“Fast paced and readable. The frequent musical references give the story an original twist.” - School Library Journal
“Wealer has a talent for depicting the fragile moments on which friendships are made and broken.” - Publishers Weekly
“Wealer has done a wonderful job creating intensity in the characters. Rival will be gobbled up by teens who have enjoyed books such as Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars as well as teens looking for a fast-paced, action-filled story.” - Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
“This quick paced and solid debut novel has all the drama of real high school. Think Glee, only with chamber music.” - Kirkus Reviews
“Wealer’s debut novel establishes realistic situations and dialogue, empathy for all sorts of teens, and challenging themes that command a reader’s thought and attention. These complex, interesting, believable protagonists will satisfy many readers who pick up the book expecting a lighter sort of musical read and instead find real substance.” - Booklist
“Awesome, awesome, and more awesome. Not one wrong note.” - Lauren Myracle, New York Times bestselling author
“This book gets it all exactly right—friendships, envy, and the fact that you can never truly know another person.” - Sara Zarr, National Book Award finalist
“A balanced, insightful picture of the ups and downs of a friendship undone by envy.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
