on the edge of my seat when my train reached my stop and I had to put it down.

It might have been a bit long, but it was just jam-packed with fun little scenes. The main character uses jugs of tobasco sauce to distract/(drug?) a security dragon so she can find some old scripts hidden in the filing cabinets in his cave. Some brownies (which were like superfans that worked as assistants for the payment of just glitter) get taught to read, someone shares a Karl Marx book with them, and at a pivotal scene they end up striking and end the book unionized. The awards show involves dancing for what feels like days and days while hopped up on hummingbird essence that makes your body "hum" and culminates in a food fight.

Like I wouldn't call this a perfect book everyone should read--I think the meandering means I kind of lost track of and wasn't always invested in the stakes, but I would recommend this for someone looking for a somewhat fluffy comedy read with plenty of imagination, especially if they're a fan of show business in any way.

Now that I've read everything I picked up at Boskone... what's next? I've been reading some classic novels on my phone for times when I don't have or can't bring my book out (for awhile I was catching up on Dracula Daily, now I've got Pride & Prejudice checked out on Libby)... but I like to have a physical modern book most the time. I don't know what I'll read! I might poke around at my roommate's bookshelf... or go on a little library trip this weekend. Who knows!