Customer Reviews

Drums, Girls, And Dangerous Pie

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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.

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

I loved this book. This book makes you cry, laugh, and smile at the same time. It touched my heart. I recommend this book highly and hope you put it on your favorite books list today!

I picked this book up yesterday, read the inside flap about the author being a middle school English teacher and was sold. I hadn't read the other flap, the one at the front that gives a summary of the book, so I was truly surprised while reading. I started reading after I put the kids down and couldn't stop-read it in one sitting it was THAT compelling.

Sonnenblick manages to create Steven Alper, an eighth grade boy who is thrown into the utter despair of dealing with his brother's Leukemia. But what's so fresh about it is that Steven is still forced to face the trials and turbulence of teen-hood despite the fact that his family life as he knows it has taken a turn for the worst. Steven's dimensional thoughts run the true gamut, from grief to illusions of grandeur.

I think what's so important about this book (speaking as a former eighth grade English teacher) is that although it appeals to teens and adults alike, it is a perfect read for a middle schooler. Sonnenblick obviously listens to his students, is keyed in to what makes a middle schooler different from a high schooler. He knows the voice and in Steven has created a character that embodies the thoughts and mixed emotions of a boy who is teetering between boyhood and young adulthood-in Steven you see the true metamorphosis.

I would be remiss not to mention the music in this book. Steven's life-line and main coping mechanism is his involvement with his drums. Sonnenblick provides the reader with a virtual soundtrack. One can hear Steven at his drum pad and drum set and catch the beat of the bass drum and the ding of the cymbals. I couldn't help but think it nothing shy of brilliant for Sonnenblick to plant mentors like Dizzi Gillespie and Dave Brubeck in his book as parallels to Steven himself. Even if he struggles to stay afloat, Steven becomes the music, the beat, the mentor to his ill brother Jeffrey and you get the feeling that without Steven, Jeffrey, at five-years-old, wouldn't have the will to move forward.

The writing is vivid as are the feelings conveyed. Lots of tears and laughs in this one. A great read.

As if being a 13-year-old, eighth grade male isn't bad enough, (there's girls to impress, homework to catch up on, drums to practice), try finding out your five-year-old brother has leukemia. It started the morning Steven left his little brother, Jeffrey, on a stool while he made his "moatmeal." Jeffrey fell and the bleeding started. Their mother races out the front door to take Jeffrey to the emergency room with an ice pack on his nose. Steven dreads the lecture he knows he'll get once he's home from school. Instead he's told his mother and brother will be leaving for Philadelphia and tests.

Steven tries to hold it together. But before long, he's feeling invisible, left out, guilty, angry. lonely, helpless, and wondering "what's the point?" His mother is totally wrapped up in caring for Jeffrey, his dad has become a worried zombie, and there's nothing Steven can do to help. Or is there?

For me, the single most important criteria for a gold star book is that it must make me "feel". It must make me reevaluate life as I see it, and wonder if I'm doing all I can to 1)appreciate my own blessings, and 2)make life better for others. This book does that and more. Jordan Sonnenblick gives the reader an honest, gritty look into the life of a family dealing with childhood cancer. He does it with amazing sympathy and humor. My 13-year-old son recommended this book to me. Two of his friends read it as well. If you haven't had the chance to read DRUMS GIRLS & DANGEROUS PIE, I highly recommend it.

great book. it was funny heart wrenching novel. my only problem was at the end. when the band relveled their surprise to jefferry ( im talking about their hair...). it was sweet but a little to sweet. i dont mean to sound nasty but i doubt that a group of 13 or 14 year old boys would do that. other than that i loved this book and would recomend it to anyone.

Well, SuperSibs kindly sent me this book in the mail. I read the description, and had to read it right away! I open up the book and couldn't stop reading to the end. You can relate if you've had a sibling with cancer, and even if you hadn't the book has so much meaning. I was choking back tears at a few sad parts, but overall the book was just perfect. <3

This is my favorite book of all time. I loved everything about it.. one thing is the fact that you can relate to the character so well, and it is like you are right there beside him.. but you can't help him in his time of despirate need. i feel so bad for him and his family, but mostly him.. i mean how hard would it be to have your little brother get sick and for a whole day think that it was your fault that you left him there on his stool alone, when you know darn well that you aren't suppost to, and then spacing out all day and having that be the only thing that you csn think of. i would be crushed. Then on top of that having your mom gone for weeks and a time and the first week her and your little brother are gone your father doesn't even talk to you let alone look at you.. and little did you know that your mother is calling him every night but your father isn't telling you the condition on your little brother.. that he really does have luekmia. But he deals with it pretty well with his music and stuff. that would be the way i would have to do it to.. because to Him and I music is everything. Anyway. i hope that everyone who can get their hands on this novel reads it... because this is truely an amazing book.

"The most annoying thing in the world is...My little brother, Jeffrey." That's what 13-year-old Steven Alper had written in his journal for his English class. But on October 7th, everything changed. Jeffrey had a small accident in the kitchen, was taken to the emergency room, and was diagnosed with leukemia.

Steven's life turns upside down, and just when he needs his parents the most, his mom has to spend most of her days at the hospital taking care of his brother, and his dad is mostly keeping to himself, too worried about the bills to spend time with or even talk to his oldest son. Steven wants to believe that everything will just go back to normal, and tries to release his anger, anxiety, and fears by playing the drums. But his brother doesn't seem to be getting any better, and Steven has a hard time concentrating at school, he's not turning in his homework, and his grades are starting to fall behind. To make things worse, he doesn't want anyone to find out what is going on--but somehow his best friend, Annette, the school counselor, and even Renee Albert, the hottest girl in the eighth grade, all seem to know that something is not right.

This unforgettable novel took me on an incredibly moving ride. And when I felt I was all the way down on this emotional roller coaster, and found myself struggling to see the words through my tears, Sonnenblick lifted me up gently, word by word, page by page, and put a grin on my face that eventually turned into a big smile and then an out-loud laugh. The author's great voice shows real characters with real feelings, and the true struggle of a teenager trying to understand the unfairness of a deadly disease, and how to cope with the fear of losing his beloved little brother.

So you think your little brother is a pest? You will think again after reading this touching story.

Tissues are highly recommended.

The paperback edition of DRUMS, GIRLS, & DANGEROUS PIE also includes a section with an interview, information about the author, tips on writing, and a preview of Jordan Sonnenblick's next novel, Notes From The Midnight Driver.
Reviewed by: Christian C.