sangd's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. It's slightly romantic without overdoing it. I like Molly's temper, I see myself as a teenager. However, I had a hard time tolerating Paul the manager of Molly. I found him suspicious from the start and I did not like him. Dean meanwhile was mysterious from the start and I loved him despite everything. Basically, I enjoyed reading this YA book.
J'ai bien aimé ce livre. C'est légèrement romantique sans trop exagérer. J'aime bien Molly une caractérielle qui me fait grandement passer à moi lorsque j'étais adolescente. Toutefois, j'avais beaucoup de difficulté à endurer Paul son manager. Je le trouvais louche dès le départ et je ne l'appréciais guère. Dean quant à lui était mystérieux dès le départ et je l'aimais bien malgré tout. En gros, j'ai bien aimé lire ce livre jeune adulte.
J'ai bien aimé ce livre. C'est légèrement romantique sans trop exagérer. J'aime bien Molly une caractérielle qui me fait grandement passer à moi lorsque j'étais adolescente. Toutefois, j'avais beaucoup de difficulté à endurer Paul son manager. Je le trouvais louche dès le départ et je ne l'appréciais guère. Dean quant à lui était mystérieux dès le départ et je l'aimais bien malgré tout. En gros, j'ai bien aimé lire ce livre jeune adulte.
donttakemybooks's review
4.0
3.5 stars. Liked this more than I figured I would. It was quite a bit darker than I expected, too. But I really like Sarra Manning's writing and main characters and this was no exception. The men were all awful and there was lots of angst. The plot is well-trodden territory, but I liked this better than other fame stories I've read. Definitely want to track down Adorkable now.
mandimsadler's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book!! Could not put it down. Reminded me of meg cabot and her individual novels (all american girl?). A good read :)
littlepanda's review against another edition
2.0
The idea was great,Molly is a sympathetic character but became pathetic with the whole Dean story. I was really disappointed by the end. Overall it was more a cliche of young rock stars and had notjing very particular.
piperhudsburn's review against another edition
5.0
"Keep on rocking baby, keep on rocking..."
There are not many books that should make you cry- and when it happens, you have read a book you cannot forget. This book is Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning. This book is a heart-breaker. I loved this book so much. And it shook me to the core, and you will think about this book long after you’ve put it down.
Meet Molly Montgomery. She is just a normal British school girl. She has two very normal friends: Tara, a silent no-nonsense girl, and Jane, the school’s resident tramp- and that isn’t an offense. These three girls want to rock the world- and when they meet two boys who turn their chill-out band into something more, their dream comes true- but there is a catch- all comes at a price. Molly is forced to do things she does not want to do, she loses her virginity, she gets high and drunk, she betrays her friends, she gets into legal trouble, and she loses herself. Now, Molly is forced to get it all back- but when your life has spun out of control, is that even possible?
The music industry is a horrible, unforgiving place. I bought this book because of the fact that girl had shocking red hair, like the well known front woman of the band Paramore- Hayley Williams. This book is a carbon copy of what wrong with that band, but you love this Molly. She is strong, she is talented, but she is manipulated and you can’t blame her. She looks up to her idol Ruby X, but when she finally realizes who Ruby is…she understands that giving music to millions isn’t all what being in a band is. Her band mates care more about money, fame, and drugs then playing shows for fans. Her manager controls her, and Molly grows strong enough to control her new life.
There are scenes in this book that speak to you- boy because they are dangerous and disturbing. Molly goes through hell to get to where she is and fix her life, and even through it all, she ends up going back down on her downward spiral. But despite the challenges, she learns a lot about friendship, and most of all the power of music. Music saves Molly, in the end- for better or for worse.
Bottom Line:
Buy It. Check it out from your library. I’m not kidding.
I originally published this review on my old Goodreads account.....fyi...
susanatwestofmars's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted at West of Mars Rocks 'n Reads (http://rockread.westofmars.com)
In my quest to become the world's most knowledgeable woman about this genre I call Rock and Roll fiction, I must say that while I've encountered similar plots before, the situation in Sarra Manning's Guitar Girl is a welcome, fresh one.
It's told in flashback style, when it's all over but the infighting. This is always a difficult structure to pull off well, but Ms.Manning does. We are set up for angst and betrayal and a lawsuit -- but we get so much, much more.
Guitar Girl is the story of Molly, a girl who is inspired by rock queen Ruby X. Molly's intrigued by the idea of girl power and what it means for a rock band, so she grabs her two best friends and starts a band. They are totally clueless, and that instantly endears us to them. They're muddling through -- until Dean and T enter the scene. Those two have a clue. In the end, we realize they have much, much more than that. Angst and betrayal, indeed.
This fivesome remains pretty clueless throughout the book, which is a total strength of the book. If Molly knew how she was being played, we'd have an entirely different -- and significantly less charming -- book. But part of the strength of Guitar Girl lies in the fact that we readers pick up the clues Molly keeps missing. Instead of calling her a blockhead and wanting to chuck the book aside, we can't. Molly's hanging on through this ride, and that's about all she can manage to do. We don't expect her to see the signs. Frankly, she's not capable.
