Antony John

“Luke, some truly idiotic people have said some truly inspired things. Are we supposed to ignore their words because they couldn't live up to them?”

I'm sure there is a place for this story and many who need it - and I'm glad for those that love it. I did like the other book by this author that I read...but this one just did not work for me. Between the book and the odd holy behavior of the MC to the bumbling odd brother just milking him for money - even as things mellowed out, I just couldn't find anything redeeming about the characters. The road trip went from ridiculous to completely outrageous with this idea that this author wouldn't have anyone with the agency with him? Ugh, I just found it all frustratingly unrealistic and was glad it was a quick read.… (more)

I liked the idea of this book. Piper is deaf but she is a master of lip-reading. She can hear just a little because of hearing aids but they are outdated and in desperate need of replacement.

Piper is a pretty easy character to like. But, although we go through quite a bit of exchanges with her and other people - I just never felt like her character was fully flushed out. She is steamrolled by her parents who only want the best for Grace, the baby of the family. Finn is even mildly ignored while he acts out time and time again at school.

Ed is probably one of the cutest characters in the book. he is just sweet. But he seems to only be a catalyst character - there to push or pull or....SHOVE Piper in the right direction. Otherwise, she doesn't seem to notice him much until much much later.

and Piper's parents are just painful to read. Why do YA books have to make the parents so awful? Are they REALLY that insensitive?!. ugh, it was just...awful. Nothing redeemed them after that. They just sucked in just about every scene they were in.

The idea was great, but I just could't connect with any character - which made the story just a little less shiny and fun for me than it could have been.… (more)

Really great idea to have a deaf girl managing a rock band and to see all the different problems that can arise in doing so... but it just didn't go the distance.
I was really intrigued to read a book with the main character being deaf. And that part of it was pretty cool. The conflict that Piper and Finn had within their household was really what kept me interested. All the stuff with the band just didn't flow right. Why would Piper vote for Kallie to join the band? It made no sense. It tried too hard to push the lesson of 'everyone deserves a chance to be noticed'. I get it, I dont need it spelled out quite that clearly.
I didn't get them crying over Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. Who cries over dead rockstars from 40 and 20 yrs ago? It's like they were so sheltered and this was their first time ever hearing about hurt in the world. I found the dying of the hair to be awful poserish... and wasn't everything just neatly tied up in a bow at the end? Blah! This book could've went so many better places.… (more)