Published 2017, author Kirby Larson, illustrators David Roth and Julie Kolesova
Nearly-ten-year-old Alice Nanea Mitchell lives in Honolulu with her older siblings, fifteen-year-old Mary Lou and seventeen-year-old David, and their parents Mom and Papa. Like the children, Mom I was born and raised on the island of Oahu. She's Hawaiian. Papa is of European descent and originally from Beaverton, OR. Nanea loves living at such a crossroads of cultures, fully embracing all th influences that have come to the Hawaiian islands.
One day in November, Nanea and her two best friends Lily and Donna notice a contest: complete four tasks by December 15 to be entered to win a new bike. The tasks are turn tragedy into triumph, make a difference in the community, do a good deed for a stranger, and show appreciation for family. Nanea wants to win--not only would she love the bike, winning it by helping people would show her family she's growing up, despite being the youngest. Throughout November, she finishes the third and fourth tasks, but learns she needs to plan a better so she's not going one step forward and two steps back, like when she was working on something to help her dad not miss his family in Oregon...but forgot to feed her dog Mele, and Mele ate the Thanksgiving turkey.
Soon it's December. Of 1941. Sunday, December 7--a day that will live in infamy.
Nanea had gotten up early to make her family a special breakfast, to make up for the turkey. But any reader who knows this part of history knows her family won't be noticing the food. She hears a plane, and is confused to see that it's flying so low she can make out the Japanese flag on the tail. Her family wakes up, and Papa switches on the radio. There's a call for all military personnel to report to their
posts. Papa's not military, but he is a civilian contractor so he rushes to the shipyard. As he leaves, the radio announcer confirms that this is no drill. This is an enemy attack.
David leaves too, for the VFW hall, as his Boy Scout leader had instructed the scouts to do in emergencies. Nanea, Mom, and Mary Lou listen tensely to the radio, until it cuts out. Static on every channel. Gradually, they learn what's happening, as the attack ends and people come out of their homes (although David doesn't come back until the next night, and only to sleep, since the hospital needs help; and Papa hasn't been heard from at all). Japanese war planes bombed Pearl Harbor, a military target due to the battleships docked there, and also attacked some of the surrounding area. Nanea's school is partially destroyed, and neighbors have bullet holes in their homes and cars. (This was something that really struck me when I visited Pearl Harbor in 2015: of the 2,403 casualties, 49 were civilians. Two were infants. When I was at Pearl Harbor, I had my four-year-old and two-year-old with me, and I was pregnant.)
As if the terror of the attacks and the dread of future aggression wasn't enough, many Japanese people are suddenly detained on suspicion of helping coordinate the attack, including Lily's father. Martial law is declared, and everyone of Japanese descent gets the short end of the stick: earlier curfew, no radios, arrests of adult men--regardless of whether they're US citizens, like Lily's father. Lily tries to carry on as normal, and helps Nanea look for Mele, who has been missing since the attack. But she's hurting at the injustice.
As the week goes on, Nanea keeps busy making food for the aid workers, worrying about Lily, andlooking for Mele. Finally, after a week, Papa comes home (I was wondering if he'd be a casualty, but I guess that would have been potentially disrespectful to the actual people who died, and too dark--although he does allude to the men trapped on the sunken Arizona who died). He's only home for some sleep though, and soon has to head back out. Mary Lou and Mom are busy volunteering, so it falls to Nanea to help her grandparents inventory their store--a grown up thing to do, but this isn't the way Nanea wanted to show she was mature. It does give her an idea of how to show Lily that she cares, though. She'll make cookies Lily can bring to her father. On the way to Lily's, Nanea is distracted by Mele! He's trapped in a hole, and by the time she gets him out, fed, and clean, she's two hours late to see Lily. Lily is angry, and Nanea leaves without explaining. But a neighbor helps Nanea see that it's best to fix a problem right away, and when Nanea returns to Lily's with Mele, Loy understands. Donna shows up with food too, and Lily says that she appreciates knowing her friends care about her.
On Christmas Day, there are few decorations, due to the blackout rules and the shipment of Christmas trees being sent back to the mainland. Nanea has the bright idea to paint thumbtacks and decorate them with a lei to make a little tree. Her father and brother are able to join the celebration as well. A week later, Nanea and Mary Lou dance in a hula recital for the USO. Mele manages to sneak out and follow Nanea, but her embarrassment quickly fades when she sees how happy the soldiers and sailors are to do something so normal as petting a dog.
