WWW Wednesday (129)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

          

01. Currently Reading:
Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut. Written in 1979, Vonnegut shares the story of an elderly man who has just been released from prison for his role per se, in the Watergate conspiracy.

02. Recently Finished:
Marching Band and the Expanding Universe. Coverage of a young man's high school career and how he survives the bullies, joins the marching band, and falls in love.

03. Reading Next:
All the Butterflies in the World by Rodney Jones. Blog tour next week (Jan 13th) for this new release! Time traveling sequel to The Sun, the Moon, and Maybe the Trains.

Marching Band and the Expanding Universe

Joey Kimbel is a shy, red headed musician just starting high school. When he joins the marching band as the new snare drum player, he finds himself battling bullies and jocks and falling for the one girl he’s not supposed to love - color guard girl, Alhena Almasi. Now, with a band of misfits and skater punks, Joey struggles to survive high school, find his own path and be with the only girl that matters in his universe.

Marching Band and the Expanding Universe is a story of love and pain and learning to be true to yourself. It is for anyone who can't live without music. This book is for anybody who's been picked on and isn't afraid to fight back.

*May Contains Spoilers*

High school can be heartbreaking. It can also be soul-crushing and hope-shattering. Markus Almond shares the high school story of Joey in his novel, Marching Band and the Expanding Universe. Readers bear witness as Joey struggles with becoming a high school student and all that it implies. 

Joey is a realistic character with both good and bad qualities. He's a talented musician who strives to be better. Joey is a loving character but sometimes expresses it in an inappropriate manner. He stands up for what he believes in and even goes at far as protecting others he cares about. Of course he is a high school boy. He's quick to judge, form relationships, and fall in love. Joey also begins to lie to his parents and sneak around. In his later high school years, he drinks underage and smokes. Joey is a likeable character, with flaws, but some readers may not connect with him as much as others. Though I did like Joey, the love interest, Alhena, was not my favorite character. She seemed off in some way, like I couldn't trust anything she said. 

The plot of the novel follows Joey from the first day of high school to after graduation. Readers experience the struggle of self definition and discovery in alignment with Joey as he battles bullies and fights for his first love. Overall the book is an enjoyable read. The bullying scenes broke my heart, while reading all the swear words a young teenage boy can come up with irked me. The few spelling errors sprinkled throughout the book were also a little distracting. Though, the realistic representation of high school was impressive.

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

Teaser Tuesday (142)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers



Marching Band and the Expanding Universe (Kindle 1%)
   - Markus Almond

He looked me up and down. "And let me guess, you're a freshman."

WWW Wednesday (128)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

     

01. Currently Reading: 

In between books at the moment. It's a rare occurrence, but it does happen. ;)

02. Recently Finished:

Death Never Lies by David Grace. Police procedural novel about a Homeland Security officer and his search for the man who killed his nephew and the criminal who masterminded the plot. 

03. Reading Next:

Marching Band and the Expanding Universe by Markus Almond. Joey decides to join the marching band when he begins his high school career. A coming of age novel that tackles bullies, self discovery, and falling in love.