We know you all have been waiting on pins and needles to hear the results of our first ever DJ Duel and Dance Party. Did you all bust a move in your living rooms? Did you vote? Do you love us now that we can dance? Did you vote?? DID YOU???
Ahem. Let's review: Last week we both chose songs for Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick:
DJ Noelle chose "Everlasting Light" the Black Keys cover by Alex Winston because "[Amber Appleton] could probably solar power your house."
DJ Maggie chose "Oh My Friend" by Big Bang as a nod to both the Korean Divas for Christ and "Amber's ridonkulous energy."
And the winner with 71% of the vote is....after the jump!
So not only do we write a blog about YA books and make art about YA books and watch TV shows because they kinda sorta remind us of a YA book, we also often make playlists to go along with our favorite reads.
We know. We lead truly fascinating lives.
BUT why keep the soundtracks to ourselves when we can have a DJ Duel and Dance Party with all of our readers? Here's how it works. We each will choose a song to represent our book of the week. It can be the lyrics, it can be the style, it can be a nod to a certain moment in the book or it can just be a feeling associated with the book. We'll post the songs here and let our readers vote for their favorite along with suggesting songs of their own. After voting is complete, we'll have a kickass playlist to put on our Spotify!
This week our book is Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick. Here is Noelle's review if you want to refresh your memory on the awesomeness that is Amber Appleton. Okay let's do this!
DJ Noelle: I've gotta go with Alex Winston's cover of Everlasting Light by The Black Keys.
Why? Amber Appleton is like a freaking flood lamp---scratch that, she's like the stadium lighting equivalent of hope. She could probably solar power your house. These lyrics are pure Amber.
Lyrics like whoa:Let me be your everlasting light / Your sun when there is none / I'm a shepherd for you / And I'll guide you through / Let me be your everlasting light
Let me be your everlasting light / Your home when there is cold / In me you can confide / When no one's by your side / Let me be your everlasting light
DJ Maggie: I'm going Korean -- Oh My Friend by Big Bang.
Why? I wanted something that combined the Korean Divas for Christ with Amber's ridonkulous energy. Solution? Why K-POP, of course!
Lyrics like whoa: If this world makes you sad, say my name whenever and wherever / I am 911, for you only, I'm only 5 minutes away, yeah yeah / Your sorrow that you feel isn't sorrow / It's a rope that bonded us together / I'll get wet in rain for you, run without a stop, go through a rough wind yeah / Your heavy burden, dark shadow; I will block them all now
Oh my friend oh my friend; I will be your friend forever
Oh my friend oh my friend; only you can make me live
Oh my friend oh my friend; I will become a tree behind you silently
Oh my friend oh my friend; my friend I love you (dear) friend
Now it's time for your song requests! What other songs do you think should be on our Sorta Like a Rock Star playlist? Leave your choices in the comment section!
Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick Review by Noelle: September 21, 2011 Published May 1, 2010 by Little Brown and Company Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Buy at Fishpond • Kindle
Irrepressible hope and relentless optimism are amazing and impressive...and you know what else? Extremely annoying. Yes, dear readers, I was one of those people giving Amber Appleton the side-eye for the entire first half of the book.
Sure, I empathized with her horrible situation and admired the spunk in her survival skills but I still resisted the crap out of her charm. I found her hugging obsession creepy. Her “JC” name dropping made me itch. Her slang felt unnaturally shoehorned into her otherwise SAT-word laden inner dialogue. Her group of “special” school friends felt just too precious to be real. And for goodness sake, did she have to give everything five word nicknames just to use the acronym for it?! Amber would do something promising and then follow it up with something that made me cringe.
Yet I stuck around for a couple reasons, the main one being Amber is not portrayed as trying to be perfect. She gets offended and swears and lashes out. Amidst all the “up with people!” moments there were also glimpses of a teenager I could recognize--an angry, unappreciated, emotional adolescent that I found extremely easy to root for. I think my opinion of Amber permanently turned around after her interactions with the Korean Divas for Christ, Private Jackson and even Joanie of Old (see what I mean about nicknames?). For all of her inappropriate methods and pushiness, Amber has such a good heart. Even though at times her world must seem so small, Amber never sees it that way. Her hope makes it endless. Amber not only recognizes the loneliness around her, she is genuinely interested in these people’s lives. She sees what makes them who they are and without making a big deal about it, celebrates it every day. She will shine her floodlight of hope on anyone who gives her the chance.
She really, truly is sorta like a rock star.
And then Amber’s already extremely shitty life gets horribly worse and Amber's belief system is shaken to the core. I realized that I too had been just one more person underestimating Amber’s value and how much I’d grown to depend on her enthusiasm and optimism. Yes, there is a definite cheesiness factor here between the After School Specialness of the Five and the nature of the ending, but dammit if I didn't soak it all up like a freaking hopeful sponge. You won this one, Amber Appleton.
Also, the haikus--the last two in particular--were, as Amber would say, some good hooey.
Rating: 4/5 stars I definitely recommend this book.
