The novel Somebody Everybody Listens To by Suzanne Supplee follows the life of Retta Lee Jones as she aspires to leave her hum-drum life of waiting tables at Bluebell’s Diner to await the day that she can leave her small town and head toward the bright lights of Nashville to become a country singer.
With only $500 in her jeans pocket and an old Caprice Classic, Retta leaves home upon graduating high school hoping that the power of talent, drive and determination will inevitably prevail and help her wishes come true.
Consequently, the chances of becoming a successful country singer is about as likely as Dolly Parton's boobs being real (I know that they are, but they still look fake...) .
Upon her arrival to Music City, Retta gets mugged, loses all of her savings and ends up sleeping in the back seat of her car and resorts to bathing hobo style in public restroom sinks.
After a while, things begin to look up. Retta manages to snag her first singing gig in a local honky-tonk inn outside Nashville. But after barely getting paid, she manages to snare a open spot, singing at an open mic night at the Mockingbird Café, a hot-spot for lots of singers to be discovered.
As things started getting better and better, they all seemed to fall apart yet again. Amidst a family crisis, Retta comes to the realization that the life she had hoped for, will take longer to achieve.
Somebody Everybody Listens To is a breath of fresh air; the yin to my yang of literature. Its message and story is not overplayed like the various fantasy, and fiction novels thrown around young adult literature.
Its bittersweet determination and failure complex is a great treasure to behold. After each page, I expected something to happen, and all of a sudden, the story turned at a whole other corner, leaving me wanting to only continue.
Lovers and haters of country music alike, will be enthralled by this wondrous story as each chapter commences. Focusing on Retta’s stilled determination to not give up when odds are against her and the combination of sincerity while avoiding an overly sappy tale is a truly warming experience.
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