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choosejoytoday's review
4.0
So middle school, so cute. Technically the main character is a freshman, but I think this book will appeal more to the 6-8 grade set, due to the melodrama. Being a band geek myself, I found myself reminiscing about marching band practices, running around the school in block formation for "warm ups," changing into our uniforms on school buses, trips, the drama. Sigh. Good for band geeks, Gleeks, and girls interested in realistic stories with a touch of light romance.
socr8sjohnson's review
4.0
This book was a fun, quick read. It's funny. Quite a few times I giggled. The author does a great job of capturing the awkwardness of dating life for the first times.
It's a character-driven piece and the real plot of the story centers on the growth of the protagonist from a single-minded, somewhat selfish and insensitive girl to someone who actually has friends and is starting to understand how relationships--friends, family and romantic work.
I liked it.
It's a character-driven piece and the real plot of the story centers on the growth of the protagonist from a single-minded, somewhat selfish and insensitive girl to someone who actually has friends and is starting to understand how relationships--friends, family and romantic work.
I liked it.
misdawnty's review
3.0
I was perusing the Lone Star Reading List of Middle grade and YA books at the library and this one jumped out at me. It was fun...ish. The main character was completely unlikeable. I realized it was her journey and she had some things to learn but I couldn't find much to like about her. Even at the end. The dialogue wasn't that great, either.
However.... it's a marching band book. And I loved marching band. I was the drum major, even. So, it brought back a lot of fun memories and that made it worth reading.
However.... it's a marching band book. And I loved marching band. I was the drum major, even. So, it brought back a lot of fun memories and that made it worth reading.
taliac36's review
well dis book is abt a freshman named Elsie Wyat.... her mom worries about Elsie’s every breath; her classical musician-superstar dad doesn’t notice her successes; she’s a year younger than everyone else in her class; and thanks to her extreme schedule and over-confident attitude, she has no friends. bt she’s good at The French horn. She’s so good that she’s sure she can get into the summer music program of her dreams…but first she has to survive a season of marching band.
And that’s not going to be easy: French horns aren’t marching instruments, individual stardom doesn’t count, and everyone looks bad in a polyester uniform. As Elsie stumbles through the season from disaster to disaster, she not only learns what a “chicken” is (and why you should never drop one), how to march in a parade block, and what it takes to escape from a bus bathroom, but how to make friends, deal with overprotective parents, and maybe even launch a romance.
Just as Elsie starts to reconcile her elitist orchestral misconceptions with band geek reality and change her attitude, her world gets rocked again. When marching in a nationally televised parade, Elsie’s disasters collide with those of three other characters, culminating in an epic holiday calamity that could ruin everything she’s worked so hard for.
And that’s not going to be easy: French horns aren’t marching instruments, individual stardom doesn’t count, and everyone looks bad in a polyester uniform. As Elsie stumbles through the season from disaster to disaster, she not only learns what a “chicken” is (and why you should never drop one), how to march in a parade block, and what it takes to escape from a bus bathroom, but how to make friends, deal with overprotective parents, and maybe even launch a romance.
Just as Elsie starts to reconcile her elitist orchestral misconceptions with band geek reality and change her attitude, her world gets rocked again. When marching in a nationally televised parade, Elsie’s disasters collide with those of three other characters, culminating in an epic holiday calamity that could ruin everything she’s worked so hard for.
annaketamina's review
5.0
Pretty good, but the only problem with Erin Dionne is she seems to write books about older characters, only for younger readers (which doesn't make much sense to me)
thebooksupplier's review
3.0
As someone who participated in both marching band and rigorous concert bands in high school and college, I really identified with this one. So much nostalgia... http://thebooksupplier.com/2012/12/23/accidentalbandgeek/
librarykristin's review
4.0
There was something authentic here...yes, there may have been too much telling and not enough showing...but the band geek experience was really authentic. I'd love to hear about Elsie's sophomore year...and I'm not one to scream sequel after every book I've read and liked.
katiecoops's review
3.0
Not the best-written book ever, but it's a fun story. It kind of hits you over the head with things rather than showing you, but since there are hardly any books about marching band, I have to be a little lenient. :) Maybe one day I'll take out the short story I wrote in high school about marching band season...