[UHX]≡ PDF Songs About a Girl Book 1 from a Zoella Book Club 2017 friend eBook Chris Russell

Songs About a Girl Book 1 from a Zoella Book Club 2017 friend eBook Chris Russell

Download As PDF : Songs About a Girl Book 1 from a Zoella Book Club 2017 friend eBook Chris Russell

Songs About a Girl Book 1 from a Zoella Book Club 2017 friend eBook Chris Russell

If you have ever read boy band fan fiction, you know the basic plot: teenage girl gets a once in a lifetime chance to hang out with her favourite boy band, the charming lead singer suddenly has eyes for no one but her and romantic entanglements ensue. Well, that's not quite this book, but the basic idea is the same: girl meets boy band and they make sweet, well, music together.

Charlie is sixteen, something of a tomboy, not really into boy bands at all but with ambitions when it comes to photography. Fire&Lights is the new big thing, a boy band put together after a TV talent show, where one of the boys, Olly, recently graduated from Charlie's school. When Olly emails Charlie to ask if she wants to take pictures of the band for their website, she is hesitant at first but urged on by her best (and only) friend Melissa she takes up the challenge and is thrown into their midst.

Not only does it become apparent to the reader long before it does to Charlie that Olly may have romantic designs on her, Gabriel - the heartthrob front man of the band - soon seems fascinated too, and Charlie struggles to keep a clear head and a low profile in the middle of what looks like it could become a disastrous blow-up of both the band's and her own future.

Chris Russell writes charmingly from Charlie's point of view, a lonely girl living with her absent and taciturn father, filled with questions about her mother who died when Charlie was a small child. Apart from the romantic and media-related plot lines (will Charlie's identity be revealed to the fans, and what will they do to her?) there is the old notebook that Charlie's mother left behind, filled with song lyrics she by now knows by heart. Charlie has always seen herself in those lyrics but now they inexplicably suddenly reappear as part of Fire&Lights new songs. Is Gabriel writing them through reading her mind? Is her mother's ghost haunting the band? Or is there some strange connection between Gabriel's murky past and Charlie's dead mother?

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a light-hearted read. The characters are not as well-rounded as I would wish, and the girl-meets-boyband plot feels unoriginal and somewhat contrived, but I'm intrigued to see what will happen in book 2 where - hopefully - all mysteries will be revealed.


Tags : Amazon.com: Songs About a Girl: Book 1 from a Zoella Book Club 2017 friend eBook: Chris Russell: Kindle Store,ebook,Chris Russell,Songs About a Girl: Book 1 from a Zoella Book Club 2017 friend,Hodder Children's Books,(E) 12+ years; (3) Fiction; (N) Ordinary Printed Book Format; (7) Non-character; (9) Non Tie-in,Adventure stories (Children's Teenage),CHILD: Fiction 11+,CHILD: Romance,Children's Teenage fiction: Romance & relationships stories,Children's Teenage fiction: Romance, love & relationships stories,Englische Belletristik Kinder- u. Jugendliteratur,Englische Bücher Kinderliteratur, Jugendliteratur,For National Curriculum Key Stage 3,Interest age: from c 11 years,JUVENILE FICTION Love & Romance,JUVENILE FICTION Performing Arts Music,Music: general interest (Children's Teenage),Pop music (Children's Teenage),Reading,Romance & relationships stories (Children's Teenage),YOUNG ADULT FICTION Action & Adventure General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Performing Arts Music,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance Contemporary,Young Adult Fiction,JUVENILE FICTION Love & Romance,JUVENILE FICTION Performing Arts Music,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Action & Adventure General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Performing Arts Music,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance Contemporary,Young Adult Fiction,Romance & relationships stories (Children's Teenage),Music: general interest (Children's Teenage),Adventure stories (Children's Teenage)

Songs About a Girl Book 1 from a Zoella Book Club 2017 friend eBook Chris Russell Reviews

Charlie Bloom was not your typical teen. Therefore, when she was contacted by a member of the current-hottest-boy band to photograph them for their fan site, she declined. Due to interference from her technologically savvy best friend, she found herself a reluctant part of the Fire&Lights world. With each concert, she found herself more attached to each member of the band, but there was something different about her attachment to Gabriel, the brooding bad boy of the band. As they got to know each other, they found they had a connection, and this connection was a lot more meaningful than they initially anticipated.

This is a debut, so I really didn't know what to expect, but you know me, I love a contemporary romance. That coupled with a boy band sold me on reading the story, but this was not simply a contemporary romance. It was made a little more interesting with this thread of mystery, which was woven into the story.

