DareToDreamInShadow

Rating: A, top notch stuff.

This comes very close to being a perfect first chapter. As readers, we are able to go into our narrator's mind and see something other than the makeup and music videos, but see a real girl with real problems like the rest of us. 

Our narrator is Layla- A girl who loves music. She writes her own, and that way is more connected to it. She hates being used as an industry puppet and (I'd imagine) a money maker. She is a genuine, relatable human being surrounded by a toxic industry, but learns to play her part in it. With Layla as a character, I am able to see her flaws and her good attributes easily in the first chapter without awkward info dumps or stuffing it in. You're quite good with flow.

The chapter hints to secrets not fully revealed: her accent and the possible story behind hiding it, the mess and abandonment that is her relationship with her grandfather, her destructive past, and to top it off the mysterious Wentworth Academy. The flow and transitions are buttery smooth as we explore this girl's mind and her emotions, and I have no doubt that this book will have an enticing story throughout.

Criticism: Because it is, like I said, nearly perfect, I don't have much to say beyond a couple things. This may just be me, but at the start of the chapter it is almost too mysterious. All of these good attributes I listed above only came through past the first few paragraphs. It is a tad slow to start, and some people may like that, but it leaves me a little impatient. Now I'm not some junkie waiting for an instant release of chemicals in my brain when I read the first sentence, but the very beginning could possibly be altered or cut just a tad. What that would look like? I'm not 100% sure.

However, this could also be a good thing for you. I've always thought, as well as with some others in the writing community, that an introduction to honest characters is the best hook you could have. This slow start matches Layla's slow understanding and distraction in the music industry and in this toxic adult world.

Take it as you will, but that is all I have to say. I have no doubt you worked very hard to hone this chapter into the best it can be, and it has paid off. Excellent work.

(Also, nice touch with the Jessica in the beginning. It catches when we hear her say Jamie, and we have the same confusion that Layla has.)