Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie [Paperback]

Jordan Sonnenblick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006 | Age Range: 8 and up

From first-time novelist Jordan Sonnenblick, a brave and beautiful story that will make readers laugh and break their hearts at the same time.

Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece. Salted with humor and peppered with devastating realities, DRUMS, GIRLS, AND DANGEROUS PIE is a heartwarming journey through a year in the life of a family in crisis.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9–On stage for his eighth-grade graduation, Steven recalls the past school year during which his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey, was diagnosed with and treated for leukemia. Steven is an avid drummer, journal writer, and generally a good student. But the pressures of dealing with Jeff's illness stresses his entire family as his school-teacher mom takes a leave to care for him, Dad withdraws, and Steven stops doing homework. Renee Albert is the object of his lust, while Annette, the piano player in jazz band, gradually becomes beautiful in his eyes. Steven's frequent faux pas seem belabored early in the book, but they do eventually work to show him to be an admirable fellow who grows in his ability to deal with others, including Renee and Annette, the school counselor, his parents, and Jeff. The book does not miss a single emotional beat, taking every opportunity to demonstrate that Lurlene McDaniel has no stranglehold on jerking tears as Steven details the progress of leukemia's inexorable attack. If the young characters sometimes speak beyond their years and if Steven's wise-ass voice is initially annoying, it is also fresh, energetic, and consistent, becoming more likable as the novel progresses. One stylistic device seemed unnecessary and distracting: characters' speech is indicated by italics, while quotation marks are used to set off Steven's inner thoughts and for special emphasis.–Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 5-8. Steven Alper is a typical eighth-grader--smarter than some, a better drummer than most, but with the usual girl problems and family trials. Then, on October 7, his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey, falls, has a nosebleed that doesn't stop, and is diagnosed with leukemia. All hell breaks loose. Mrs. Alper's days and nights revolve around getting Jeffrey to his chemotherapy treatments, and Mr. Alper retreats into a shell, coming out only occasionally to weep over the mounting medical bills. Steven becomes the forgotten son, who throws himself into drumming, even as he quits doing his homework and tries to keep his friends from finding out about Jeffrey's illness. A story that could have morphed into melodrama is saved by reality, rawness, and the wit Sonnenblick infuses into Steven's first-person voice. The recriminations, cares, and nightmares that come with a cancer diagnosis are all here, underscored by vomiting, white blood cell counts, and chemotherapy ports. Yet, this is also about regrouping, solidarity, love, and hope. Most important for a middle-grade audience, Sonneblick shows that even in the midst of tragedy, life goes on, love can flower, and the one thing you can always change is yourself. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 273 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439755204
• ISBN-13: 978-0439755207
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Illness
  • #9 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Health > Diseases
  • #96 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Family Life > Siblings

More About the Author

Here's my bio from the paperback version of _Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie_:

"Jordan Sonnenblick attended amazing schools in New York City. Then he went to an incredible Ivy League university and studied very, very hard there. However, due to his careful and well-planned course selection strategies, he emerged in 1991 with a fancy-looking diploma and a breathtaking lack of real-world skills or employability.

Thank goodness for Teach for America, a program which takes new college graduates, puts them through 'teacher boot camp', and places them in teaching positions at schools in teacher shortage areas around the country. Through TFA, Mr. Sonnenblick found his place in the grown-up world, teaching adolescents about the wonders and joys, the truth and beauty, of literature.

Mr. Sonnenblick always wanted to be a writer, too, so one day in 2003 he started in on the book that became Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie. This book was inspired by several aspects of the author's real life: like Steven, the main character in the novel, he really plays the drums, he really went through an incredibly awkward year when he was 13, and he really was completely spastic around girls until right around his 21st birthday. The made-up parts of the book are all reflections of the author's basic philosophy, which is that the world is a tough place, so you'd better be kind and laugh a lot.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie was published by Scholastic Press in 2005 to great acclaim, and was named to several Best of 2005 lists, including the ALA's Teens' Top Ten.

In October 2006, Scholastic will release Mr. Sonnenblick's second novel, Notes from the Midnight Driver, which is about drunk driving, lawn gnomes, divorced parents, a unique old man, and a beautiful girl with deadly hobbies.

Mr. Sonnenblick lives in Bethlehem, PA with the most supportive wife and lovable children he could ever imagine. Plus a lot of drums and guitars in the basement."

