Spotlight Wednesday: Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie

I'm doing an oldie but goodie today. It's been out for five years or so - maybe you've heard of it? Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, by Jordan Sonnenblick. I think it kind of straddles the line between middle grade and young adult, but I think that's a good thing, because I could see 6th graders enjoying it as well as 10th graders.

When I read this book, I fell head over heels in love with it. It made me laugh and it made me cry - my favorite kind of book.

Here's the description from Goodreads.com:
Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey.

But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece. Salted with humor and peppered with devastating realities, Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie is a heartwarming journey through a year in the life of a family in crisis.

Booklist gave it a starred review, saying "Sonneblick shows that even in the midst of tragedy, life goes on, love can flower, and the one thing you can always change is yourself."

If you read it, you must pick up the companion too, called After Ever After, told from Jeffrey's point of view many years after the first one took place.

A great couple of contemporary novels with a great voice and male characters, something we don't get enough of, in my opinion.