Made Glorious

By: Lindsay Eagar

Narrated by: Morgan Dalla Betta

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Rory is an antihero for the ages. Like Shakespeare’s Richard III, she confides in her audience, telling us exactly the lengths she’ll go to to secure the leading role in Bosworth Academy’s senior musical, confessing without shame that she is charming and conniving and brutally ambitious, that we will watch and root for her even as she manipulates and endangers those around her. And we do. Perhaps it’s because we don’t want to believe that she’s as relentless as she claims. Rory is an underdog, after all, a scholarship kid teased for her weight. Surely there will be redemption? Surely our dread and patience will be rewarded?

Intricately plotted with an ingenious narrative that blends multiple viewpoints with script excerpts and an original musical score, Lindsay Eagar’s whip-smart, precision-crafted, and gleefully compulsive crowd-pleaser taps into the dark side of high-school theater production. A diabolically good listen, it forces our complicity as we wince and cheer for an arresting drama queen who just can’t help going full-tilt nasty in the pursuit of her dream.

©2024 Lindsay Eagar (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

A Tale of Ambition and Tragedy

A stunning exploration of the cutthroat world of theater, of an overlooked girl's quiet manipulation of events behind-the-scenes and a corkscrew of twists and turns. Eagar's story is heart-wrenching, reminiscent of classic YA books like The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier and of newer novels like The Walls Around Us, by Noava Ren Suma. i also could not help but think of the movie entitled Black Swan, which is decidedly for adults but explores similar themes. Of course, Made Glorious is most reminiscent of the play which inspired it, Richard III, by William Shakespeare, the story of a deformed man who seeks kingship at all costs, no matter who must be destroyed in the process.
Those looking for a bit of hope will not find it here, even if you might yearn to do so as I did. Made Glorious is vastly different from Eagar's extraordinary novel entitled The Patron Thief of Bread, (an absolute must-read). However, in an odd way, Made Glorious explores similar themes of the yearning to belong, the need for acceptance and the hope everyone has to find their place in the world. Made Glorious simply approaches the material from a much darker place, exploring a young girl's desperation, loneliness and need to be recognized.
I loved the manipulative way Eagar played with the material, making the story play-like with insertions from Rory King's perspective. My favorite characters were Annie Neville, (Rory's best friend,), Ethan, and Miss Keating, the English teacher.
Perhaps the most horrific aspect of this story is the true evildoer, and certain scenes truly left me feeling gutted. The true culprit is not the one you might think.

But these suckers don't realize that there's only one rule; one rule for the theatre, one rule for life. Watch out for yourself. Only you. There is no one else. If you do not make them pay attention, you will be forgotten. if you do not take what you are owed, you will have nothing. And if you do not take the crown for yourself, you will never know power.--Rory King.

Morgan Dalla Betta is a superb narrator, infusing liveliness into her performance. The characters come to life, and she made me love Rory even if I was not supposed to do so. I also loved her portrayal of Pam, the drama teacher and of Annie.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers, the exploration of desperate and unhinged characters, and for those who love tales that explore the human condition. This book is impossible to put down.
God bless you all.