A few days later, Donna has bad news: all nonessential civilians are being sent away, back to San Francisco. It will be easier to keep the permanent residents, military personnel, and contractors safe and fed with fewer people on the islands. Nanea tries to think of ways to show that Donna is essential, even giving up the first day Papa has off in three weeks to work with Donna and some other friends to help with childcare during a Frist Aid training. Nanea comes up with other ways to hav Donna help, including a bottle drive (they can be sterilized to hold donated blood) that gets a newspaper write up. But it's not enough, and Donna and her mother are sent back to San Francisco in late January. As her boat departs, Donna tosses the lei Nanea and Lily made her into the ocean. Legend says that if your lei makes it back to the island's shore, you will too.
Inside Nanea's World
The historical section talks about the restrictive curfew enforced in Hawaii following the Pearl Harbor attacks, and he life changed for the islands' residents. But it didn't charge their willingness to help in whatever way they could.
Misc
Dedicated to "Clio, my mo'opuna wahine, with much aloha."
Nanea and Mary Lou practice a song with kala'au and pu'ili sticks--my oldest went to school in Honolulu when we lived there, and she used the same sticks at the end of the school year recital.
Nanea's siblings have Hawaiian middle names like she does (Noelani and Kekoa). Their grandmother tends to use the, especially during hula lessons. Speaking of hula lessons, David works at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, which has free hula lessons on a weekly basis. My older two kids took them sometimes (the third wasn't born then).
Matson, the shipping company that was supposed to bring Christmas trees, is still around. We used them to get our things to and from Hawaii when we moved there temporarily.
Nanea's mom commments that she's glad David is too young to enlist. However, he's 17, and the war won't be over until 1945. And there's a draft coming.
Possible connections to Molly, the original World War II representative: Donna and Linda share some letters, Lily is what Susan means (it's for the Hebrew name Susana), and Mary Lou and her friends knit socks for the military personnel.
12/7/17
11/20/17
Summer Camp, Friends for Life
Released to Amazon Prime in 2017
Z is attending a summer STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) camp In California with Paz, but they are confused by the head counselor's insistence that they not be allowed the use of any technology until they get in touch with nature and each other. Another girl, Drew, is completely on board with the idea, but Z is more skeptical--and Paz outright hates it.
A younger counselor, Jordan, encourages them to look to nature for inspiration. After all, watching birds inspired people to build planes. Jordan is amazing, but the head counselor denies there's any worker by that name. When Z and Paz look at the picture Jordan took of the three of them together using a camp computer, Jordan's not in the picture...but Drew photobombed them. The person they talked to wasn't there, but someone else was and they never heard or saw her?
When the two friends are trying to find a rational explanation, they're startled by a sound which turns out Jordan's unique charm bracelet hanging on their door and blowing in the wind. They also run in Drew, and realize that she wants to be friends. They put the search for Jordan on hold to start again on the right foot with Drew, and then the trio investigate the mystery.
They find a flip book, presumably from Jordan, filled with cryptic drawings. But because of each girl's talents and interests, they can each interepret parts, and together they can decipher it. They end following glowing footprints into the forest, where the charm bracelet alerts them to a set of keys, which unlocks a gate leading to Jordan, and her cabin full of STEAM wonders. It turns out that Jordan is the goddaughter of the head counselor, whose mother founded the camp and died last year. Jordan didn't think she could take on her godmother's mother's role, so she didn't come back to camp. Except that it called her, and she couldn't resist checking things out. Z and Paz stood out to her as people she should reach out to, so she created a mystery to show them how their talents don't rely on technology. The three girls convince Jordan to come to camp for real, telling her she’ll be able to honor the legacy of the camp founder easily. The movie ends with the campers blending nature and technology to learn more about the world.
Misc
One girl smashes a HUGE bug in the opening scene. She pulls away what looks like a wad of chewing gum after she slaps what sounded like a mosquito. Ew.
Speaking of bugs, how did Z find fireflies in California? They don't live on that side of the Rockies.
There's some really nice animation in parts, like Z's flip book movie.
