We read the first Nate book, Better Nate Than Ever, last December and loved it! I featured it as a Holiday Pick. So, when Texas lawmaker Matt Krause featured Nate's last book, book 3, on his infamous list, I thought it would be great to round out this year's Holiday Picks with the conclusion to Nate's series.
In this book, Nate's on his way to Broadway, to play E.T., the extraterrestrial, in a theater production where he's the second-understudy for the only character covered in a rubber suit. When he's not understudying (which is all the time), he's Alien Number Seven. Blurg.
Still, if you remember Nate, he won't let that get him down. He navigates the production like a pro, his eidetic memory enabling him to focus on learning to tap-dance even as script change after script change pushes the actors to the edge.
And then he gets his big break: a PR / marketing appearance as E.T. It's going to be on live TV, 8-million viewers, from a stage in Madison Square Garden. He's not their first choice, but he doesn't care -- it's his chance at the big time. The lead actor who's supposed to play E.T. refuses to do non-theater performances. The first understudy has a divorce court date to fight for custody of her dachsund. The only catch: Jordan, who plays Elliot, the male lead in the play. His mother -- ahem! -- won't let her son act opposite Nate, a newcomer.
So the director and the first understudy cook up a plot to get Nate into the foam rubber costume without Jordan's Mommy knowing. No one actually ever sees the person under the costume, so if Nate keeps his mouth shut, it should go off without a hitch. It almost works, until...well, let's just say the unraveling involves a carafe of a hot beverage.
Nate's in serious hot water, and it gets worse when the same event nukes Jordan's voice. Right before opening night. And none of his understudies are really prepared to go on stage. They haven't been able to keep up with the script changes. But remember Nate and his practically perfect memory? He even knows the blocking, for heaven's sakes. Can he save the production?
I won't spoil how it ends, or how Nate and Jordan end up together at the end. It's a touching ending for a hilarious read that we laughed and laughed over! My son really enjoyed this and he reviewed it at the library, too. Enjoy!
This is the conclusion to Nate's series, and we cried a bit at the end, especially how it all wraps up, with the tie to the first book. It was quite poetic.
Nate's run on Broadway's E.T.: The Musical is over. The show fails to get even a Tony nomination so it's back to Janksburg, PA. Where no one gets Nate.
Except...maybe now they do? He's a bit of a celebrity, due to Libby, his best friend (and it was great to finally see her in action!) and indefatigable marketing machine. And when he decides, for an English project, to stage his own musical -- Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, set to modern day music (without getting the rights to use the music, of course and unfortunately) -- he becomes Nate the Director, sought out by Gym teachers looking out for their nieces and a really cute boy named Ben.
I won't spoil the twists and turns, and it is a bit of a romance, but all very innocent and uplifting (I can't say what happens; that would ruin it, so just trust me on this, it's a great ending!).
This series was such a gem. You'll have to read it for yourself and enjoy Nate's antics, his wonderful sense of humor and unique way of interpreting the world around him. It'll make a great gift for the holidays.
Enjoy!
