Phantom Paperback – March 30, 2012

Oh goshhh... this one was so teenybopperish. I am a teenager (at least for one more year) and I kind of #cringed at certain parts. Or at the delivery in general. But I couldn't be as mean as to give it 3 stars. It was too interesting for that. Interesting in an early 2000's high school TV drama kind of way. Sort of the vibe you get when you know it's an adult writing from a teen's point of view. Now, I can't fault the author for that, but the delivery felt mildly superficial because of it.The lyric usage was creative. I mean, obviously this is an published adaptation and not a fanfiction. The author couldn't use the original songs. The way she made them her own was very creative. Mildly weird, if you've got the ALW lyrics memorized, but admirable. She did what she had to, and it wasn't bad. I laughed a little, but only because it reminded me of the Google Translate music videos for Phantom of the Opera.It was an interesting/frustrating mix of original and cliche. Hot blonde popular kid vs. dark moody outcast in love with generic Mary Sue character with a POTO obsession. Now, I myself have an equally extensive obsession with Phantom, but I also have a more interesting and complex personality than the main character in this novel. Wishy washy, which I guess is expected of 'Christine', but kind and pretty. Kind of blah, but not utterly boring. She was okay. Annoying at parts, jumping back in forth between her respective love interests - again, which I suppose is expected of Christine. I didn't hate her, but questioned her judgement.For one, I thought the 'Raoul' equivalent was a total a**hole who shouldn't have been given the time of day. He called her friend a COW, for crap's sake. I don't know what world this person is living in, but if my crush were to call one of MY best friends a cow because of her weight/build - and she was just trying to be helpful to them - my secret adoration would die in an instant. I don't forgive those kind of offenses so easily. I feel a real friend wouldn't tolerate that kind of thing either, but then, I guess high school girls can be fickle. His second offense was showing up drunk to pick our heroine up for their school dance. If some guy tried to pull that kind of crap on ME, I wouldn't go ten feet with him, let alone get it the car with him. His third was disassociating himself from her because of a bunch of ridiculous rumors. Three strikes you out, boy.Another questionable thing was the heroine's choice in friends. Good lawd. Just read the book and you'll know what I mean, I don't want to accidentally leak spoilers. But yeesh.Now our would-be Erik equivalent was also a bit of a cliche. Highly gothic in appearance, yet still handsome enough under all the makeup to tempt our heroine. A wiccan, of all things. Highly versed in POTO quotes. Insta-love with our 'Christine', naturally. Killer voice. Scary on the outside, sensitive on the inside. All in all, not awful, but not unexpected either.The real intrigue was wondering who the frick could be committing all these murders when you keep killing off the suspects? That's what kept me intrigued. I was like, it could be HIM, it could be HER, maybe it's the REALLY unexpected one, maybe it's the one everyone's suspected all ALONG... I can't say it was shocking, when you finally find out. There were only so many characters left that hadn't been killed! Still, it wasn't entirely who I was suspecting, so the author gets props for that.Overall, it was teenybopperish to the max, but worth reading all the same. I know I bashed a lot of things, but really it's just like those reality shows you like to criticize but secretly watch because of the drama. It's interesting, you can't help yourself. For a modern high school AU of Phantom of the Opera, it was good, and I thought it was still surprisingly original in some ways. And quite twisted in others. I genuinely did like it.

