Just Brooke

Sunshine Rodgers

Life matters. And life goes on unabated come what may. The book starts on a piquant note, setting a huge scope to wonder about Brooke Evans having a ‘loyal friend’ who invariably follows her around. His true blue association raises doubts while mincing words doesn’t yield. “We are the Girls to Beat! … The Characters Within in front of me.” This mental tussle of conviction of true identity forms the bedrock of the novel by Sunshine Rodgers. ‘Singing is not worth your time’, goes for a toss.  

A child’s first impression of hard times amidst a ‘magical place’ of opulence induces certain faculty otherwise not so common among children of that tender age. And this double walker doppelganger is such a feature that arises with the absence of fun and frolic in this child. The story thus moves between these two layers of haves and the have-nots. There is an undercurrent of life that is scraping by while there is an urge to catch up living on easy street. At The Time To Rise Resort, ‘A Ray of Hope spoke to me’.

The author follows an uncommon narrative technique to put forth these conflicting emotions and experiences and thus the surreal die is cast. A famished mind frames a different imagery. So the famished mind along with the burnished mind offers a highly creative technique of mind mapping through the matrix of Brian, Gina, Aunt Karen, Uncle Howard, Aaron, Hudson, Dawn Callaway, Giovanni, and Travis amongst a panoply of populace. The act of saving a little girl Emily bears much to it.

And all this harps on her loyal friend who reminds Brooke of her true identity and not to be taken in by her detractors, not to drift away but to cling on to her roots. ‘But I also wonder if this is all just a tactic – another way to try to control me’. Opulence amidst haunting memories conjures up this double walker at the magic shop where one sees ‘no magic left’. Time To Rise Resort keeps whizzing around; ‘the weighted past memories …to drag me down’

A reader would find witty portions too – ‘which may be why they treat me like a science project where the variable remains constant, and there is absolutely no room for error.’

'Every singer has a song! It’s inside of them! The lyrics are already written! The message is there. It just needs to manifest into reality. Almost like magic.' The blast from the past upon the future la-di-dah times sets the story on a thoughtful trail of fleeting images. These allegorical characters convey beyond the apparent that remains a reality and a mystery too. The readers keep hunting all over to cut the Gordian knot to see that – ‘Debonair? Charismatic’ image beyond its ‘handsome’ realm.  

This novel is an emotional driver that uses a mirror image to blow off the illusory sense of connection with the world. Some readers may remember the Japanese British novelist Sir Kazuo Ishiguro and his, A Pale View of Hills, however done in an entirely different way. 

Sunshine reveals the innate philosophy present in every act or situation that is subject to variegated perception depending upon the perceiver. Readers are reminded of the altered state of mind and the myriad perceptions that can go ricocheting across human behaviorism.

Reaching the audition venue is quite an escapade.  ‘Look inside your heart’ is it going to get any attention?’ – Brooke is all after ‘The Tune to the Top. No, it is not just a song of octaves. ‘It is called first-person point of view, and I believe it to be the best option for any creative endeavor.’ Ms. Isle tells her.  Mind mapping is done so articulately.  

Allegory and allusion are wafting across the narrative to build up a jigsaw puzzle map of human tendencies and ways vis à vis what society expects from these people. Every emotion and behavior gets kaleidoscopically reflected repeatedly to form a newer image. Sunshine Rodgers draws in this human menagerie of behaviorism over changing times and climes. The choice of the name Just Brooke cascades throughout the playing field and so is her loyal companion keeps giving her benediction through handholding, admonition, treacherous remarks, encouragement and even rocking her to sleep. ‘How does this guy know exactly what I need exactly when I need it?’ – This is a classic conundrum of benediction.

The virtual game of car racing is a sparkling stream of consciousness. Just Brooke says, ‘I immediately rev up my virtual engine.’ And at the same time she is told, ‘There’s a short game and a long game.’ Such enmeshed allusions lead to the diffraction of emotions and their ensuing behaviorism to show up in readers. ‘Gio taught me a great lesson today….I need to remember. The book is rife with symbolism that makes it so evocative and forceful.

Hard times can become the springboard of success. It’s a tale of rags to glad rags. Brooke Evans outshines her odds to be Just Brook. Such a doughty account is stranger than fiction. “And then another part of me - a stronger part - believes I have come full circle…a new outlook on life.” But which one of the duo is the real Brooke – the narrator or her double walker? Who has the song within? The reader is the Queen maker!

Paperback: 222 pages