Starring in the Movie of My Life by Laurel Osterkamp

Synopsis:  Samantha acts without thinking. Her heart is huge while her sense of purpose is small; she's willing to fight for those she loves, but she's never learned to fight for herself. Eighteen-year-old Melody is cold and calculating, and she's driven by the desire to better herself. As these compelling yet deeply flawed women battle for the affections of twenty-five-year-old Nathan, he becomes increasingly confused and torn between them. 

Nathan is Melody's English teacher, and after he saves her from being raped, she becomes attached. Melody longs for the affection she's never felt, so she involves people in her self-invented drama, making sure she is at once the star and the director. Meanwhile, Samantha is newly married to Nathan. But Samantha has hang-ups about motherhood and lingering feelings for her ex. To make sense of the world, Sam relates her life to the themes of her favorite movies, while she independently makes a documentary to jump-start her non-existent film career. 

Stylistically influenced by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner, Starring in the Movie of my Life is told alternately from both Samantha's and Melody's points-of-view and relates two complete yet combined stories about love, acceptance, and redemption. It speaks to our universal desire to be saved by the ones we love, and the monumental effort required tosave ourselves. 

  Review:  I loved this story.  The story is about three characters, husband and wife Nathan and Samantha, and Nathan's music student - Melody.  I love how gritty and real each of the characters are.  What you see is not always beautiful.  In fact some things that happen are pretty ugly.  But it's always real.  I found the switching in point-of-views between Samantha and Melody made the book interesting and gave greater insight into the happenings in the book.  At times I loved Melody and at times I hated her.  Her actions were often deplorable but I could emphasize with her.  I found the book to be gripping and poignant and I enjoyed reading it.