Review (Becky): Five Flavors of Dumb

Goodreads Summary

The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig.

The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.

The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf? 

Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb. 

Title: Five Flavors of Dumb Author: Antony John Pages: 338 Audience: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary Realism (disabilities) Rating:3 stars- I'd friend this book on Facebook
My Thoughts This felt like an after school special. I don't really like rock music so I'm not the right audience to begin with, nor do I really admire the mindset or lifestyle of its (mostly dead) idols. Although I appreciate the idea of writing a book about music from the perspective of a girl with hearing impairment, music is primarily experienced through the sense of hearing, though not exclusively. She does a good job explaining what music means to her, and while I believed it I couldn't connect to it or quite imagine it.

I found the very shallow treatment of the male characters disappointing, especially since each of the girls ended up with a comparatively large amount of depth. I also didn't really care for the portrayal of Piper's parents as more like children than she was. I found it difficult to believe Piper spontaneously knew how to be a magnificent band manager with no experience or even research, or that this band could be much good when it seemed like most of them had no musical training (except Ed). It was also kind of bizarre how much the band blamed Piper for everything and she agreed with them, when surely the responsibility lay with the entire group.

I did think the struggle Piper has with how she is perceived by friends, family, and herself was well developed. I felt outraged with her when people told her she couldn't do something because of her hearing. It was compelling to see her transform into her true self.

I would suggest this book to young adults who like rock music, but I didn't find that it had much crossover appeal to adults (at least from my perspective).

FTC Disclaimer

All reviews are solely the opinions of Becky and/or Randi. We are not paid in any way for our reviews, and all opinions are 100% honest.