Review: Amplified by Tara Kelly

Amplified by Tara Kelly
Goodreads | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble
YA, Contemporary, 304 pages, Henry Holt & Co.

• Series: Stand-alone.
• Why I read it: Because this girl wishes she could hack it, too.
• Disclosure: Received ARC from The Red Balloon Bookstore. Thanks!

Goodreads blurb:

When privileged 17-year-old Jasmine gets kicked out of her house, she takes what is left of her savings and flees to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it. . .
In this fresh new novel by critically acclaimed author Tara Kelly, Jasmine finds out what happens when her life gets Amplified.

The Long...

When I reviewed Tara Kelly's debut, Harmonic Feedback, back in September, I noted its bravery, its heart, and, of course, its music. Its beloved and lovely Manic Pixie Dream Girls (and Boys). Its street cred. I also noted its unfortunate earnestness and clumsy debut tone; wrinkles that I was sure would be ironed out in Kelly's sophomore release, Amplified.

And were they. Oh, ever were they. In Amplified, Kelly brings us a spunky, brash, and wonderful YA whose author has wised up as much as her characters, and which will retain its beloved place on my wannabe riot grrrl bookshelf pretty much forever.

It wasn't until I read Harmonic Feedback that I began to notice what a dearth of teen girl musicians there were in YA. Sure, every guy love interest and his uncle plays an instrument (often guitar) and usually has a husky, sex-on-a-stick singing voice, too (see: Shiver, The Sky is Everywhere, Everneath), and that's great. Guy musicians are sexy. But where are the future Amanda Palmers, the Chrissie Hyndes, the Kim Gordons, and, for better or worse, the Courtney Loves? Where are the girls who have musical talent beyond just an angelic choir voice? Where are the girls with grit and fire, who can bring it just as well as any guy?

Answer: in Amplified, of course. From fabulous, gritty-voiced out-and-proud lesbian Veta, to enigmatic local celebrity Zia, to our heroine, curvy, naive, angry, desperate-to-prove herself Jasmine, the musically talented gals fairly fly off the page here. Everything about the Santa Cruz music scene crackles with energy and exuberance, and it made me want to pick up my poor battered keyboard all over again.

I could complain that the writing still stumbles, that the ending dragged on a little too long, that a few characters fell just a hair into trope territory. But frankly, they're inconsequential complaints when a writer is forging into such new and awesome territory in YA. Bravo, Tara Kelly, for giving us a heroine who hacks it just as well as her boyfriend, for whom music is a matter of exchange and not just vapid enjoyment. Bravo.

...and the Short:

Spunky, sassy, brash, and wonderful, Tara Kelly's electric sophomore novel is sure to appeal to those charmed by Harmonic Feedback and win her legions of well-deserved new fans. Music-lovers won't want to miss it!

The Final Word: Loved it! 

Amplified is available now!

5 reasons you should be listening to Florence + the Machine

I don't like blogging about music much. My own tastes are so peculiar and specific to me that I feel a lot more self-conscious writing about them than, say, books; also, I have the annoying habit of jumping on a bandwagon many, many years after everyone else. (See: Nirvana, The Raincoats, Sufjan Stevens, The Dresden Dolls, every riot grrrl band ever).

But--and I know I am late to this bandwagon, too--Florence + the Machine is too literary and beautiful not to blog about. Five reasons why you should be listening (if you aren't already):

1. "What the Water Gave Me," a.k.a. "That Song I Can't Stop Listening To," is about Virginia Woolf. Because Ceremonials couldn't get any more awesome. And speaking of Woolf, if you haven't read her essay "Death of the Moth" (my favorite of hers), you should.
2. In my humble opinion, Florence Welch puts more thought into her lyrics than any other pop singer of the moment out there. She's in for the artsy long haul, and that's something this writer can appreciate.
3. Her music is joyful. And I mean really, truly joyful, and not just obnoxiously, aggressively cheerful. For someone who spends most of her devoted music time listening to angsty grunge, punk, emo, and alt rock and weeping into her pillow (sue me), it's refreshing and gorgeous.
4. Her music sounds like a good book feels. And you all know how I feel about good books.
5. Because it's available legally and for free on Spotify and you can't even pull the budget excuse, of course. Also because I told you so. JUST LISTEN.

In other news, fellow music lovers should stay tuned for my review of the fabu-wonderful Amplified by Tara Kelly! That should be coming sometime next week, as long as finals don't kill me.

