Protagonist, Nova, finds herself in quite a dilemma as summer vacation arrives. Her mother's lifelong goal is for one of her daughters to become a professional ballerina. Nova has been fulfilling that goal, but now she realizes her own dream is to play guitar and be a rock star. With real maturity and an authentic voice, Emesse shows Nova struggling between the desire to please her mother and to learn to assert her independence and follow her own dreams. This is a very real part of the growing up process and I applaud Emesse for tackling it in such a fun yet truthful way.

      Another big recommendation for this series is the multicultural cast of characters. Nova takes a volunteer job at a library and meets Yumi, an Asian girl who she immediately knows will be a great new friend. East Indian, Rani, is also part of the cast, as well as African American, Bella. This lends credibility and a broader scope to the series since it reflects the diversity present in modern society and shows people as people.

      This enjoyable and well written series is off to a great start with Nova Rocks! I highly recommend this book for both library and personal collections.