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I first saw this book when I was sixteen.
My favourite place to hang out was the bookshop and I use to spend all my money
there. I remember picking up this book a few times and reading bits of it. I
wanted to buy the book but never got around to it. Eventually, all the copies were
gone and I forgot the title of the book and author. I tried to search for a
copy online but that was hard to find without name of the book and the author
so I never got anywhere. Fortunately, I found a copy in a thrift shop and
bought it.
The Fifth Quest is a fictional fantasy TV
show similar to Xena. The star of the show is Ashtari, a warrior princess who
also has magical powers and can speak almost all ancient languages. Ashtari
travels the lands righting wrongs with her trusty sidekick, a half dog man Kish
and hunky brother Xanthus.
‘Zumara is too old to continue the girl’s
training’ explained the fortune teller. ‘The time has come for you to fetch
Maya and take her on as your apprentice.’ (p. 3 The Fifth Quest).
Fifteen year old Rosie Cordell and her
friend Nadia are obsessed with the show. They mouth the words when they watch
and spend hours talking about the littlest details. One day, there is an
audition for a new sidekick for the Quest series and Nadia drags Rosie along to
the audition. Rosie wins the coveted role of Maya, the new companion. The book
is about Rosie’s journey through fame and how it impacts on her friendship with
Nadia.
I don’t
even think she meant to put me down. It’s just that Nadia’s opinions were so
loud and they whooshed through her brain so fast, she drowned out other people’s
ideas without even realising she was doing it. After a while it gets to you and
you give up expressing your opinion. (p. 96 The Fifth Quest).
The book alternates between chapters on the
TV show and Rosie’s life. Rosie matures through the experience starting off as
naïve and a bit of a pushover into someone more assertive. Rosie has to deal
with the entertainment industry types with all their egos and smooth talking. As an adult, I groaned at some of the stuff
that she got lead into but I realised that I could have been the same at that
age. I also liked the difficult relationship that Rosie had with Nadia, as
Nadia was really the one who wanted to be an actress. The two suffer from a lot
of misunderstanding and jealousy which resolves near the ending.
I also liked the behind the scenes look at
what goes on a TV show. Debra Oswald was a writer for many Tv shows and films
so some things in the book are drawn from her experiences. I also think that she
balances the perks of fame and the downside in an honest and realistic way. The
book is a fun read and I think teenagers will like it, particularly those
wanting to be actors.
Is the book instructional in any way? A kind of, "this is how you should go about becoming an actor or handling celebrity?" type read? Or just an enjoyment read for teens? I like how the girl who didn't want to be the actor won the roll. Sometimes the people who really want something put so much pressure on themselves and push too hard, while the person trying something new on a whim is relaxed and able to perform better.
ReplyDeleteNo it's not an instructional book. I meant that young people who are interested in the entertainment industry might like this book because it's story about that industry. It's the same as recommending Black Beauty to a horse mad friend.
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