A review by ejdavis98
Battle of the Bands by Eric Smith, Lauren Gibaldi
4.5
I’m giving this a high rating, not because it was flawless, but because reading it was a blast. Ever since a lesson on it in middle school, I’ve been a sucker for the interconnected anthology format. I barely read the first sentence of the summary before buying this book, I needed next to no convincing. It had everything I like, teenage shenanigans, concerts, and an out of the box concept beautifully executed by a diverse group of contributors that all share a common love of writing and music. By the end of the book I found I didn’t even care who won the contest the entire book was based around. But then again, I think that was the point.
Is this book “perfect” in a technical sense? Probably not, but I haven’t taken an English class since 2015 and I admittedly don’t know how to properly use a comma making me one unqualified critic.
Might some people think Battle of the Bands feels disjointed and inconsistent? Maybe. There are 16 authors involved here with all varying degrees of experience in writing. I personally find that to be a beautiful thing, but there are always people who will find something to nitpick.
TL;DR- While some might not find this collection of stories to be a technical 5 star piece of literature, this is my account and I make the rules. What isn’t to love about a revolving door of fun characters through the perspectives of a bunch of music lovers? Bonus points for amazing references ranging from great bands to great anime and multiple jokes poking fun at ska.
Is this book “perfect” in a technical sense? Probably not, but I haven’t taken an English class since 2015 and I admittedly don’t know how to properly use a comma making me one unqualified critic.
Might some people think Battle of the Bands feels disjointed and inconsistent? Maybe. There are 16 authors involved here with all varying degrees of experience in writing. I personally find that to be a beautiful thing, but there are always people who will find something to nitpick.
TL;DR- While some might not find this collection of stories to be a technical 5 star piece of literature, this is my account and I make the rules. What isn’t to love about a revolving door of fun characters through the perspectives of a bunch of music lovers? Bonus points for amazing references ranging from great bands to great anime and multiple jokes poking fun at ska.