Nasrin Mahdavi is an Iranian-American college freshman who's a triple threat on Broadway—but she's living a double life.
It’s her first semester majoring in musical theater at NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, and Nasrin spends her days prepping for auditions, sweating through dance classes, and belting her heart out for the viral streaming show she’s been cast in. But on calls with her maman and baba, she’s the golden child who put her theater dreams aside to follow in their entrepreneurial footsteps as a business major.
At least her whole life isn’t a lie—she is taking a single business course. Except she’s kind of failing it. Nasrin needs to bring her grade up fastif she’s going to keep her parents in the dark, so she grudgingly signs up for tutoring with the infuriatingly smug and annoyingly attractive Max. And yet . . . as the semester rushes by, the sparks of anger that first flew between them start to turn into a very different kind of spark. The kind she definitely does not have time for.
Except when Nasrin’s charmingly devious cousin takes an interest in Max too, Nasrin has to figure out exactly what has been an act, and what’s for real. Can Nasrin decide what—and who—is truly worth fighting for, and find a way to step into the spotlight as her full self?
NOMINEE
| 2024 ALA Quick Pick for Young Adult Reluctant Readers
A Target YA Book Club Pick A YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Title
"Sweet and pitch-perfect, a delightful novel about taking the stage and living your truth from one of the best authors writing YA." —Eric Smith, author of Jagged Little Pill
"A Whole Song and Dance is full of earnest charm, sparkling wit, and big, true feelings about what it means to want something—and go after it with your whole heart." —Adib Khorram, award-winning author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay
“Entirely delightful.” —School Library Journal
"A bustling production." —Publishers Weekly
"Plenty to sing about." —Booklist "Fans of relationship-driven stories will adore this sweet novel." —Kirkus Reviews
Sarvenaz Tash is the author of The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love (an Amazon Best Book of the Year and YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant YA Readers), Virtually Yours, Three Day Summer, and The Mapmaker and the Ghost. She is the co-author of the adult rom-coms Ghosting: A Love Story and Hollywood Ending (written as Tash Skilton). Sarvenaz was born in Tehran, Iran, and grew up on Long Island, New York. She received her BFA in Film and Television from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, which means she got to spend most of college running around and making movies (it was a lot of fun). She has dabbled in all sorts of writing including screenwriting, copywriting, and professional tweeting for the likes of Bravo and MTV. Her work has been translated into six languages. Sarvenaz currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two young sons. Visit her online at SarvenazTash.com or on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @SarvenazTash.
Nasrin Mahdavi is an Iranian-American college freshman who's a triple threat on Broadway—but she's living a double life.
It’s her first semester majoring in musical theater at NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, and Nasrin spends her days prepping for auditions, sweating through dance classes, and belting her heart out for the viral streaming show she’s been cast in. But on calls with her maman and baba, she’s the golden child who put her theater dreams aside to follow in their entrepreneurial footsteps as a business major.
At least her whole life isn’t a lie—she is taking a single business course. Except she’s kind of failing it. Nasrin needs to bring her grade up fastif she’s going to keep her parents in the dark, so she grudgingly signs up for tutoring with the infuriatingly smug and annoyingly attractive Max. And yet . . . as the semester rushes by, the sparks of anger that first flew between them start to turn into a very different kind of spark. The kind she definitely does not have time for.
Except when Nasrin’s charmingly devious cousin takes an interest in Max too, Nasrin has to figure out exactly what has been an act, and what’s for real. Can Nasrin decide what—and who—is truly worth fighting for, and find a way to step into the spotlight as her full self?
Awards
NOMINEE
| 2024 ALA Quick Pick for Young Adult Reluctant Readers
Praise
A Target YA Book Club Pick A YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Title
"Sweet and pitch-perfect, a delightful novel about taking the stage and living your truth from one of the best authors writing YA." —Eric Smith, author of Jagged Little Pill
"A Whole Song and Dance is full of earnest charm, sparkling wit, and big, true feelings about what it means to want something—and go after it with your whole heart." —Adib Khorram, award-winning author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay
“Entirely delightful.” —School Library Journal
"A bustling production." —Publishers Weekly
"Plenty to sing about." —Booklist "Fans of relationship-driven stories will adore this sweet novel." —Kirkus Reviews
Author
Sarvenaz Tash is the author of The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love (an Amazon Best Book of the Year and YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant YA Readers), Virtually Yours, Three Day Summer, and The Mapmaker and the Ghost. She is the co-author of the adult rom-coms Ghosting: A Love Story and Hollywood Ending (written as Tash Skilton). Sarvenaz was born in Tehran, Iran, and grew up on Long Island, New York. She received her BFA in Film and Television from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, which means she got to spend most of college running around and making movies (it was a lot of fun). She has dabbled in all sorts of writing including screenwriting, copywriting, and professional tweeting for the likes of Bravo and MTV. Her work has been translated into six languages. Sarvenaz currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two young sons. Visit her online at SarvenazTash.com or on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @SarvenazTash.
