inspiredWhen a new kid named Conner waltzes onto the field and into her section, he throws the usual steady Ellie for a loop. She finds herself crushing on him, even though he's only a sophomore, and even though she's sworn off dating because of something that happened during her freshman year. Soon, though, the two start seeing each other outside of school.
Ellie asks Conner not to tell anyone that they're dating. She even keeps the relationship a secret from Jake and Kristen, her best friends, who are also in band. Jake is the drum major, while Kristen rocks the alto sax. Jake and Ellie have always been close, even after his older brother Nathan humiliated Ellie three years earlier. Now Nathan's back in town, and Ellie's feeling all jumbled up. Meanwhile, Conner wants to tell everyone that they're dating, but won't tell Ellie about his family or his home life. In order to clear her head and knock 'em dead at the big Homecoming performance, Ellie will have to play the different movements of her personal symphony very carefully.
A quick read, Band Geek Love hits all of the right notes. If you like clean romantic comedies, then Josie Bloss's debut novel will be music to your ears.
Make sure you also pick up the sequel, Band Geeked Out.
Read the first chapter of Band Geek Love online at Josie's site.
Recommended Reading
Read my interview with Josie Bloss.
If you like Band Geek Love, you'll also like Major Crush by Jennifer Echols and Audition & Subtraction by Amy Fellner Dominy.
Before the Parade Passes By
I played flute in my elementary and middle school classes, but neither institution had a marching band. I did march in parades as part of a community band, but that's another story. (Come to think of it, I have a wacky story for almost every one of my parade experiences.) After reading this book and writing this review, I felt the need to break out my shiny silver flute and play.