A review by myfictionaloasis
Battle of the Bands by Eric Smith, Lauren Gibaldi
5.0
This was one of my most highly anticipated 2021 releases, so I was thrilled when Candlewick Press responded to my email and accepted my review request. I had high expectations for this book, and still it exceeded them. This is the first short story anthology I've read that I 100% loved. There's usually at least one or two stories that I don't love nearly as much, even in Stephen King's anthologies - and he's my favorite author! Everything about this one, however, was brilliant.
This is the first anthology I've read that had interconnecting stories, and that may be why I loved it so much, in all honesty. I just loved how every individual story flowed easily with the rest, despite everyone having different writing styles. I've previously found that anthologies with multiple authors can feel a bit rocky and I eventually lose interest in the book itself. With BOTB, I was completely hooked from the first page til the last, and I couldn't stop thinking about it after I had finished it.
Battle of the Bands opened me up to a lot of new YA authors that I'd never read before. I have one of Jeff Zentner's books and one of Jay Coles' on the way, but I haven't been able to squeeze them in yet. I will definitely be moving those up on my priority list, though! I've also added books by the other contributors to my TBR, and I'll be keeping an eye out for those when I go to bookstores.
This was such a feel good read that I highly recommend to anyone who loves music, YA books, and anthologies! You definitely won't regret picking this one up. This was my favorite book for August, and I truly hope it gets the hype and recognition it deserves with the release!
Disclaimer: I received a gifted copy of this book from Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first anthology I've read that had interconnecting stories, and that may be why I loved it so much, in all honesty. I just loved how every individual story flowed easily with the rest, despite everyone having different writing styles. I've previously found that anthologies with multiple authors can feel a bit rocky and I eventually lose interest in the book itself. With BOTB, I was completely hooked from the first page til the last, and I couldn't stop thinking about it after I had finished it.
Battle of the Bands opened me up to a lot of new YA authors that I'd never read before. I have one of Jeff Zentner's books and one of Jay Coles' on the way, but I haven't been able to squeeze them in yet. I will definitely be moving those up on my priority list, though! I've also added books by the other contributors to my TBR, and I'll be keeping an eye out for those when I go to bookstores.
This was such a feel good read that I highly recommend to anyone who loves music, YA books, and anthologies! You definitely won't regret picking this one up. This was my favorite book for August, and I truly hope it gets the hype and recognition it deserves with the release!
Disclaimer: I received a gifted copy of this book from Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.