Customer Reviews

She's Got the Beat (Romantic Comedies (Mass Market))

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

 

 

In Pulse's line of teen romantic comedies, there are some really delightful storylines. Too bad there aren't a lot of really delightful authors.

The biggest problem in this book is Miranda, who is unsympathetic and unlikable. She is naive and ignorant beyond all believability, and spends an inordinate amount of time blushing and giggling. Her attempts at forceful decision making are unconvincing, as is her sudden passion for drumming. And she's rather shallow, too, dating a guy who isn't too bright just because he's really cute, laughing at poor, geeky people, and thinking of plus sized girls in tight jeans as people who "apparently didn't own a full-length mirror". So much for being PC.

The people around her have a little more personality, but they're still ridiculously stereotyped. Miranda's friends aren't so bad, but every other girl in the world is an easy, partying groupie who wears only mini skirts and tight tube tops. And the guys are all commitment fearing pigs...except for Mr. Sensitive, otherwise we wouldn't have a love story here, would we?

I'm not sure where Krulik learned about music. Supposedly, the band Miranda joins plays music that's not punk at all (as she assumed) but a sort of R&B/Country kind of thing. Um...with song names like 'Massacre of the Heart' and 'Coldhearted Queen'? Sounds like straight up emo to me. Oh, and the one punk band that is seen during the book is absolutely horrible. Folks, generalizations do not a good book make.

The writing is structurely sound, but otherwise unimpressive. A lot of the dialogue seems forced and contrived, especially the humorous bits...not a good thing for a romantic COMEDY. Krulik's style is heavy-handed and lacks subtlety; she feels the need to tell the reader everything she already implied.

The story meanders far, far too much. Now, this wouldn't have been a problem if that time had been spent on the developing relationship. But we don't even meet Mr. Right until page 70 or so, and she doesn't start spending time with him until the book is about half over. Even then, they're not around each a lot, and there's no chemistry between them whatsoever. So as the book begins to draw to a close, Miranda hatches a half-baked plan to get him, which fails. And then another half-baked plan to get BACK at him, which beyond all reason and believability actually succeeds. Huh.

And what's with the guys randomly sticking their tongues in Miranda's mouth? The sexual content here is silly and exploitive. It's like this is teen chick lit trying to be adult chick lit. Or perhaps adult trying to be teen.

Eighteen-year-old Miranda Lockheart was never what you would call a wild child. She lived in the same small town all of her life - Barton, Texas - and never ventured out to the city. She had grown up with her friends, and had been with her boyfriend, Denny Callahan, since freshman year. But after graduation, everything changed. Miranda received a scholarship to Lone Star State College in Austin, Texas, and jumped at the chance to get a taste of the city. Oddly enough, it suits her perfectly. Suddenly, Miranda is sharing an apartment with two outrageous girls - one, a punk; the other, a "loose" girl - and taking up the drums. Miranda has no previous experience with the drums, but she picks them up instantly, and suddenly finds herself dragged up into a whirlwind rollercoaster ride, complete with hot guys, gigs, and band practice. The only downfall is that the one guy she's crushing on doesn't seem to know that she exists.

I'm a HUGE fan of Nancy Krulik, and, due to the fact that I've just started playing the guitar, I'm super interested in reading different teen fiction about female musicians, so SHE'S GOT THE BEAT caught my eye, and captured my heart in no time. Miranda is a fabulous character, whose sweet personality, and rocker chick persona are fun to read about. Her adventures - or, rather, misadventures - in the dating world, and guy encounters are hilarious, and add a fun, relatable aspect for readers. Overall, this was a fabulous addition to the SIMON PULSE ROMANTIC COMEDY series.

Erika Sorocco

Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

I read this book in 2 hours. It is an awesome book for teenage girls. Especially female musicians. This book is about a girl named Miranda who has just graduated high school in a small Texas town. She moves to Austin and finds out that she can be whoever she wants to be around all the new people she meets. She sees and add and then decides to take drumming lessons. Drumming then becomes her passion. She lives, breathes and eats the music. A local band then needs a temporary drummer because theirs was not able to play and Miranda accepts the offer. While playing with the band she meets the bass player, Adam, and falls in love with him. But love isn't really what he is looking for.

An amazing plot full of twists and turns, this book is great. You learn to like all of the characters, especially Miranda, even if they make really stupid mistakes. I hope that you will read this book. :)

Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies are always a fun read. These books are not necessarily the best written novels but the stories are always fun and you know you will get a happy ending. I think some adult romances could take a note from these books b/c they are characterized well which is much of the battle in writing any novel since you want your characters, for the most part, to be endearing and relatable.

SHE'S GOT THE BEAT is another book from the Simon Pulse teen romantic comedy line, and I found it irresistable. It's a cute, fun, easy read that teenage girls will love, especially considering the strong female characters.

Miranda has just graduated from high school, and for the first time in her life she's leaving her small town for bigger things - she's going to school in Austin, Texas. With support from her family and (most of) her friends, she heads off...and of course, Austin is nothing like she imagined. After a rough start, though, Miranda makes some new friends (Kathleen, the more alternative-type girl and Missy, the flirt) and things start looking up.

Miranda still feels like something is missing though, and that's when SHE'S GOT THE BEAT really starts picking up. She decides that she's going to do something completely unlike herself: Miranda signs up for drum lessons.

SHE'S GOT THE BEAT is a good mix of comedy, music, and romance. Miranda's different encounters with a few (very) different boys are funny and relateable at the same time.

Recommended to fans of How Not to Spend Your Senior Year, the Mates, Dates, and...series, and Royally Jacked.

Overall grade - B

This book is awesome, funny and also very romantic. I can relate very much to Miranda because I'm a small town girl myself, who later went on to experience life in a big city. This book proves to all teenage girls that to get the man of your dreams, just be you, and never shirk from anything you want to do fearing it's not right for you (unless of course it is something illegal or morally wrong!).

Mirada is shy and timid. She tries to break out of the comfort zone so she takes drum lessons. She loves it and eventually joins a band. What she doesn't expect is to fall for their basist and songwriter. This book has nothing to intense but is a sweet read for all girls who wanna rock.

Miranda was never a wild child...she lived in a small town, where everything was predictable. On the night of her graduation, Miranda isn't sure if she's ready to move to Austin, Texas, and become a college student. However, a series of events confirms how eager she is to get out of there. When she gets to college, she meets some new friends. They encourage her to start something new- so Miranda signs up for drum lessons. She's a natural. The drums open up a whole new world for her- she joins a band, meets some guys, and starts to compete. Miranda's having a blast, but will her newfound passion keep her from getting her guy?