Title: Piece of My Heart
Author: Lynn Maddalena Menna
Genre: Young Adult, Music, Contemporary
Publisher: Merit Press
Release date: June 18, 2013
ISBN-10: 1440561052
ISBN-13: 9781440561054
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley

Still in high school, Marisol Reyes gets the chance of a lifetime to be a real singer, and she leaps at it. After all, this is the dream she held on to, all the days and nights she spent growing up on means streets of East Harlem. Marisol never gave in--no matter what her boyfriend or her best friend had to say. Who cares if only one in a hundred pretty, talented girls make it? She will be the one. In her rush to fame, Marisol tramples on the heart of her loyal best friend, and Julian, the boy she loves. But will it be worth it?

One night at a private gig in the Hamptons, the little Latino girl with the big voice from East Harlem gets a severe reality check. A famous rapper who claims to be interested in her talents turns out to be interested in something else, threatening not only Marisol's dreams but her body and soul. Will the realities of the gritty New York music scene put out the stars in Marisol's eyes forever?




My Review:
'Piece of My Heart' is your typical musician's fairytale; small town girl with big dreams suddenly gets thrust into the industry and finds out that it's not all it's cracked up to be. It's all very Sherrie Christian in Rock of Ages... minus the stripping. But instead of taking place in Hollywood, we're taken across the country to New York. Marisol is blessed with golden pipes and knows that she's made for more than small gigs at weddings and birthday parties. But is she ready?

Told from Marisol's perspective, Menna paints a pretty picture of both the gritty streets and glamorous side of the Empire State with its music, fashion, and nightlife, all of which are described very vividly. The music industry is all about connections, and boy does our starlet encounter a lot of those. Marisol, with all her teenage naïveté, is easily pulled into different situations that she gladly jumps into because, well who doesn't want to become a famous singer, right? She's travelling all over New York and playing gigs with people who, just months before, only played in her stereo as she danced and lip-synched to them in her room with her best friend. Speaking of best friends, while Marisol is living the high life, her relationships with her friends back home goes through the ultimate test and finds out that even those nearest and dearest to her might not be the people she thought them to be.

While I liked the premise (and the fact that the title is undoubtedly taken from one the greatest songs ever), I felt disconnected from all the characters throughout the whole story. But it had potential overall. Marisol's relationships with everyone went back and forth so much that it was hard to keep track of who she was actually friends with in the beginning. Maybe I would've liked it better if it wasn't written in first-person perspective, because Marisol's always moving around and there are a lot of other characters that it's hard to keep track of what's going on. I also wished that the issues Marisol faced were more fleshed out. Sometimes she went through big, big changes in her life and career, but it'd be over and onto the next issue just pages later. The narrative made me cringe at a few places, especially when she was performing. It just got really cheesy sometimes. Like Marisol was too good for her own good, if that makes sense. There's belief in your own talent, and then there's being cocky about it. There was also a lot of focus on describing the settings and fashion that it took away from the characters. Yes, it's interesting to know how great you think you look in that white dress with white-gold shoes, and how gorgeous your friend looked in her skin-tight mini dress that reached just above her knees, but for it to take up that much space? It all felt a little superficial.

'Piece of My Heart' is a light read, but if you're looking for some deep, thought-provoking fiction about someone truly struggling to make it in the music industry, this might not be for you. Behind it all is a rather relatable story about a teenage girl struggling to find her place in the real world as she finds out that sometimes the only person you can trust to make the best decisions for your life is, ultimately, yourself.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Merit Press for providing me with the ARC.

My rating:

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Title: Lemonade Mouth
Author: Mark Peter Hughes
Genre: Young Adult, Music, Contemporary
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release date: March 13, 2007
ISBN-10: 0385733925
ISBN-13: 9780385733922
Format: Hardcopy
Source: Borrowed

Poets. Geniuses. Revolutionaries.

The members of the legendary band Lemonade Mouth have been called all of these things. But until now, nobody's known the inside story of how this powerhouse band came to be. How five outcasts in Opoquonsett High School's freshman class found each other, found the music, and went on to change both rock and roll and high school as we know it. Wen, Stella, Charlie, Olivia, and Mo take us back to that fateful detention where a dentist's jingle, a teacher's coughing fit, and a beat-up ukelele gave birth to Rhode Island's most influential band. Told in each of their five voices and compiled by Opoquonsett's "scene queen," freshman Naomi Fishmeier, this anthology is their definitive history.



My Review:
This is the story of how the band, Lemonade Mouth, came to be. Stella, Wen, Mo, Charlie, and Olivia met one fateful day in detention. They discovered their mutual love for music and slowly, the idea of starting a band formulated, thus turning them into a sensation. Even still, nothing ever comes easy. Individually, they weren't popular; every other student like them who took part in activities and clubs that weren't considered "popular" got demoted to the high school's basement. They're labelled as the freaks of the school, and it's up to Lemonade Mouth to use their newfound popularity to change things.

The characters that made up Lemonade Mouth were so odd and easily classified as misfits. There's a freakishly tall green-haired girl and a guy who's really insecure and hears the voice of his dead twin brother in his head, to name a few. But when they were together, it was magic. It was interesting to read how they formed, as it wasn't a sudden thing where all five kids completely went for it. It took time, and it was realistic. After all, they weren't really friends; they only really got together through detention, and they barely knew each other beforehand. They each had their own stories and struggles, which were touched upon equally and made their story as a band more believable. Hughes never gave one character more importance over another.

