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by E.A. Rigg
3 Scribbles
Casey is a connoisseur of all things musical; she takes her
knowledge of music and creates short playlists for individuals at her school. Her goal?—To Help her classmates develop much-needed
coolness or character; give them a “musical fish” so to speak and help those
uncool peers of hers “feed…for a lifetime.” Her ability to diagnose the
shortcomings of her classmates with obscure, yet typically spot-on, musical medication
is eerie and ironic, especially since Casey has a thing for the highly toxic Alex
Deal, and he’s rife with shortcomings. Alex isn’t exactly a prescription for the
straight-and-narrow, but he’s hot, and he’s a rocker, just like Casey. How
can she possibly resist him?
I must say that I didn’t find myself completely invested in
this novel until the end of chapter four, when the reader learns about Casey’s
previous hook up with Alex Deal and how it all went horribly wrong. That being
said, the beginning chapters do give the reader a glimpse of Casey’s saucy and
irreverent attitude, and introduce Casey’s best friend, Leigh, who is clearly a
foil to Casey and Casey’s better half. Once
the Alex/Casey conflict heats up, however, I was hooked. I love how the novel
examines the age-old question of why we gals seem to fall for jerks who only
care about themselves. Given her sass you’d think Casey could see that Alex has
the depth of a mud puddle, but alas, like most of us gals, she’s enamored by
his pure hotness and gives him a shot (perhaps one time too many). The dialogue is exceptional, especially
the dialogue between Casey and her brother Yull, and Casey and Leigh, so good
that at times I found myself snickering out loud. Casey’s sarcasm is textbook
teen, and I enjoyed her one-liners. Yull is perhaps my favorite character,
protective big brother with a sophisticated, Yoda-like wisdom; and that’s a
good thing, since Casey’s connection with and respect for authority is shaky at
best. She doesn’t realize it, but she
needs Yull. Some of the scenes throughout the novel seem rushed and could be
fleshed out more with dialogue and action rather than a summary of
conversations or events, but chapter transitions work well and renew the
readers’ interest with appropriate “teasers” that make the reader want to know
what happens next. Some references to musicians and actors (i.e. Charo) may be
foreign to readers, but it seems getting a musical education is a byproduct of
reading this novel. In fact, I dare the reader to make it to the end without
having to look up at least one band reference. While not a first pick for me, I
think hard-rockers, wanna be band-members and those who love to enjoy less mainstream
music will enjoy this novel and should give it a try—and certainly every girl can relate to the story, because there is an Alex
Deals littering every high school landscape.
