Wonderkid

Novelist and musician Stace’s (Misfortune) newest takes a lighthearted but uninspired look at the music industry from the perspective of a zany children’s rock group. The Wunderkinds, a British band led by brothers Blake and Jack, doesn’t show much promise, but when their demo tape accidently catches the attention of a producer’s child, their slacker agent, Greg, gets a life-changing offer from an esteemed record company. As the group garners success, the delusional Blake, in his 20s, decides to adopt a troubled teenaged orphan named Sweet, who is also the book’s narrator. After moving to the States, the band is able to reinvent itself as an edgy children’s group with a slightly different name, the Wonderkids. We trail the Wonderkids as they live the expected life of musicians, and Sweet comes of age under Blake’s guidance. Other adoptions are made along the way, but tensions and bad publicity leads to the band’s demise. Most of the novel’s action takes place in the ’90s, but continues into present day when the band is scheduled to play a reunion concert at Prospect Park. Sweet fails to evolve as a character, as does most of Stace’s cast, and though the dialogue is playful and enjoyable, and the characters almost get the reader to buy in, ultimately the book is repetitive and one-note. (Mar.)