Today I've got a review of Rock On: A Story of Guitars, Gigs, Girls, and a Brother (not necessarily in that order) by Denise Vega. I read it a while ago, but just came out yesterday.
(<<<----Isn't that button SNAZZY?)*My copy is an ARC. I wasn't given it so that I would write a positive review. This review is made up a thousand percent my own opinions.
I was gifted my copy of Rock On by the fabulous Sandy at Pirate Penguin Reads (isn't that the coolest blog name EVER?) Go check her out!
Blurby: (from Goodreads)High school sophomore Ori Taylor, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter in a nameless rock band, has always been known as the overlooked younger brother of Del, a high school sports star. But when Del suddenly returns home from college just as Ori is starting to gain some confidence in himself, Del expects everything to return to the way it used to be.
Review:
The book opens straight into the action, and you immediately take a liking to all of the characters, and get a feel for them as well, both when they interact with each other and how they are naturally.
The story remains tense, with stuff happening all the time. There are problems that crop up; some are solved quickly, some last until the end. You're kept invested the entire time. There's some interesting formatting. Interspersed throughout the book are blog posts and text messages, putting you right there, making you a member of the band, or one of their fans.
The ending got kind of predictable. I knew from page one why Del was being such a something-else-that-starts-with-"D". And I just wanted to get it out of the way, make the brothers buddy-buddy again.
But Denise Vega saved her book. Because, as you can see from the book title, the brother wasn't the only problem.
The book opens straight into the action, and you immediately take a liking to all of the characters, and get a feel for them as well, both when they interact with each other and how they are naturally.
The story remains tense, with stuff happening all the time. There are problems that crop up; some are solved quickly, some last until the end. You're kept invested the entire time. There's some interesting formatting. Interspersed throughout the book are blog posts and text messages, putting you right there, making you a member of the band, or one of their fans.
The ending got kind of predictable. I knew from page one why Del was being such a something-else-that-starts-with-"D". And I just wanted to get it out of the way, make the brothers buddy-buddy again.
But Denise Vega saved her book. Because, as you can see from the book title, the brother wasn't the only problem.
But let's delve a little deeper.
A Story of a Guitar:
GUYS. The guitar is FRAWESOME. I know nothing about guitars, but Denise Vega didn't make me feel stupid. A major PLUS!!
A Story of a Gig:
Which is the best part. This saved the book. Because after Del's predictability, there was still the Battle of the Bands, and the lack of a band name. And they didn't do something cheesy and decide to name it "The Band To Be Named Later." It got an actual NAME. And the gig was fantastic. :)
A Story of a Girl:
And she's perfect in an imperfect way. Just amazing. And the relationship is really healthy and sweet, and very 15-year-old type of normal.
GUYS. The guitar is FRAWESOME. I know nothing about guitars, but Denise Vega didn't make me feel stupid. A major PLUS!!
A Story of a Gig:
Which is the best part. This saved the book. Because after Del's predictability, there was still the Battle of the Bands, and the lack of a band name. And they didn't do something cheesy and decide to name it "The Band To Be Named Later." It got an actual NAME. And the gig was fantastic. :)
A Story of a Girl:
And she's perfect in an imperfect way. Just amazing. And the relationship is really healthy and sweet, and very 15-year-old type of normal.
A Story of a Brother:
In the beginning, Ori and Del both bothered me a bit.
Del I understood. He's an angsty college-dropout, who's completely lost.
Ori is amazing in that fifteen-year-old, trying-to-figure-out-life way. But, as often happens when a female author writes about a boy, Ori is too girly.
Rule of thumb: Girls writing from guys' points of view never ends well. Personal anecdote: I had to write a short scene from a boy's POV in my MS. For that one scene, I killed myself. I thought about each word before putting it down on paper. And then I went straight to my brothers. I plan on going back to them when I rewrite, and make them viciously tear apart my one little chapter.
I had another issue with Ori: He sucked up to Del so much. But then, halfway through the book, something clicked and I really understood Ori. I got him. I may be a girl, and I may be tonedeaf, but I saw something of myself in him, hidden deep. That innate desire for approval, to be "cool" like an older sibling. (Of course, these days my sister tells people that I'm much cooler than her, but that's besides the point :P) And once I got Ori, he became a lot more likeable.
Del I understood. He's an angsty college-dropout, who's completely lost.
Ori is amazing in that fifteen-year-old, trying-to-figure-out-life way. But, as often happens when a female author writes about a boy, Ori is too girly.
Rule of thumb: Girls writing from guys' points of view never ends well. Personal anecdote: I had to write a short scene from a boy's POV in my MS. For that one scene, I killed myself. I thought about each word before putting it down on paper. And then I went straight to my brothers. I plan on going back to them when I rewrite, and make them viciously tear apart my one little chapter.
I had another issue with Ori: He sucked up to Del so much. But then, halfway through the book, something clicked and I really understood Ori. I got him. I may be a girl, and I may be tonedeaf, but I saw something of myself in him, hidden deep. That innate desire for approval, to be "cool" like an older sibling. (Of course, these days my sister tells people that I'm much cooler than her, but that's besides the point :P) And once I got Ori, he became a lot more likeable.
From the beginning, he was more realistic than I initially realized.
Rating: 4 stars
Rock on,
Riv
Love that you didn't feel slightly challenged over the fact that you knew nothing of how to play the guitar, it's always hard for me to get into a book where a lot of technical terms and things are used and I just sit there blinking at the page going "wish I knew what that meant" :) Sounds like this is a great read, I haven't read many reviews for it so thank you!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of this one until now but it sounds really cool! I tried to play guitar for a while and failed miserably :/ Ah well! Thanks for bringing this book to my attention :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I've been interested in this book, so glad you liked it.
ReplyDelete