TITLE: Five Flavors of DumbAUTHOR: Antony John
REVIEWED BY: JPL TeenLink
BRIEF SUMMARY: Piper is a high school senior who has spent most of her school years invisible. During an encounter with the school's resident rock band, Dumb, she has a rare moment of outspokenness, which not only gains their respect, but leads to her becoming their manager... which might be even harder than it would seem, since Piper suffers from moderate-severe hearing loss.
One thing leads to another, and suddenly Dumb goes from a three-piece mess to a hard-rocking quintet. Finally on the verge of breaking through, they're also on the verge of breaking up.
While Piper tries to keep it together, she's also dealing with her family: an unemployed father, a workaholic mother, a brother who's constantly in danger of expulsion, and a baby sister who can either bring them all together again, or tear them completely apart.
WHY I PICKED IT UP: I love books and movies about music and music groups.
WHY I FINISHED IT: It was very well-written and you come to care about the characters. Piper is an amazing character, and everything about the books rings true. Setting it in Seattle also did a lot to enhance the music aspect of the plot.
WHO I'D GIVE IT TO: Anyone who loves music and/or books about high school. Anyone who loved Bandslam or Lemonade Mouth.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: Moderate language warning (Two PG-13-level outbursts, occasional other milder language).
See you at the library!
