The Orpheus Obsession

by Dakota Lane

Book Overview

Anooshka Stargirl sometimes sees her life as a movie. But she can't escape the realities. At home there's a depressed mother who often won't emerge from bed. And a dad who's not in the picture. There are two best friends but a stifling pack of aspiring glamour girls. Fortunately there's Zoetrope Zallulah Moon, modish older sister extraordinaire, living a bus ride away in New York City. Visiting Moon one summer weekend when the heat won't relent, Anooshka...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060741732
• ISBN13: 9780060741730
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.0" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Anooshka Star has a miserable home life. Her mom is always depressed and Anooshka never knows what to expect from one day to the next. Her father has gone off to live in India. Anooshka had the choice of going with him but felt the right thing to do was stay in the States with her mom. Her only chance of reprieve is a short bus trip to visit her sister, Zoetrope Zallulah Moon (aka ZZ Moon) on occasion. It is during one such trip during the summer that the two sisters find themselves at a lush maze in Brighton Beach. There, Anooshka stumbles across a photo shoot. Peeking through the hedges, ZZ Moon suddenly panics. She tries to pull away, but Anooshka will have nothing to do with that. ZZ Moon nervously tells Anooshka that it's none other than Orpheus, the musician that she listens to constantly. Anooshka walks over to him and gets the nerve to ask for his autograph; for her sister, of course. But once she's met Orpheus herself, she's smitten. Back at home, after dealing with her mom's latest drama, she logs onto the Internet and starts reading all of Orpheus's web blog. Anooshka starts to notice a connection with Orpheus. His thoughts online mirror many of her own. In her reading, she learns the fact that Orpheus is part owner in a NYC restaurant, Constellation. She calls her sister up and the two of them plan on an outing there the following Sunday. Much to their delight, they encounter Orpheus at Constellation, and he talks to them. He even goes so far as to offer the two of them passes to his show later. Of course they are thrilled. From this point on, Anooshka's obsession is solidified, and all she can concentrate on is Orpheus. Throughout the course of the summer, Anooshka goes to many lengths to be where Orpheus is. When he showers even a little bit of attention on her, it pulls her even deeper into her obsession. Dakota Lane writes a dark novel of how a chance meeting can begin the stirrings of an obsession. Anooshka made her first contact with Orpheus for her sister's sake, but soon, the tide is turned and Anooshka can't get enough. Cold reality sets in, and the reader can see how Anooshka tries to get a grip back on her life, though it's never easy. Ms. Lane makes the reader realize that an obsession is a hard habit to break. Reviewed by: Jaglvr

you will love this book

a lot happened when i picked up this book one: the characters moved into my head. this is good. i'm still listening to them because they know things that i don't two: now i can figure out the guy in my world. so he's a rock star? maybe yes maybe no. three: DAMN --Dakota got that right! i kept saying that through the whole book. especially when she says exactly how a smell smells. is that possible? amazingly, yes. four: now i humbly see life as the amusement park ride it really is. even the crap. i will not change back. never. five: Dakota's books make me want to write. actually she makes me HAVE TO WRITE. it all started with Johnny Voodoo which you must read if you didn't yet. IN CONCLUSION: if your life goes from THE PIT to TOTAL MAGIC one or more times in 24 hours then you will love this book. it will make you feel normal. if your life is boring then you will love this book because it is fun. if you love song lyrics then you will love this book. read it and find out. do that. i mean it.

A young adult novel that is lively and wise.

This is a wonderful young adult novel by an author who has not forgotten what is is like to be a young adult obsessed with a famous personality (her Orpheus is a rock star) and yet understands too what it is to be a grown-up. So the book is lively and wise. Lane is a very good writer and I recommend this book for every school, library, and teenage reader. Must take issue with another review posted here: why do people think that their friends who are authors should GIVE them complimentary copies of books? Does your grocery store give you free groceries because you live nearby? This is how your neighbor earns a living! Honor that and buy her book if you can afford it. If you can't, remind your library to buy several copies and check one of them out and read it.

Orpheus Obsession has a web site...

The author is my neighbor, and though I haven't read the book yet (apparently no complimentary copy for neighbors... :-) ), I did just get an email from her with the book's new web site, so I'm passing it along to fans and potential fans. http://orpheusobsession.com/