Today @KirkusReviews...

...I talk about Kathryn Lasky's The Extra, which has a cool premise, but didn't do a lot for me beyond that:

Kathryn Lasky’s The Extra has a fascinating—if depressing and revolting—premise, which is made only more so by the fact that it’s based on a true story. Which makes it all the more unfortunate that the rest of the book is only semi-successful. For the first 50 pages—the pre-film segment—much of the dialogue and narration is stiff; the prose flip flops between a historical feel and a modern feel; and the historical facts and details are just plopped in, rather than worked in naturally. The last third of the book—after the film—feels rushed and uneven, just a way to wind out the war and finish Lilo’s story. That, compounded with Lilo’s Everygirl persona and other characterizations that were more tell than show, led me to wonder if Lasky was less invested in her fictional characters than in her portrayal of the very-real Leni Riefenstahl and the story of the making of Tiefland.