Welcome to Litsy!

“Serious about their craft”?!

I didn‘t know anyone in middle school who was “serious about their craft,” or who would put it that way. This just doesn‘t fit here.

When I teach drums to kids, I tell them it‘s time to learn how to speak Drummer. Then we get into some of the crazy-named rudiments, and it‘s fun and silly. Paradiddle. Paradiddlediddle. Ratamacue. Flamadiddle. Ruff.

I wanted to like this more than I did. There are too many elements - Sam realizes she has a long way to go toward being a drummer, pursues lessons; but she‘s also struggling in school and having discipline problems, and her home life is pretty awful. Then the band program is getting cut, and Sam starts making poor decisions. Too many elements to do them all justice. Not bad, but not great.

Yesterday‘s library #bookhaul (the kiddo‘s 30-some are elsewhere). I swore I wasn‘t getting anything for me...

Also - you may not know this about me but I‘m a part-time professional percussionist. I just found out yesterday my sister is starting her kids in music lessons! Almost-7 niece gets guitar (like her dad) and 8-year-old nephew gets drums like his auntie!

Sam, aspiring drummer & the protagonist of this middle-grade novel, keeps receiving the same criticism: her rhythm's off. By the end, her performance is still imperfect but shows marked improvement. The same holds true for the narrative. Eventually, Grosso finds his groove. It just takes him a little while to get there. I think kids will like this story about finding what makes you happy - and about how it feels when your parents are not.

Deep thoughts from "I Am Drums":

"An olive can look a lot like a grape until you bite into it and want to barf from the taste."

Bought this because ..... the cover's cool!

Okay, I also believe I will like the story.