GUITAR GIRL

Despite an intermittently witty voice and a high interest topic, this trip through the world of pop rock never gets off the ground. Seventeen-year-old narrator Molly Montgomery finds herself living the dream of many teenagers as the lead singer in a popular band. But except for the rush of performing, she just doesn’t have much fun. Her love-hate relationship with a male band member predictably becomes an anguished love affair, while her close friendships with the band’s other two girls deteriorate. Readers will have to suspend their disbelief as Molly, who has no musical training, succeeds by writing songs such as “Hello Kitty Speedboat,” and succumbs to her dishonest manager’s blatant manipulations. Molly’s comments on her ex-hippie parents, and her interactions with them, provide hilarious moments, but not enough of them to get this story rocking.

(Fiction. YA)