Book Review: The Spectacular

By Melissa Amster

New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion Brooks knows she should be happy. Her high school sweetheart is about to propose and sweep her off to the life everyone has always expected they’d have together: a quiet house in the suburbs, Marion staying home to raise their future children. But instead, Marion finds herself feeling trapped. So when she comes across an opportunity to audition for the famous Radio City Rockettes—the glamorous precision-dancing troupe—she jumps at the chance to exchange her predictable future for the dazzling life of a performer. 

Meanwhile, the city is reeling from a string of bombings orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the “Big Apple Bomber,” who has been terrorizing the citizens of New York for sixteen years by planting bombs in popular, crowded spaces. With the public in an uproar over the lack of any real leads after a yearslong manhunt, the police turn in desperation to Peter Griggs, a young doctor at a local mental hospital who espouses a radical new technique: psychological profiling. 

As both Marion and Peter find themselves unexpectedly pulled in to the police search for the bomber, Marion realizes that as much as she’s been training herself to blend in—performing in perfect unison with all the other identical Rockettes—if she hopes to catch the bomber, she’ll need to stand out and take a terrifying risk. In doing so, she may be forced to sacrifice everything she’s worked for, as well as the people she loves the most. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

It's not often a story fits its title so perfectly, but that is definitely the case with The Spectacular! I loved this historical fiction look at the Rockettes through the eyes of Marion. Not only did it have a cool New York City theater feel, but it also reminded me of the Nancy Drew novels I grew up reading. 

This was such a great story from start to finish with the combination of Marion's family drama, her dancing aspiration, the terror of not knowing when the bomber would strike next, and even the romantic subplot. I could easily visualize everything going on as if I were watching it on the big screen. It made me think of when I watched Annie as a kid and they had the Rockettes in the "Let's Go to the Movies" scene. (Start at 2:22 for this part.) I haven't actually gone to a Rockettes performance, but they're always performing at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I didn't know that there were other performances along with theirs, before the movie would start. I also was fascinated by how the choreography had to be so incredibly precise at all times and one difference would be completely noticeable.

The bombings remind me so much of what is happening now, down to the greed and ignorance that was keeping them from stopping long before they did. Just replace the bomber with a shooter, except there are many more of those and it feels unsafe to go almost anywhere these days. And it's not the greed and ignorance of a particular company, but instead the people who are supposed to be in charge of our country. I love how Marion worked so hard to get to the bottom of things since no one else was willing to step up and take control of the situation. She was wise beyond her years. 

The 1950s sexism in this story was also frustrating to me. It reminded me of Lessons in Chemistry in some ways, as well as some of the shows I've been watching that take place in the 1950s. Marion was ahead of her time in that respect and wanted to have a career before getting married and having kids. And as more information comes to light about her mother, who can blame her for that? 

This novel kept me riveted the entire time. It was really well done and now my favorite of everything I've read by Fiona Davis. (I still have a few of her earlier ones waiting to be read, but now I'll be measuring them up to this one, I'm afraid.) Don't hesitate to pick this one up and be ready to devour it!

Movie casting suggestions:

Marion (1956): Daisy Edgar-Jones

Judy: Liana Liberato
Bunny: Violett Beane
Nathaniel: Carson Rowland
Peter: Hunter Doohan
Simon: Dean Norris
Marion (1992): Frances O'Connor

Thanks to Dutton for the book in exchange for an honest review. They have TWO copies for some lucky readers!

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends June 20th at midnight EST.

More by Fiona Davis:

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.

Listen to these books on Speechify!