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that_kitten's review against another edition
3.0
If you're into the indie and jazz music scenes, odds are you'll appreciate this book. Funny, angsty, and a little heartbreaking, it's a good read for any music nerd. The characters are quirky without being annoyingly overblown. I'll also mention there's a good deal of profanity and some alcohol use and sexual content, if that's the sort of thing that makes a difference in your enjoyment of a book.
nklosty's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I had a better musical imagination because I would love to hear all of the musical references and be able to connect them to the story. I enjoyed the development of the characters and their relationships.
_camk_'s review against another edition
4.0
Read the review also at Book Filled Blog.
The first thing to be said about Struts & Frets is that the cover and inside are AMAZING. It looks so cool outside and inside!
Sammy, seventeen, wants to be a musician. Not a rock star, even though some times, he lets the daydreams excel that far. No, he wants to be a musician, to play music because he enjoys not for super fame and fortune. Yet, he also has to worry about family and daily life due to uncooperative band mates, his friends and as well as girl problems with his friends and of course, family, where his mother believes music, will be a good hobby for him while in college studying math or science.
The reason I enjoyed Struts & Frets so much is because it is a completely authentic story. While reading it, I was reminded how alike my friends and I were to Sammy and his friends when we were seventeen. My friends lived and breathed music especially one of them who, if I showed him this book, would recognize each of the jazz musicians brought up! So, naturally, a lot of the music choices in the book were familiar to me as well as being enjoyable to me, especially The Pixies.
Struts & Frets shows the dilemma that can happen between very close male and female friends. You know when someone tells you that someone else really likes you and then you get really awkward and do not know how to act around that said person. It happens a lot! Skovron creatively and beautifully writes about figuring out your feelings and worries about first likes and loves.
Skovron writes about how passion can drive your life. How, even though it will not be easy, to not give up on friends or family or dreams and how, to always do what makes you happy. The book conveys a great message of hope, friendship, family and the willingness not give up on your dreams.
The first thing to be said about Struts & Frets is that the cover and inside are AMAZING. It looks so cool outside and inside!
Sammy, seventeen, wants to be a musician. Not a rock star, even though some times, he lets the daydreams excel that far. No, he wants to be a musician, to play music because he enjoys not for super fame and fortune. Yet, he also has to worry about family and daily life due to uncooperative band mates, his friends and as well as girl problems with his friends and of course, family, where his mother believes music, will be a good hobby for him while in college studying math or science.
The reason I enjoyed Struts & Frets so much is because it is a completely authentic story. While reading it, I was reminded how alike my friends and I were to Sammy and his friends when we were seventeen. My friends lived and breathed music especially one of them who, if I showed him this book, would recognize each of the jazz musicians brought up! So, naturally, a lot of the music choices in the book were familiar to me as well as being enjoyable to me, especially The Pixies.
Struts & Frets shows the dilemma that can happen between very close male and female friends. You know when someone tells you that someone else really likes you and then you get really awkward and do not know how to act around that said person. It happens a lot! Skovron creatively and beautifully writes about figuring out your feelings and worries about first likes and loves.
Skovron writes about how passion can drive your life. How, even though it will not be easy, to not give up on friends or family or dreams and how, to always do what makes you happy. The book conveys a great message of hope, friendship, family and the willingness not give up on your dreams.
readwithpassion's review against another edition
3.0
I ended up liking this one in the end. I think it is a great book for students who love music and are in bands. Some of the sexual comments made me cringe a bit, and I won't be putting it in my classroom because of phrases like "big hard cock." That's not to say I won't be recommending it to students. I loved the music theme of this book and wish there were fewer sexual references, so I could keep this one out on my bookshelf.
nikzbookcorner's review against another edition
4.0
Forewarning: major musical geeking out is about to take place. I kind of feel like a babbling baboon (say that 5x fast, I dare you) Anyway!
Music is such a big part of my life, even considering the fact that I can't play an instrument to save my life. But reading this book reminded me why I love it so much. Like reading, it transports you to a different place. When nothing else can seem to get me grounded, music has what it takes to give me that push.
Struts & Frets reverberates in my brain; like listening to a song at maximum volume with the biggest headphones that eyes could ever see. I may not be able to tell you what cord-C or cord-D sounds like or looks like on paper, but the passion for music was just flowing as I was reading this. And it's always amazing when life combines two things I love, reading and music, and provides another outlet that I can get lost in. That is why I absolutely adore this book.
And then you add in everything in between. Sammy Bojar, the main character, is a 16 year-old boy who has a tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve and just wants to make music. So much so, that he is willing to keep his band, Tragedy of Wisdom, together despite the fact that the lead singer scares the crap out of him. But through the journey of surviving high school drama, family woes, dealing with a band made of opposites, taking risks, and finding love - he is discovering that life is messy and complicated, but it's also full of promise and potential.
In this tale of love, loss, and discovery, Sammy's adolescent voice rings true and honest. Complete with insecurities, doubt, and the awkwardness that comes with the territory of growing up. But never once does he cross that line into whiny, self-absorbed angst. And the other characters are just as easy to love. Jen5 (called such because all the other Jennifer nicknames were taken) is a fun, competent girl who provides Sammy with the solidity that his life is lacking and challenges him to break out if his shell. Jon Skovron really put authenticity and a well-versed sense of reality into his writing. Never once does he skirt the heavier issues of growing up, instead embraces it while adding that extra dose of humor that creates a very cool read.