Yes, our heroine is in over her head almost from the get-go. The cynical part of me wants to scoff and say this could never happen. Sadly, I think it happens more often than not. This is music industry exploitation at its best, gang. How Molly manages to emerge from it as relatively unscathed as she does is pretty darn amazing. She's so darn innocent as the book opens, a true naif, as my satire professor would have said.
Yet her innocence doesn't keep her from seeing herself when she has a chance encounter in an elevator with another rocker type. Molly's savvy enough to realize where she's headed -- and, no matter how hard it is, she knows what she's got to do.
Guitar Girl is totally Molly's story, and to that end, sometimes the supporting characters aren't as strong as they could have been. Molly's parents are well-drawn but sometimes veer into the realm of cliche. And the band? They aren't nearly as distinctive as they should be. There are four other people in The Hormones with Molly, but Jane gets lost, both on the page and in her own life as alcohol and drugs take over. Tara's pretty typical, T falls short of the goal of being deliciously eccentric, and Dean's a jerk. He's hard to like, even when he's being nice to Molly. Why she is involved with him at all makes no sense, except that nothing else around her is in control. Why should her heart be?
It's really the ending that makes this book touching. A moment in an elevator has ramifications and repercussions that are totally unexpected -- but precious nonetheless.
This one's a definite West of Mars recommended read.
In my quest to become the world's most knowledgeable woman about this genre I call Rock and Roll fiction, I must say that while I've encountered similar plots before, the situation in Sarra Manning's Guitar Girl is a welcome, fresh one.
It's told in flashback style, when it's all over but the infighting. This is always a difficult structure to pull off well, but Ms.Manning does. We are set up for angst and betrayal and a lawsuit -- but we get so much, much more.
Guitar Girl is the story of Molly, a girl who is inspired by rock queen Ruby X. Molly's intrigued by the idea of girl power and what it means for a rock band, so she grabs her two best friends and starts a band. They are totally clueless, and that instantly endears us to them. They're muddling through -- until Dean and T enter the scene. Those two have a clue. In the end, we realize they have much, much more than that. Angst and betrayal, indeed.
This fivesome remains pretty clueless throughout the book, which is a total strength of the book. If Molly knew how she was being played, we'd have an entirely different -- and significantly less charming -- book. But part of the strength of Guitar Girl lies in the fact that we readers pick up the clues Molly keeps missing. Instead of calling her a blockhead and wanting to chuck the book aside, we can't. Molly's hanging on through this ride, and that's about all she can manage to do. We don't expect her to see the signs. Frankly, she's not capable.
Yes, our heroine is in over her head almost from the get-go. The cynical part of me wants to scoff and say this could never happen. Sadly, I think it happens more often than not. This is music industry exploitation at its best, gang. How Molly manages to emerge from it as relatively unscathed as she does is pretty darn amazing. She's so darn innocent as the book opens, a true naif, as my satire professor would have said.
Yet her innocence doesn't keep her from seeing herself when she has a chance encounter in an elevator with another rocker type. Molly's savvy enough to realize where she's headed -- and, no matter how hard it is, she knows what she's got to do.
Guitar Girl is totally Molly's story, and to that end, sometimes the supporting characters aren't as strong as they could have been. Molly's parents are well-drawn but sometimes veer into the realm of cliche. And the band? They aren't nearly as distinctive as they should be. There are four other people in The Hormones with Molly, but Jane gets lost, both on the page and in her own life as alcohol and drugs take over. Tara's pretty typical, T falls short of the goal of being deliciously eccentric, and Dean's a jerk. He's hard to like, even when he's being nice to Molly. Why she is involved with him at all makes no sense, except that nothing else around her is in control. Why should her heart be?
It's really the ending that makes this book touching. A moment in an elevator has ramifications and repercussions that are totally unexpected -- but precious nonetheless.
This one's a definite West of Mars recommended read.
stepnic's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so important to me. It's one of those stories I revisit every so many years and each time, I react differently.
I was about 13 the first time this was introduced to me. My best friend at the time loaned it to me. This was the book that ultimately switched me from all the middle grade material I was reading to YA (to be fair, I still love middle grade every now and then.) I became obsessed with Sarra Manning and throughout middle school and high school, my best friend and I would gobble up anything she wrote.
I picked it up again when I was 18, right after I graduated high school. I wasn't in the best place mentally and didn't find the joy I once found in it.
Now, here I am, 25 and crying as I finished this book. The entire story hit me so hard in the right way. I now remember why I loved it so. In 5 more years, I plan to pick it up again and see what reaction I have.
2016 POPSugar Reading Challenge - A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy
I was about 13 the first time this was introduced to me. My best friend at the time loaned it to me. This was the book that ultimately switched me from all the middle grade material I was reading to YA (to be fair, I still love middle grade every now and then.) I became obsessed with Sarra Manning and throughout middle school and high school, my best friend and I would gobble up anything she wrote.
I picked it up again when I was 18, right after I graduated high school. I wasn't in the best place mentally and didn't find the joy I once found in it.
Now, here I am, 25 and crying as I finished this book. The entire story hit me so hard in the right way. I now remember why I loved it so. In 5 more years, I plan to pick it up again and see what reaction I have.
2016 POPSugar Reading Challenge - A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy
eshugarman's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75