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A heartbreaker August 25, 2009

By Stefanie Lueck

Format:Paperback

I love this book. Sonnenblick tells a heartbreaking story, so heartfelt, with ease and humor that you must fall in love with the hero and everybody around him. The hero, Steven a normal teenager with a big passion and talent for drums basically thinks of his drum playing and the hottest girl in his class, who doesn't care about him. His world turns upside down when his little brother Jeffry gets cancer. First, Steven, whose parents give most of their attention to Jeffry now, dives into self pity. But very soon discovers that his brother needs him and taking care about his brother and family brings a new possibility in Steven's life. In the face of all possible Drama he discovers a sense of humour, well-being and the magic life has.

This is what I love most about the book, Sonnenblick is showing a way to have magic in our lives, even when the circumstances are challenging. And the story is just breathtaking, you won't want to stop reading.

2 other books I highly recommend to everyone who is looking for more magic in their life, whether your life is already good or you face some challenges of your own are: "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" and "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life" by Ariel and Shya Kane. The authors found a way of living and share it in their books, that opens possibilities to have a fulfilling and magical live regardless of the circumstances you live in. Both books are written so heartfelt and with humor it's treat to read, also they are very practical and useful in day to day life.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You do not want stop reading May 7, 2009

By Antje Ahlborn

Format:Paperback

You know those books you don't want to take out of your hands and you search for words to describe what you liked about it...Well this is one of them. This book, written from the point of view of a thirteen year old boy, who sees himself confronted with the fact that his five year old brother has cancer. It's straightforward, with no exaggeration. A work, full of wisdom that shows how we much too often think about things we can't change instead of seeing what we can.

Another book that opens the door to seeing other possibilities one can choose in life isWorking on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life

Give yourself the gift of both these books!

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A frank and honest portrayal of the uncomfortable realities of living with someone who's sick October 21, 2005

By Teen Reads

Format:Hardcover

DRUMS, GIRLS & DANGEROUS PIE starts out breezily enough. Told in the sarcasm-laced voice of 13-year-old Steven, the novel describes his various adolescent trials and tribulations, all of which are familiar yet still cringe-worthy --- he has a crush on the hottest girl in school, has an angelic-looking yet demonic little brother named Jeffrey, and his parents irk and annoy him constantly. With a droll and ironic tone, teacher and first-time novelist Jordan Sonnenblick paints Steven both convincingly and with enough color to make him an amusing and compelling narrator. Readers will be ready and willing to let Steven narrate the woes of adolescence for 273 pages, without expecting anything more or less from the novel.

Steven's story takes a sharp turn, however, into potentially over-dramatic emotional ground when Jeffrey's nosebleeds turn out to be an indicator of something serious. Yet Sonnenblick handles Steven and his family's reactions to Jeffrey's diagnosis and the onslaught of his illness with an admirable balance of humor and compassion. Jeffrey's initial question to his mother after they return from the hospital in Philadelphia is, "So Mom, everything's OK right? This whole cancer mistake is sorted out?" And Sonnenblick's treatment of the different reactions of Jeffrey's parents --- Steven describes his mother as "weepy" and his father as "a zombie" --- is both nuanced and realistic. Steven has to break his parents' emotional states into simple, one-word summations, because he fears grappling with the extent of what they're going through and why; by acknowledging the complexity of their anguish, he must acknowledge the fact that his brother might die.

It takes a while for Steven to come to terms with Jeffrey's illness, and the process is rendered thoughtfully and without cliché. Reflections such as "Once I was forced to believe that Jeffrey really had cancer my mind played another big trick on me. I started to think that if I just made the right promises to God. He would magically make Jeffrey better again" and Steven's frustration with teachers who call him a "trooper" are perfect examples of the little details that make this novel so honest and real. Steven's attempt to get a handle on all the anxieties that surround the progression of his brother's illness, while trying to balance school dances, drumming solos and head-over-heels-crushes, is handled with equal candor.

Steven is not the only remarkably credible character; his parents, his teachers, his brother and even his crush, Renee, are all well-drawn and believable. The fact that this novel never relies on formulaic plotlines or stock characters is no doubt due to the author's own experience with having a family member diagnosed with cancer. Sonnenblick has an obvious desire to present the potentially melodramatic and sappy subject of cancer with frankness, never shying away from conveying the uncomfortable realities of living with someone who is sick. The result is this honest, engaging, never syrupy, and rather groundbreaking novel.

Readers who have never gone through what Steven is going through will have a newfound understanding of what it is like to --- very literally --- battle someone else's cancer. Those who have will be grateful to Sonnenblick for getting it so right.

--- Reviewed by Jennifer Krieger