In a breezy but firm tone, Nichols dispenses his message of what being in a self-made band is all about—definitely not a gig for conceited poseurs craving audience adoration. Pulling no punches, the author warns, “In the underground music scene, you’ll be carrying your own equipment.” Practical recommendations about promoting, organizing and touring mingle with advice that moves quickly from copyrighting music to building websites and selling original T-shirts along with other merchandise. The author knows his turf; many segments are anecdotal, but he also seems to be looking back with a degree of nostalgia, which results in a few hiccups. MySpace is briefly mentioned as a promotional tool but equal attention is given to paper flyers, and the how-to-pack-a-van section fails to mention including a laptop. The slim volume’s most worthwhile advice zeroes in on organizing setups, knowing the guy running the soundboard and courtesy to other bands. Geared to musicians with a passion for shredding, the work’s coolest message is, “You came to rock, so ROCK!” (Nonfiction. YA)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59643-415-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Flash Point/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2008
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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Who doesn’t want to be a K-pop idol?
Fifteen-year-old Candace Park is just a typical Korean American teen from Fort Lee, New Jersey. She loves hanging out with her friends Imani and Ethan while watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, mukbang shows about eating massive amounts of Korean food, and advice from beauty vloggers. While Candace focuses on doing well in school, her hardworking immigrant Umma and Abba gave up on their own dreams to run a convenience store. Candace loves to sing and is a huge K-pop stan—but secretly, because she fears it’s a bit stereotypical. Everything changes after Candace and her friends see an ad for local auditions to find members of a new K-pop group and Candace decides to try out, an impulse that takes her on the journey of a lifetime to spend a summer in Seoul. Lee’s fun-filled, fast-paced K-pop romp reads like a reality show competition while cleverly touching on issues of racism, feminism, unfair beauty expectations and labor practices, classism and class struggles, and immigration and privilege. While more explanation of why there are such unfair standards in the K-pop industry would have been helpful, Lee invites readers to enjoy this world and question the industry’s actions without condescension or disdain. Imani is Black; Ethan is White and gay.
A thoughtful portrayal of determined multinational teens balancing authenticity with pursuing their dreams. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-63993-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Point/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A fantastic stand-alone mystery companion revisits a much-loved sleuth.
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Amateur boarding school detective Stevie Bell is back with a new cold case to crack in a companion novel to the Truly Devious trilogy.
After solving one of the greatest murder mysteries of the 20th century, Stevie is at a bit of a loss while back home working at a deli counter during summer break. When the new owner of Camp Wonder Falls—the site of the gruesome (and unsolved) Box in the Woods murders back in the ’70s—invites her over to work on the case for his upcoming documentary and podcast, Stevie immediately says yes. It’s especially appealing since she gets to invite her closest friends, Nate and Janelle, as well as her boyfriend, David, to tag along. When a new murder takes place just as Stevie starts asking questions around town, the gang find themselves in danger once more. Johnson’s hallmark charming humor and lovable characters provide a robust foundation for another cracking mystery, this time ingeniously working with summer-camp and locked-room–mystery tropes. A few snippets relating back to the events in 1978 and Stevie’s empathy for the grieving friends and relatives of the dead, who still yearn for answers, provide a strong emotional grounding for the case. Apart from Janelle, who is Black (and queer), most characters are White. Stevie’s relationship with her lifelong anxiety is particularly well portrayed.
A fantastic stand-alone mystery companion revisits a much-loved sleuth. (author's note) (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: June 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-303260-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
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