The core of the book is about five strangers who never really fit in anywhere, coming together and making something out of nothing. They became influences to their fellow classmates, and even though their journey wasn't an easy one, they never gave up. They were able to cope with the insanity known as high school through their growing friendship, all the while, touching the lives of their fellow classmates with their music and their message.

The overall concept isn't original by any means, but the way the author wrote it really puts it in a class of its own. The book was offbeat and funny; definitely had its own unique brand of humour, which I found totally refreshing. It's original in the sense that when you think of a high school band-- or any band, your mind immediately goes to a guitarist, singer, bassist, and a drummer. Lemonade Mouth throws all conventions out the window. Here, you have stuff like a ukulele, trumpet, bongos, and congas. In other words, this book is not full of your typical high school characterizations.

I picked up the book because I watched the Disney Channel movie that was adapted from it. I loved the movie, I'm not even going to lie. Even bought the soundtrack and everything. I'm such a sucker for feel-good teenybopper DCOMs. So sue me. I was curious to see how the book compared to the film; what they left out and kept in, what they changed, etc. I was surprised at how different a lot of things were in the book, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It's a fun and interesting read, filled with quirky characters that I'm sure all of us can relate to, one way or another. The book is definitely more mature than the movie if you've ever seen it; I'd say it's appropriate enough for teens 14 and over. There is, however, now an age-appropriate edition for middle-grade readers as a movie tie-in, with content slightly adapted by the author. Just look for the blue dot on the cover!

My rating:

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Title: Harmonic Feedback
Author: Tara Kelly
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Music
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Release date: May 25, 2010
ISBN-10: 080509010X
ISBN-13: 9780805090109
Format: ePub
Source: Purchased

Sixteen-year-old, music- and sound design-obsessed Drea doesn't have friends. She has, as she's often reminded, issues. Drea's mom and a rotating band of psychiatrists have settled on "a touch of Asperger's."

Having just moved to the latest in a string of new towns, Drea meets two other outsiders. And Naomi and Justin seem to actually like Drea. The three of them form a band after an impromptu, Portishead-comparison-worthy jam after school. Justin swiftly challenges not only Drea's preference for Poe over Black Lab but also her perceived inability to connect with another person. Justin, against all odds, may even like like Drea.

It's obvious that Drea can't hide behind her sound equipment anymore. But just when she's found not one but two true friends, can she stand to lose one of them?



My Review:
Basic summary: Andrea -- Drea for short -- is a sixteen-year-old girl who has just moved into town with her mother into her hard-to-please grandmother's house. A new town means new people and a new school. She tries to keep it to herself, but Drea also has Asperger's and ADHD. This showcases how different she is, especially in situations with her peers; people she's never been comfortable with. She's struggled with being labeled due to her conditions, and to top it all off, her mother tries to make her life easier by telling everyone. She means well, but Drea is tired of being treated differently. Then, she meets Naomi and Justin; a rebellious purple-haired girl from across the street, and a sweet guy who takes an instant liking to Drea. Turns out they're into music, too. Good thing, because Drea is a complete music junkie -- she loves sound design, producing tracks, and playing the guitar. Music is the one thing that makes her feel free. It's through her newfound friends, Naomi and Justin, and a couple more along the way, that she discovers how being "different" can make her special and that even the people she sees as "normal" aren't as they seem.

Usually I'm hesitant to read books that deal with Asperger's or any mental illness, but seeing that this is the second book that I've reviewed within the last few weeks with the subject (albiet very different situations entirely), I'd say I'm beginning to warm up to them. It's just such a sensitive topic that I get really apprehensive to start reading. But Tara Kelly did an amazing job with Drea's voice, which was really honest and blunt. Drea's syndromes are handled with care and understanding; they shape her character and the story. In the end, though, this was a story about friendship and all the characters overcoming their own internal struggles.

Plus, I have to say... Justin? *swoon* I want one. I really loved his character and his relationship with Drea. They were so sweet! His interactions with the others and understanding of Naomi just added to his overall charm. I love a good "good guy with a past" storyline.

The music aspect wasn't as big a factor in the book as I thought it would be; I thought their band would be focused on more, but wow, when Kelly did get into the topic of music, she really got into it. You can tell that she knows her stuff and that she herself is a musician. I loved every bit of it! Sound design, especially, is something that isn't common in music fiction, so I thought that having a main character who wasn't just all about "yeah, let's start a band and get popular" was really, really awesome. These kids were passionate about it, and it was shown through just the right amount in the narrative. When Kelly described the music and their band's lyrics, it's like you can almost hear it, or have this strong urge to want to hear it.

Being a huge music junkie myself, I was really intrigued by this book. It paid off, because I couldn't put it down. I'd say this is one of my favourite reads this year. I'm also a very visual person, so if a cover is nice, I'll at least pick it up and read the synopsis. This cover is absolutely gorgeous and I was happy to know after reading it, that the image plays a part in the book. The story and the voices were captivating, the relationships were nicely paced and well-developed, the music terms were refreshing to my eyes... and yes, I cried. It takes a lot for a book to make me cry unless you're Nicholas Sparks, so 5 for you, Harmonic Feedback.

My rating:

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