Gah. Finals. HELP.

(And finally, for all kind enough to wonder--thank you!--the hospital visit on Tuesday went fine. Sounds like we've got at least one problem worked out, which is fantastic news.)

The most epic get-well-soon card of all time

I felt 100% get-up-and-go better for the last week and a half. Yesterday and today I have felt exhausted, dizzy, queasy, faint, achey, and feverish; I'm stuttering, clumsy, forgetful, distracted, angry, depressed, manic, trembly, and cranky; I'm as ill as I've ever been in my life. There are a few things in life I believe you could call me graceful and glorious at. Unfortunately, being sick for six months is not one of them.

Fortunately, there are an awful lot of graceful and glorious people out there to help me out.

And be forewarned, I am going to name-drop those people like crazy in this post, so that I can pretend I got to hang out with them for two days at ALAN 2011. I didn't actually. But they are too graceful and glorious not to pretend.

This was once an ordinary Hallmark get-well-soon card. Thanks to my (exceptionally graceful and glorious) co-panelists at ALAN 2011, it is now a Hallmark get-well-soon card with superpowers.

Oh yes. Bookish superpowers. As in, a whole bunch of people at ALAN 2011 signed my get-well-soon card. As in, in this particular corner, M.T. Anderson (!!!), John Green (!!!), Pat Mora (!!!), and Joan Kaywell (membership secretary of ALAN!!!) told me to get well soon, and Matt de la Pena (!!!) told me to try drugs. (The legal kind.)

I think the doctors have me covered on that front.

Pictured: What happens when you have 99 problems and a bitch ain't one, but a concussion, severe vitamin D deficiency, Lyme disease, possible anemia, unidentified stomach pain, and a terminal case of slob-itis are most certainly like six.

Then Kate Messner, Sharon Draper, Rita Williams-Garcia, and my co-panelist-bloggers Ari and Edi signed this corner, because I am somewhat egotistically convinced that these people are on a mission to make my life amazing.

 J.L. (Jessica) Powers and Lyn Miller-Lachmann (who made this all happen!) signed this corner (and many, many apologies for the crappy webcam photography):

Then they got Lauren-freakin'-Myracle to sign, because Lauren-freakin'-Myracle is amazing. In case you are wondering, it says: "Oh, Maggie, be well! Here's an idea: snuggle up & READ A YUMMY BOOK! <3" Do you know why it says that? Because Lauren Myracle is amazing. Also wise, with her priorities in order, because reading yummy books sounds like exactly the cure for me.

Then there is the back, which, not to play favorites, is probably my favorite part.

That would be signatures from Francisco X. Stork, Sarah Dessen, Simone Elkeles, and Sharon and Sasha, who both made good use of my ticket so that it didn't go to waste, and were kind enough to mail me the giant box of books you saw last week.

That signature at the very top in blue ink, you ask? That would be A.S.-freaking-King.

I'm not gonna lie, my peeps. I cried. A lot. 

Because YA authors are the most graceful and glorious people on Planet Earth. Because I really hope, someday, that I can be as awesome as they are. Because, when Meghan Cox Gurdon talks about the darkness too visible in YA, she can, pardon my French, suck it.

There's really nothing left to say but thank you. So: thank you. You've just made this girl's trip to the hospital (again) tomorrow so much more wonderful.

In My Mailbox: Maggie Goes Nuts at the Library Edition

In My Mailbox is a meme about books bought, borrowed, and otherwise (legally) received graciously hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren.

This week, despite having piles of thrift story literary novels and nonfiction plus everything Bill Bryson has ever written fifty or so deep scattered around my bedroom, plus last week's super giant box, I...walked into the library. I know. I know. DSM-5 psychologists and also those Big Pharma people that made erectile dysfunction officially a thing, you should know that a love of books is an addiction. A disease.

One of these days my stacks will mutiny and bury me, and I will die a very happy girl-woman. Mark my words.

Anyway, here's a recap of this week's damage:

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The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor (credited as Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu) (Goodreads)
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (Goodreads)
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (Goodreads)
Chime by Franny Billingsley (Goodreads)
---

All of these have been on my to-read list for what feels like forever, and as the two I've finished already were insanely amazing (Monsters of Men and Chime, of course), I think it's safe to say they were on that list for a reason. YA authors and libraries, you rock.

I also picked up a book called Mastering Finnish from the thrift store we visited after the bookstore, because I am a geek. Do with that information what you will.