Music is such a big part of my life, even considering the fact that I can't play an instrument to save my life. But reading this book reminded me why I love it so much. Like reading, it transports you to a different place. When nothing else can seem to get me grounded, music has what it takes to give me that push.
Struts & Frets reverberates in my brain; like listening to a song at maximum volume with the biggest headphones that eyes could ever see. I may not be able to tell you what cord-C or cord-D sounds like or looks like on paper, but the passion for music was just flowing as I was reading this. And it's always amazing when life combines two things I love, reading and music, and provides another outlet that I can get lost in. That is why I absolutely adore this book.
And then you add in everything in between. Sammy Bojar, the main character, is a 16 year-old boy who has a tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve and just wants to make music. So much so, that he is willing to keep his band, Tragedy of Wisdom, together despite the fact that the lead singer scares the crap out of him. But through the journey of surviving high school drama, family woes, dealing with a band made of opposites, taking risks, and finding love - he is discovering that life is messy and complicated, but it's also full of promise and potential.
In this tale of love, loss, and discovery, Sammy's adolescent voice rings true and honest. Complete with insecurities, doubt, and the awkwardness that comes with the territory of growing up. But never once does he cross that line into whiny, self-absorbed angst. And the other characters are just as easy to love. Jen5 (called such because all the other Jennifer nicknames were taken) is a fun, competent girl who provides Sammy with the solidity that his life is lacking and challenges him to break out if his shell. Jon Skovron really put authenticity and a well-versed sense of reality into his writing. Never once does he skirt the heavier issues of growing up, instead embraces it while adding that extra dose of humor that creates a very cool read.
brianbbaker's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't sure what to think about this book. It took me a few chapters to get into it. Once I did and I started to understand Sammy, I really liked the book.
Being thirty-five I found a few of the culture things interesting. I never looked at some of the bands in the book the way the author Jon Skovron or the MC Sammy and I learned more about myself in the process.
Being thirty-five I found a few of the culture things interesting. I never looked at some of the bands in the book the way the author Jon Skovron or the MC Sammy and I learned more about myself in the process.
kricketa's review against another edition
3.0
the story of a boy and his band. not entirely believable at times, but interesting & fairly enjoyable. a bit bland for me; teenage boys will like better.
quietjenn's review against another edition
3.0
growing up, i would've been all over this book, simply for existing. because at that time, in columbus, ohio, the only cultural touchstones we had were "family ties" which didn't count at all because all the place names were made up. so, a book that actually took place in columbus, dropping location names (the dube! bernies! newport! idiot boy! schiller park! not-named cup o'joe!) and experiences i could totally relate to? yes, please. but, because the setting is near and dear, there are a few things that i quibble about, that another reader probably wouldn't give a second thought to (radio station w/a k call letter? not even. and maybe it is nostalgia coloring things, but i always thought food at the dube was pretty good. they have excellent toast and grilled cheeses.)
so that's my caveat, for whatever it's worth. in terms of the actual book, i'd say it's pretty solid. the boy-voice is quite excellent and the music references all go down pretty nicely. the supporting characters were nicely rounded, and i especially liked the best friends/bandmates. the love object i couldn't totally get with. i liked that she was very real and had her own issues, but i feel like i probably wouldn't have liked her much in real life (so sue me; white-girl dreads - and all they indicate - will always give me pause and make me draw not-very-nice conclusions) and the adult figures were nicely complex. and even though these were characters-with-problems, it wasn't a "problem book," so yay for that.
that being said, there was something about the book that felt a little disjointed to me. the flow felt off a bit, and i wanted *more* of something or other, although how exactly to explain what that more was, i can't really say. maybe i'm just persnickety that way.
so that's my caveat, for whatever it's worth. in terms of the actual book, i'd say it's pretty solid. the boy-voice is quite excellent and the music references all go down pretty nicely. the supporting characters were nicely rounded, and i especially liked the best friends/bandmates. the love object i couldn't totally get with. i liked that she was very real and had her own issues, but i feel like i probably wouldn't have liked her much in real life (so sue me; white-girl dreads - and all they indicate - will always give me pause and make me draw not-very-nice conclusions) and the adult figures were nicely complex. and even though these were characters-with-problems, it wasn't a "problem book," so yay for that.
that being said, there was something about the book that felt a little disjointed to me. the flow felt off a bit, and i wanted *more* of something or other, although how exactly to explain what that more was, i can't really say. maybe i'm just persnickety that way.
martha_schwalbe's review against another edition
4.0
This book definitely makes my top ten list for NYRA this year. The story is straight forward, compelling, and funny. I really enjoyed the element of perceived magic, especially in the "Moon" discussion Gramps shares. I hope teens today still hold onto some "magic" in their lives.
dandelionfluff's review against another edition
You're gonna have to gravitate to the voice of a male high school narrator, and be able to cope with gay slurs. Basically the culture of immature boys, you know? It wasn't for me, but it might be good for someone really into the music scene!