Red Velvet Crush

April 15, 2016
Meredith explores the difficult relationship between two sisters: one who harbors a secret talent and the other who lusts after any spotlight.Present-tense narrator Teddy Lee was in second grade when her mother went AWOL. With her father working two jobs, Teddy became caretaker of her broken family, especially of younger sister Billie. Now, though her days are packed with school and overseeing Billie, the white teen's nights remain her own, spent writing music. The action begins when her flaky older brother, Winston, presents yet another get-rich scheme. After Winston shares Teddy's music demo with his DJ boss, Randy offers to fund their band's tour. Not having a band does not deter Winston or Billie. Teddy finally agrees to play along in order to see if her music is any good. Their band, Red Velvet Crush--"Sweet. Rich. With the potential for serious damage"--goes on tour, with Winston as manager and Billie seizing center stage, Teddy conceding until she refuses to let Billie sing one of her own songs. Meredith ratchets up the tension between the two sisters until Billie threatens to steal not only Teddy's musical thunder, but everything else as well. She balances adolescent wit with lyrical prose as Teddy finds strength within her talent: "a song of lamplight and soft guitar, a song of longing and absolution, a song of mine."Though the ending leans toward melodrama, this fast-paced story of sibling rivalry and betrayal should appeal to a wide teen audience. (Fiction. 13-17)

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June 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Meredith here explores the tentative steps of first love and the complicated relationship some siblings share. Teddy Lee reluctantly agrees to join the rock band her brother Winston, who loves a get-rich-quick scheme and never finishes what he starts, forms after he plays her demos to his record station boss. Soon she's dating the drummer, Ty, and within a few months their cover band (the titular Red Velvet Crush) pulls together a summer tour of the Pacific Northwest. Still, she feels that she's in the shadow of her younger sister, Billie, who always steals the spotlight-including the spot of singer in the band when Teddy Lee chokes at an early practice. The phrasing is sometimes clunky (e.g., a tree-lined street is described as a "leafy arch of sabers"), and despite the band being on the road and Teddy Lee writing songs with Ty, the book focuses much more on finding one's place among siblings. VERDICT Readers will appreciate the book's exploration of the bonds of siblings and music as a means of self-expression, but those looking to read about a band on the road may be better served by Charlotte Huang's For the Record or Len Vlahos's The Scar Boys.-Amanda Mastrull, Library Journal

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