I picked up this book, because like our female protagonist Rebecca, I am a huge Phan. I'm only slightly jealous that I never saw the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. The tragedies of unrequited love, the mystery and masquerade, and the strength of love to overcome all adversity, was woven wonderfully in this high school rendition of Phantom.I do like these characters. Rebecca could have been the weak-willed, self-loathing damsel in distress that we see in so many of these teenage love-triangle dramas (Twilight). Instead, one relates to her self-consciousness that's believable for an adolescent. She develops into a courageous young woman as events unfold and learns the importance of integrity. It's apparent that the author has infused so much of her values in our heroine, even having characters acknowledge that Rebecca must first and foremost be her own individual and that acceptance and affection does not define our worth.Justyn on the other hand... feels a little too fabricated for my taste. As a Phan, I will ship Erik and Christine. Sing it from the rooftops. The appeal is in the forbiddenness of that dynamic. And Erik is meant to be grotesque, kinda difficult to look at. His only beautiful feature is his voice. Naturally, Justyn is paralleling the Phantom, in this drama. And Justyn is pretty. One could argue that making him a little Wiccan Goth boy makes him a misunderstood social outcast, but for me, that wasn't enough to forge a distance between heroine and phantom. He needed a fundamental flaw that made the tension between the two truly dramatic. If he really have some deformity, his alcoholic father abused him, something that really scars a person, that would have given his character a believable element. It would have been such a simple yet powerful inclusion to a story of this genre.Another thing that got under my skin was the inclusion of Wicca... and yet it having no baring on the story. Kids get bullied for wearing their pentacles on the outside. This could have been used as a device to further alienate this character. Instead Wicca was presented in this almost preachy "it's not devil worship" kind of way. It was very artificial, especially Justyn's mother. Witches don't go around saying "thank Goddess" and proclaiming karma is gonna catch up with somebody because pagans know when other pagans are trying too hard. I understand for the vast majority of people out there, they don't understand this religion and so perhaps it's necessary to educate, but when it really adds nothing to the story, it never becomes a point of conflict, and it's presented in such a trite manner... why bother including it?Oh. The publisher is pagan. Got it. Moving on...Despite having a few gripes with this book, the plot as a whole is highly engaging. I loved the interactions between the characters, the tension in the budding romances, and there is enough terror to keep you reading. It's not masterfully written, but in some ways romantic prose can take away from a story. The action will keep you engaged. I wish there was more in this story that spoke to elements of theater in general, like understanding where character stood on stage, some hint of music theory, kids receiving lessons in drama class. Details like that bring a story to life. I would have been far more engaged with the characters' production, would have felt the stunning performance more fully. It makes me wonder if the author has researched such things, because an understanding of theater from a technical standpoint, and the ability to engage the readers with it, would have brought this to a whole different level.The ending of this was fantastic. Keep reading this thing and you won't want to put it down. A few people mentioned not seeing the twist at the end... I saw it coming. Mysteries do compel me to think critically, and while the author gives little hint to who the final culprit is, if you believe that the nature of the characters as they are portrayed are honest, it becomes easy to see who is wearing the mask.Great story, fun read, many good lessons to be had in this book. Girls should be reading books like this, not some of that other drivel on shelves right now (Twilight). I wouldn't so much recommend it if you are completely unfamiliar with the play, or you haven't read the original book, because I fear you may miss too much context. I could be entirely wrong.

I loved this book!!! LOL Practically binge-read it. All the characters were really vivid and well-drawn, and the highschool culture was really well represented. Though, Becca's timidity drove me up the wall at times, as did her inability to trust her own gut with regard to Justin's innocence. Absolutely loved the play between their real lives and Phantom, though!!! As a hard-core Phan, that was a delight!!! And the chemistry between Becca and Justin was truly delicious!!! I'm so glad She got over her prejudices and ended up with him! And I'm glad that Becca, Carmen, Justin and Tom all reconciled and became friends in the end, too. It's always good to see fiction that shows barriers being broken down!The only thing I disliked about the book, apart from the odd uncaught typo or misused word, was who the "villain" turned out to be and their motivation. I'm not sure the author intended it this way, but the way that ended up could, frankly, be read as homophobic. And that's problematic in a story about the need to unlearn prejudice, especially when that story is a riff on Phantom which is perhaps the ultimate story about the need to unlearn prejudice! Indeed, I'd have liked to see the author push the story further (having it's Phantom romantic figure actually not be gorgeous apart from being a Pagan Goth vegetarian. I would have liked there to be even more of a challenge to normativity. But these issues with the book aren't going to prevent me from reading the rest of the series! Because, I really enjoy Ms Luca's writing style! It's delightfully romantic and entertaining!

I was excited to read this since I enjoy Phantom of the Opera, and the story did not disappoint. A brilliant and gripping read with interesting characters and a thrilling twist.