I Got You Babe
I Got You Babe
I stare at the screen, mesmerized by the image and the captivating narration.
"Singer. Actress. Model. Ally. Comedian. Animal-rights activist. Everything she touches turns to gold. She has won a Grammy, an Emmy, and an Oscar. She has over three million followers online and has given more farewell tours than you can count. The Goddess of Pop has defined decade after decade and continues to redefine herself. Cher—The Making of an Icon. Up next.
"Turn that up," Mom says.
"That's been on all week," Dad says. "It's one of those biography shows. The part I caught was pretty good. Did you know she rescued an elephant?"
"What? Really?" Mom, an animal lover herself, has been hooked.
"Stop what you're doing and let's watch," Dad says. "I'll grab us some snacks."
We settle in. The documentary starts out with Cher's early performances with her first husband, Sonny Bono. How they rose to fame. How they never quite fit in. How their popularity started to fade and how that affected their marriage.
I was more interested in their style. They really were stunning, especially Cher. Lemon-yellow vinyl. Long black hair past the waist. Striped bell-bottoms. Peace signs. Bright daisies in all colours. The images shown were loud, brave, ahead of their time. Just like Cher was.
And also me.
Meet Mac Riley, a 12-year-old, self-proclaimed diva with flashy ideas for improving his school's Fun Fair. His best friend, Amy, helps him present those ideas to the school's parent association, which his father heads.
Mac wants a Pride Carnival with a rainbow-striped bouncy castle, strobe lights, a bubble machine, a light show, fireworks, and, most important of all, a Talent Show. This carnival has to be epic. Mac already plans to win the Talent Show and its Sparkling Crown of the Carnival using "I Got You Babe", a Sonny and Cher hit from 1965.
Despite, or maybe because of, Mac's grandiose ideas, things don't work out. First, they're so expensive that the school budget can't cover the cost. Then, Mac's dad discovers that Mac eavesdropped on an important phone call and has snooped in his office to find out what the adults have put together. Plus, Amy, Mac's talent show partner, is less and less willing to go along with a Sonny and Cher routine in which she plays boring Sonny to Mac's sparkling Cher. In a showdown, she demands to know who wants to play a dead guy and tells Mac to do it alone.
Mac soon realizes he can't. Apologizing is hard, but once Mac has, Amy offers ideas that win them the Sparkling Crown of the Carnival. And Mac knows exactly who should wear it.
I Got You Babe, a nicely-paced middle-grade novel, has characters who are exaggerated enough to make them likable and amusing. Mac's parents offer good advice without being overbearing. From the start, Mac knows he can overdo things and depends on Amy to keep him balanced. This intro makes the ending both pleasant and believable.
Helen Mason is not a major Cher fan although she saw Sonny and Cher early in their career. However, she is a major fan of I Got You Babe with its intriguing relationships and fun vocabulary. She's currently working on two young adult novels, both related to mental health.