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protoman21's review against another edition
4.0
Gordon Korman can still get in the mind of a young adult and write a fresh story with an honest appealing voice. Leo starts out the book as a Young Republican, and Korman does a great job of walking the political tight rope and not offending anyone. His characters aren't defined solely by their political affiliation, or by their sexuality or taste in music. Korman does an excellent job showing that actions have consequences, without preaching the message in an unappealing way. The ending was completely satisfying with a true punk rock gesture that put a huge grin on my face.
mbrandmaier's review against another edition
3.0
Former Young Republican loses his Harvard Scholarship after being accused of cheating on a test and goes [b:on the road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21E8H3D1JSL._SL75_.jpg|3355573] with his rock star father so that his father will give him the money he needs to pay the tuition. Funny and touching.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
I read this because it is on a list of books as summer reading for my students. I thought with the title and the cover it would be, at the very least, a music lesson of some kind. Not so much.
The protagonist is graduating high school and is a leader in the Young Republicans on his campus. His best friend is a punk rock girl that is his total opposite. But she's all about loving everyone and not judging others, so she defends her Republican friend while he is more of a worm in this regard.
The young man knows his biological father's name, but has never met him and his mother would rather forget the man that fathered her child. Blah, blah, blah. His father is a former legendary punk rock god. And guess what? The band is reforming and touring! And guess what else? The young man is going to be a roadie in an effort to get to know dad!
This isn't a long book, but it felt like work. The characters are stereotypes and some of the side plots are too much. If this focused on the relationship between father and son, it would have been a more compelling story. It veered off into DNA tests, romance of the ugly duckling type, and a womanizing jerk.
The final scene really is out of a movie and wasn't too believable, but after getting through the entire book, I was happy for something exciting to happen.
The protagonist is graduating high school and is a leader in the Young Republicans on his campus. His best friend is a punk rock girl that is his total opposite. But she's all about loving everyone and not judging others, so she defends her Republican friend while he is more of a worm in this regard.
The young man knows his biological father's name, but has never met him and his mother would rather forget the man that fathered her child. Blah, blah, blah. His father is a former legendary punk rock god. And guess what? The band is reforming and touring! And guess what else? The young man is going to be a roadie in an effort to get to know dad!
This isn't a long book, but it felt like work. The characters are stereotypes and some of the side plots are too much. If this focused on the relationship between father and son, it would have been a more compelling story. It veered off into DNA tests, romance of the ugly duckling type, and a womanizing jerk.
The final scene really is out of a movie and wasn't too believable, but after getting through the entire book, I was happy for something exciting to happen.
readwithpassion's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this while driving, and I found that it was difficult for me to get out of the car, at times, as I wanted to find out what happened next. Leo is a member of the Young Republicans Club and is on his way to Harvard. He makes an error that may cost him his scholarship. His world gets even more confusing when he learns that his biological father may be the angry, lead singer of a famous punk band, Purge. When Purge, conveniently, opts for a reunion tour, Leo sets out to meet his bio dad. I liked the book on tape a lot because there was background music between chapters and the reader spoke quickly. I started listening to this immediately after another book on tape with a much slower reader, so this was a nice change of pace. It kept me interested through all six CDs, and the story had a great message to young people.
pastelbread's review against another edition
5.0
This was actually a great read. I was going into reading it thinking it was going to be not a great book, but boy was I wrong! Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down! It took me a day to read. I enjoyed the read and it was a great book. :)
blevins's review against another edition
3.0
Fun, short book about kid who learns his dad is an infamous punk rock singer and it turns his world upside down. Lots of energy, but I couldn't stand the amount of music used in this audio CD. At times, the music was mixed so loud it made it hard to decipher the reader. Born to Rock grew on me as it went, some of the cliche rock sections I forgave.
shighley's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to the Brilliance Audio version of this book-- very well done, complete with musical interludes for each chapter, and Billy Hammond has a nice variety of different voices for some of the characters. Had a lot of plot twists, and very funny. Korman had some great writing, great phrases, droll sense of humor. I would imagine he had a lot of fun making up the titles of the groups and songs. I'd say it's more suited for HS (my library serves 5-8) Listening to it instead of reading it meant I could enjoy Hammond being able to express much of the irony in the events Leo experiences during the book.
dawnoftheread's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad, but I much preferred Beige, which is a different take on a very similar subject.