January 18, 2016
After meeting at jazz camp, what might be the world’s worst musical trio decides to ditch the camp and go on a road trip, determined to play at any venue that will have them. Teenage best friends Wes (bass) and Corey (drums) join up with a mercurial, dynamic girl named Ash (guitar) and head out on the highway, aiming for adventure but finding wacky hijinks and weird people. There’s yelling, bad decisions, marijuana-fueled interludes, impromptu jam sessions, and way too much caffeine and junk food, and it all comes to a head when they realize it’s time to face the music. Andrews (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) loads his gonzo road trip with offbeat humor, philosophical musings, and musical references and debate, augmenting the narrative with fake Wikipedia entries, flashbacks, and screenplay-format exchanges. Wes’s narrative voice is casual and believable, and while not all of the stylistic quirks pay off (such as an extended “drug experience gone wrong,” as Wes puts it), but as a love letter to music and following one’s dreams, it’s just right. Ages 13–up. Agent: Claudia Ballard, William Morris Endeavor.
January 15, 2016
Wes and Corey are haters. They are obsessed with music and even more obsessed with finding the reasons why everything they encounter falls short of greatness. At jazz camp they meet fellow hater Ash, an intriguing, guitar-playing, older girl. They form a band and then proceed to make a series of dumb decisions that range in severity from bad to awful as they ditch camp to search for the perfect gig. It quickly becomes clear that this tour is a pressure cooker in which everyone's ugliest traits will appear and start wreaking havoc. The banter among the three is often grating, laden with sexual frustration, dick jokes, and musical one-upmanship. Each of the three is pampered with privilege, yet something is awry. Ash is stupendously rich, the daughter of a Brazilian billionaire and a French model, both absentee. Wes was adopted from Venezuela by white, Buddhist parents who don't make him the center of their universe. Corey is white and Jewish with overattentive musician parents who sometimes can't pay all the bills. Though there are some truly hilarious scenes (such as Wes' biting observations about the awkward ways in which well-meaning white people want to talk about race or his internal, self-scathing dialogue while high), other attempts at humor, such as casual jokes about suicide bombing and rape-y behavior, while believable as adolescent banter, strike the wrong chord. A teen road trip packed with music and drama. There's plenty here to both love and hate. (Fiction. 14-17)
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April 1, 2016
Gr 10 Up-The author demonstrates his unique voice in his follow-up to the popular Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Like that debut, this work features a similar trio: a narrator, his somewhat clueless friend, and a girl who changes them both. Wes and Corey are "jazz-nerd chaff" at Bill Garabedian's Jazz Giants of Tomorrow Intensive Summer Workshop. They don't know that, of course, until they discover that this highly selective camp accepted more drummers and bassists to support other, better musicians. They're not hopeful about the next two weeks until they meet Ash, a guitarist in their ensemble who seems uninterested in playing jazz. Inevitably, the three misfits form a band and escape from camp to launch their world tour. As with most road trips, tensions rise, rivalries form, and jealousy blossoms. Ash is clearly the alpha in the group, making Wes a passive narrator. This works occasionally for the story, especially in the more surreal encounters; however, it also creates a meandering feeling that may wear out some readers. Although not every journey needs a purpose, the characters are not hugely different after what would be a life-altering event for most people. Wes learns to appreciate music rather than simply hating on it; he's a better listener. It's a subtle shift, but perhaps that's Andrews's point. VERDICT Teens who are music nerds or fans of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl will appreciate this novel's sharp wit and playful style.-Joy Piedmont, LREI, New York
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from February 15, 2016
Grades 10-1 *Starred Review* Andrews follows up his heartstrings-tugging best-seller turned movie, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2012), with an uproariously funny addition to the teen road-trip canon. Wes and his best friend Corey are attending jazz camp, andlet's be bluntthey aren't exactly standout musicians. But when they meet the mysterious Ash, who is driven by the beat of her own internal drummer, and have an epic jam session, they do what any teenager at a band camp wishes they could do: take off on a road trip for an unofficial tour. The three of them venture to various seedy venues in the South, cycling through all the highs and lows of a more established band: hookups, heartbreaks, unanticipated nudity, and drug-induced crazy times. Are some of the circumstances of the story preposterous? Quite possibly. But readers will be sucked into this story, a raunchy bromance in the vein of Superbad, which celebrates friendship and adventure. Andrews' knack for quippy, smart, and never-too-clever dialogue is a perfect match for this voice-driven book. Intertextual asides, whether lists of potential band names, fake Wikipedia entries, or screenplay-like flashbacks, only enhance this very of-the-moment novel. Effortlessly readable, deeply enjoyable, and, given the years since Andrews' fantastic debut, well worth the wait. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Andrews' debut made a big splash, and with a full schedule of promotions on the dockets, it's likely this one will be just as much of a hit.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)
March 1, 2016
Bass player Wes (named after jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery) and his best friend Corey, a drummer, are jazz-nerd chaff. The worst of the best at Bill Garabedian's Jazz Giants of Tomorrow Intensive Summer Workshop. The place is mostly dudes, but then they meet Ash, one of the only girls at camp, who has her own unique musical style and flat-out refuses to play music with the condescending guys. Frustrated, she leavesand Wes and Corey go with her. What follows is both a classic road trip novel and a contemporary and inventive teen adventure: they play (horribly) at a Chinese food buffet, hang at a commune, and almost get shot (twice!). The boys' friendship is built partly on a shared love of hating on things, and their dialogue is filled with overtly masculine humor (their go-to trope is dick harm, joking that basically, the idea is, if something is really great, wehave no choice but to do harm to our own dicks ). Ash, whose actions drive the story, is more a domineering personality than an equal member of the group, leading to authentic struggles as the three attempt to figure out their interpersonal relationships, distinctive musical sound, and identities as individuals. Issues of race, family, and socioeconomics (Wes was adopted from Venezuela as a baby; Ash's mom is French and her dad is a Brazilian billionaire/serial philanderer) play subtly throughout the book. sian gaetano
(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)