I really like Charlie. She was this ordinary girl, who was thrust into an extraordinary situation. She was quite unprepared for all the negative and positive things that resulted from her work with Fire&Lights, and I found her reactions quite honest and authentic. She was nursing wounds that ran quite deep too. Her mother was dead, her father was somewhat disconnected, she was bullied at school and online. All these difficulties could get a girl down, yet, Charlie kept going. I attribute some of that to her support system next door - her best friend, Melissa, and Melissa's mom, Rosie, but also to her fortitude of character. **Side note Melissa was a hilarious fangirl of epic proportions, and made me laugh almost every time she opened her mouth. Example "It's impossible to be sad when you're eating marshmallows. That's a scientific fact."

I really enjoyed being back stage with the band. They charmed the pants off of me. Russell captured the boyish camaraderie perfectly, and their antics were quite fun to read about. Another thing I loved was that he made the characters so age appropriate. Charlie is 15-years-old at the book's onset, and the band members are all around 18, so their behaviors and reactions really fell in line with normal teens of similar age.

"'Carla's famous. She's on TV. Me, I'm just...'
Gabriel looked at me, amber light shining in his eyes.
'Charlie, trust me. You're not just anything.'"

When Charlie and Gabe met, there was this pull, they were drawn to each other. They keep talking about a connection, and as they started to break down each other's wall, they learn that there is indeed a reason for this connection. This little mystery is present throughout most of the story, and I thought I knew where is was going, and I was really wrong. Then, I thought I knew where it was going again, and I was wrong again. And then with the cliffhanger, I thought I had it figured out, but I will be unable to confirm until the next book.

This book is so much more than a contemporary romance. It explores ideas about friendship, family, aspirations, the impact of online media, bullying, love, and loss.
Only someone with an inside knowledge of the music industry, and experience of being the object of teen fans attention could write a book as true to life as this. Author, Chris Russell has, of course spent the last ten years playing piano with popular British band The Lightyears, and has experienced first hand life on the road, world tours, performing in major stadium venues, and interacting with obsessive fans. This Young Adult novel follows the adventures of a 15 year old girl called Charlie, who unexpectedly gets the chance to join the tour of boy band "Fire and Lights" as their teen reporter. Charlie discovers that the world of popular music is not as glamorous as people might think, and has to work out her own feelings for the boys in the band, as well as resolve her relationship with her father, who is reluctant to discuss the death of Charlie's mother.I have recommended this book to a number of 13-17 year olds, and they all adored it, saying the school scenes were "totally realistic" (although American teens may have to brush up on some British terms!) An added bonus in this technological age is the fact that author Chris Russell responds to fans on social media, and has composed and recorded the songs that are essential clues in the mystery about Charlie and her family. One of this year's outstanding YA books that is definitely resonating with teens everywhere. And it's the first in a series of three books about these characters, so the audience can only grow.
If you have ever read boy band fan fiction, you know the basic plot teenage girl gets a once in a lifetime chance to hang out with her favourite boy band, the charming lead singer suddenly has eyes for no one but her and romantic entanglements ensue. Well, that's not quite this book, but the basic idea is the same girl meets boy band and they make sweet, well, music together.

Charlie is sixteen, something of a tomboy, not really into boy bands at all but with ambitions when it comes to photography. Fire&Lights is the new big thing, a boy band put together after a TV talent show, where one of the boys, Olly, recently graduated from Charlie's school. When Olly emails Charlie to ask if she wants to take pictures of the band for their website, she is hesitant at first but urged on by her best (and only) friend Melissa she takes up the challenge and is thrown into their midst.

Not only does it become apparent to the reader long before it does to Charlie that Olly may have romantic designs on her, Gabriel - the heartthrob front man of the band - soon seems fascinated too, and Charlie struggles to keep a clear head and a low profile in the middle of what looks like it could become a disastrous blow-up of both the band's and her own future.

Chris Russell writes charmingly from Charlie's point of view, a lonely girl living with her absent and taciturn father, filled with questions about her mother who died when Charlie was a small child. Apart from the romantic and media-related plot lines (will Charlie's identity be revealed to the fans, and what will they do to her?) there is the old notebook that Charlie's mother left behind, filled with song lyrics she by now knows by heart. Charlie has always seen herself in those lyrics but now they inexplicably suddenly reappear as part of Fire&Lights new songs. Is Gabriel writing them through reading her mind? Is her mother's ghost haunting the band? Or is there some strange connection between Gabriel's murky past and Charlie's dead mother?

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a light-hearted read. The characters are not as well-rounded as I would wish, and the girl-meets-boyband plot feels unoriginal and somewhat contrived, but I'm intrigued to see what will happen in book 2 where - hopefully - all mysteries will be revealed.