Notes From an Accidental Band Geek

October 10, 2011
Elsie has one passion in lifeâher French hornâand her dream is to play in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, like her father and grandfather before her. The key to achieving that dream is getting accepted into Shining Birches, a prestigious summer music camp that requires potential players to participate in a musical ensemble, which is why Elsie joins her school marching band. Although band is beneath her musical taste, she will do anything to show her father that she can make it into Shining Birches. But from the first moment, the goofy, high-energy, and high-intensity band is nothing like Elsie expected. This kind of coming-of-age story, about a girl so focused on a goal that she's forgotten to make friends, has been told before, but Dionne (The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet) brings heart and humor to the subject, making it fresh, relatable and fun. A subplot with Elsie trying to impress her father loses steam, but Elsie's band adventures will have readers rooting for her every high step of the way. Ages 10âup

August 1, 2011

Can a serious French horn player ever find happiness in marching band?

Thirteen-year-old Elsie starts out determined not to like her high-school marching band. She's only joined because she needs some ensemble experience before auditioning for the prestigious Shining Birches musical summer camp. One humiliation follows another, many caused by her absolute inability to empathize with those around her, all leaving her frustrated and ashamed. Her problem is understandable: She's pretty convinced that her future hangs solely on the quality of her musical ability, so she's never focused on other people, just practice and more practice. But the transcendent joys of marching band—the intense camaraderie of hours and hours of marching in the hot sun, learning how to stay in straight lines, play clearly, follow drill formations and myriad other details that will ring perfectly true for marching-band geeks—gradually change Elsie's mind. At the same time, she learns, through some trial and mostly error, more effective ways to deal with her controlling parents, manage the stress of adjusting to high school and, most importantly, make friends. At times, Elsie's introspection is painful, as she overanalyzes the nuances of every relationship, but it is simultaneously realistic.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 1, 2011

Gr 6-9-Elsie has her career path all mapped out: she will become the principal French horn player for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, just like her father and grandfather. The 13-year-old's life has revolved around this single focus for years. It hasn't left much time or space for learning to read people or navigate social situations. All that changes when she grudgingly joins marching band and, against all odds, falls in love with it. This self-absorbed, socially awkward narrator who celebrates a good day by cranking out Beethoven on the stereo will present a few hurdles for many readers. The best potential audience will be kids who have at least a passing knowledge of music. Those who get past Elsie's obsession with the French horn and the fact that she turns snappish under pressure will be sure to identify with the scenes of mortal embarrassment that are the hallmarks of young teen life. Who wouldn't want to die on the spot if dubbed "Zombie Chicken" by a whole group of people you just met and with whom you'll be spending the next nine months? While this novel isn't for everyone, it has humor, heart, and a touch of romance that will provide ample fodder for booktalks.-Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library District, Elgin, IL

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2011
Grades 5-8 Ninth-grader Elsie Wyatt shouldn't even be in marching band: they don't have French horns, her instrument of choice, on the field; they blare music rather than play it; and who wants to be in a group where your nickname is Chicken, anyway? But to get into a prestigious orchestra camp, Elsie needs an ensemble group on her r'sum', and what starts out as pure torture progresses through more torture until it ends up being a new musical home. Funny, warm, and musically geeky, this book may actually have as much appeal for band parents as for adolescent readers. Elsie is believably sardonic in ways only a 13-year-old can be, and Dionne's portrait of band life is right on target. With only a rare flat note, this unabashedly feel-good story makes an excellent title for intergenerational book groups. Hand this to girls in between Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice books and Joan Bauer's fabulous heroines, or maybe send it home with your own band geeks.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)