Insta Review: Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, by Jordan Sonnenblick

Insta Review gives you a new book recommendation in under a minute. Go ahead, time it!

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“Oh gee, I think I’ll pick up this happy looking book about drums and teen romance,” innocent past Ms. Fitz said. “It looks like a good weekend read.” Wow, I am wrong a lot. Not about Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie being a good read – I was totally right about that. But the happy, simple part? False. Prepare for heartbreak. One day, while Steven is making his little brother Jeffrey breakfast, a fall gives Jeffrey a nosebleed… that won’t stop. And then, it turns out to be much more than a nosebleed. What follows is a no-holds-barred look at what it’s like to be the “normal” sibling in a family that’s struggling with serious childhood illness. Author Jordan Sonnenblick doesn’t give readers the gauzy, brave, “I’ll sacrifice anything without a second thought” version that we see so often, but instead pulls back the curtain to give access to the guilty, illogical, sometimes completely nonsensical thoughts that come with tragedy. I recognized parts of myself in Steven that made me proud and made me sad, but mostly, it made me root for him and his family. Drums is a great balance of funny and gut-wrenching, with lots of depth and easy, conversational writing. Highly recommend if you’re willing to brave a little heartache. #bookreview #middlegrade #mgfiction #reader #instabook #bookstagram

A post shared by Ms. Fitz (she/her) (@fitzbetweentheshelves) on Apr 8, 2018 at 9:26am PDT