Response on "The Day Beverly Lost Jessica"

       “The Day Beverly Lost Jessica” is a story about a woman who is threatened by the entertainment industry because she feels it is taking her “little girl” away from her. Beverly is supportive of her daughter pursuing her dream as a singer/dancer, but on the other hand she’s uncomfortable with placing her in the hands of this particular business, “WORLD WIDE MUSIC"; essentially, because it’s forcing her to grow up too fast. The author does a nice of job of creating a reluctant tone within the mother. Specifically, the line that says, “she would never again see her daughter’s hair bounce from side to side in a pony tail as she walked.” Thirteen is a significant age, because it’s the age where a person, in this case Jessica, is becoming a teenager. He also addresses her fear of this transition (from Easter egg painting to experimenting with drugs, ect) which I liked. 
    I feel the narrator has a good grasp on the tone he’s trying to convey from each character, however there were parts where I felt a little disconnected from who was talking--I felt out of the loop at times. For instance, the line “Lose yourself. This is the moment you‟ve been waiting for.” In the course of the dialog there were italicized interjections where I wasn’t sure who was talking. I couldn’t decipher if they were supposed to be bits of one of the other artists singing in the background, or if this was the daughter singing in the recording room to herself, or if it was just on the radio. I think while dialog tags should be used sparingly, this would have been an appropriate place to let your reader know who is speaking. If it were a song there could be something as simple as “The DJ keeps playing my song,” Beverly frowned as she tried to tune out the dissonant sound coming from the room across the hall. I think these are easy revisions that could make the story more fluid.
    I also felt the story used a lot of specific (and humorous) references to Youtube. Personally, I don’t mind because I always enjoy comic relevancy, especially when it’s geared towards the younger generation. However, some may argue that these references won’t always hold up over time. BUT- in some ways I found it effective because the mother didn’t seem to "get them" either. So, it kind of works in the context of the story-- by showing that considerable generation gap between the two. So, I think could work either way.
    Overall, I really loved the concept of "growing up too fast" especially at the expense of the entertainment industry. It reflects on how technology is changing the entertainment industry. We don’t have to become famous organically anymore. Even “nobodies” can become famous basically through the internet, and it's kind of scary. :)