A Million Views

by Aaron Starmer (Author)

A Million Views
Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade

Brewster Gaines just wanted to make a video and get a million views - he didn't count on needing friends to get there.

From the author of Spontaneous and the Locker 37 series comes a heartfelt story of friendship, family, and filmmaking.

"A well-rounded, heartfelt tale of creativity and family."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A Million Views turns its lens on YouTube fame in a way that's fun, educational, and inspiring."--Ryan North, New York Times best-selling author of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

"A celebration of the creative spirit in all of us!"--Rob Harrell, author of Wink

Brewster Gaines loves everything about making videos. The planning, the filming, the editing, and especially the feeling of watching his YouTube views tick up and up. So what if he doesn't have friends to film with or parents who are home every night for dinner? He's got a phone and a tripod and a lofty goal:

A million views.

But when he enlists the acting chops of charismatic new kid Carly for a ten-second video, he gets more than he bargained for. Her intimidating friend Rosa soon steps in with funding to produce an epic fantasy trailer, and before long, their tiny team is adding cast and crew. What started as a simple shoot mutates into a full-fledged movie production, complete with method-acting cosplayers, special effects, and a monster made out of a go-kart. That's when Brewster realizes that getting to a million views may be harder than he ever imagined...

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Publishers Weekly

Gentle humor buoys personal growth in this character-driven novel of filmmaking and found family by Starmer (the Locker 37 series). Twelve-year-old Vermonter Brewster Gaines, serial loner and aspiring director, yearns to go viral with the YouTube videos he creates. After a rare moment of cooperation with a classmate, skater Carly Lee, results in solid content, he realizes that it has the potential to garner his desired "million views"--if only it had the appropriate resources. Then Carly's privileged friend Rosa signs on as producer, ushering in a growing squad of collaborators, and the project is granted a $5,000 budget, a deadline, and a new life as trailer for yet-unmade film Carly Lee and the Land of Shadows. To the discomfort of control-conscious Brewster, the team grows to include costume-savvy Godfrey Tarkington and his production manager sister Isolde, half-Tanzanian special effects whiz Harriet Joseph, and eager assistant Liam Wentworth. Wryly narrated in the third person and filled with believable, intriguing characters, the narrative twines an in-depth look at the filmmaking process with a rift brewing in Brewster's largely detached family, astutely developing the filmmaker's relationship with his quietly supportive nonbinary sibling and his increasingly tight-knit crew. Most characters default to white. Ages 10-up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Oct.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6--Twelve-year-old Brewster Gaines is an aspiring YouTube star. While he doesn't really have friends or a close-knit family, he does have his phone, a dated MacBook, and "a willingness to try." With every short video he creates and posts, he dreams of reaching a million views, though he's never come close. When two classmates approach him with an idea to film a trailer for a movie yet to be created, Brewster is confused, frustrated, and excited. As the breadth of the project becomes evident, more classmates are added to the movie-making crew. Unfortunately, these one-dimensional characters are defined almost exclusively by their roles in the production. There's the aspiring movie star who must be kept happy; the theatrical family that loves cosplay; the standoffish producer who's funding the project; and so on. Brewster's older sibling, Jade, identifies as nonbinary, and while it's a welcome inclusion, it's unfortunate that Jade is not a fully fleshed-out character. As the plot progresses, Brewster comes to understand more about friendship and the workings of his own family. VERDICT Readers who can make it past the slow set-up may enjoy the snappy dialogue and the insider's look at how movies are made. An additional purchase.--Lindsay Loup

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Lights, cameras, AND action! A celebration of the creative spirit in all of us! This story has a lot of heart and a ton of fun. It charmed my inner twelve-year-old wannabe filmmaker!"—Rob Harrell, author of Wink

"A Million Views turns its lens on YouTube fame in a way that's fun, educational, and inspiring. Its relatable characters and super satisfying story make it not just worth a view . . . they make it a hit."—Ryan North, New York Times best-selling author of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

"A well-rounded, heartfelt tale of creativity and family."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Gentle humor buoys personal growth in this character-driven novel of filmmaking and found family by Starmer."—Publishers Weekly

"Starmer delivers his signature offbeat humor here through quirky secondary characters and quippy narration."—Booklist
Aaron Starmer
Aaron Starmer was born in northern California and raised in the suburbs of Syracuse, New York. Before pursuing writing full-time, he worked in New York City for over ten years as an editor for a travel bookseller and as an operations director for an African safari company. His middle grade and young adult novels have been translated into multiple languages and have appeared on best of the year lists from Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal, New York Public Library, YALSA, Bank Street College of Education, Chicago Public Library, and School Library Journal. His novel Spontaneous was recently made into a film. He lives in Vermont with his wife and two daughters.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780593386941
Lexile Measure
730
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Penguin Workshop
Publication date
August 01, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV013020 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Marriage & Divorce
JUV031030 - Juvenile Fiction | Performing Arts | Film
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Internet videos
Novels

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