Trigger warnings: Talk about divorce
Synopsis: Find the confidence to rock out to your own beat.
Melly only joined the school band because her best friend, Olivia, begged her to. But to her surprise, quiet Melly loves playing the drums. It’s the only time she doesn’t feel like a mouse.
Now, she and Olivia are about to spend the next two weeks at Camp Rockaway, jamming under the stars in the Michigan woods.
But this summer brings big changes for Melly: her parents split up, her best friend ditches her, and Melly finds herself falling for a girl at camp named Adeline. To top it off, Melly's not sure she has what it takes to be a real rock 'n' roll drummer. Will she be able to make music from all the noise in her heart?
Review: Drum Roll, Please is a cute middle grade story about a girl named Melly who gets sent off to a summer music camp right after her parents tell her they are getting divorced. I liked Melly a lot, and I found her incredibly easy to relate to as someone who is constantly replaced in the lives of others. Melly has to deal with her parents splitting up, but she also has to manage her friendship with Olivia when Olivia spends more and more time with a boy.
At first, I was a little worried that the story would brush Melly's struggle with her parents under the rug. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Lisa Jenn Bigelow did a great job of forming the summer camp atmosphere while also make sure to give Melly time to figure out how she feels. There is a cute romance between Melly and another female camper. There is a little time spent on Melly understanding this new part of herself, but it isn't a major struggle like in many YA books.
Fun middle grade romance with an interesting summer camp setting.
4 howls
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