The captions spell Paz as Paws.
A quote is displayed just before the end credits: "Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live." Dr. Mae Jamison, NASA
Cast
Z: Zoe Manarel
Paz: Alison Fernandez
Drew: Lauren Lindsey Donzis
Rae: Camryn Manheim
Jordan: Monique Green
Camper 1: Chloe Beth Jones
Camper 2: Mia Moore
Z is attending a summer STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) camp In California with Paz, but they are confused by the head counselor's insistence that they not be allowed the use of any technology until they get in touch with nature and each other. Another girl, Drew, is completely on board with the idea, but Z is more skeptical--and Paz outright hates it.
A younger counselor, Jordan, encourages them to look to nature for inspiration. After all, watching birds inspired people to build planes. Jordan is amazing, but the head counselor denies there's any worker by that name. When Z and Paz look at the picture Jordan took of the three of them together using a camp computer, Jordan's not in the picture...but Drew photobombed them. The person they talked to wasn't there, but someone else was and they never heard or saw her?
When the two friends are trying to find a rational explanation, they're startled by a sound which turns out Jordan's unique charm bracelet hanging on their door and blowing in the wind. They also run in Drew, and realize that she wants to be friends. They put the search for Jordan on hold to start again on the right foot with Drew, and then the trio investigate the mystery.
They find a flip book, presumably from Jordan, filled with cryptic drawings. But because of each girl's talents and interests, they can each interepret parts, and together they can decipher it. They end following glowing footprints into the forest, where the charm bracelet alerts them to a set of keys, which unlocks a gate leading to Jordan, and her cabin full of STEAM wonders. It turns out that Jordan is the goddaughter of the head counselor, whose mother founded the camp and died last year. Jordan didn't think she could take on her godmother's mother's role, so she didn't come back to camp. Except that it called her, and she couldn't resist checking things out. Z and Paz stood out to her as people she should reach out to, so she created a mystery to show them how their talents don't rely on technology. The three girls convince Jordan to come to camp for real, telling her she’ll be able to honor the legacy of the camp founder easily. The movie ends with the campers blending nature and technology to learn more about the world.
Misc
One girl smashes a HUGE bug in the opening scene. She pulls away what looks like a wad of chewing gum after she slaps what sounded like a mosquito. Ew.
Speaking of bugs, how did Z find fireflies in California? They don't live on that side of the Rockies.
There's some really nice animation in parts, like Z's flip book movie.
The captions spell Paz as Paws.
A quote is displayed just before the end credits: "Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live." Dr. Mae Jamison, NASA
Cast
Z: Zoe Manarel
Paz: Alison Fernandez
Drew: Lauren Lindsey Donzis
Rae: Camryn Manheim
Jordan: Monique Green
Camper 1: Chloe Beth Jones
Camper 2: Mia Moore
11/13/17
Contemporary Character 2017: Z on Location
Published 2017, author J. J. Howard, book design by Suzanne LaGage, photos by April Messinger Photography and Michael Frost
Plot
Z is excited for summer: her favorite vlogger, Winter Costello, has issued a challenge for her followers to to post about their summer adventures. And does Z ever have an adventure! She’s going to VidCon in San Francisco, where she’ll meet some of her far-flung friends, and on the way...Her mom is traveling to some locations in Washington and California to interview different people in the tech business to find out how they’re integrating new technologies into people’s everyday lives (e.g.; an AI robot to help people with autism learn about social interaction, and a company make smart device that connect to each other). She’s letting Z come to help film the interviews!
The first interview is fantastic. Z’s stoked for the next one, but gets distracted by her phone alerts. Her mom tries to get through to her to live in the moment rather than just thinking of what wil make a good post, but it’s hard for Z to not be connected to the internet. As the interviews progress, Z gets more and more distracted until her mom finally calls in one of her students to meet them and take over. Z wants to prove herself, but screws up even worse: she sends a picture from a pen interview with a virtual reality company to her friends back in Seattle...who post the proprietary information on social media. The company finds out and ban them from coming back and revokes permission for the interview to be shown. Z feels awful, and knows she has to regain her mom’s trust. Acting on the student’s advice, she starts small, taking care of tasks she knows she can do, even it’s just something simple like making breakfast. She helps with the interviews rather than trying to make them flashier for posting. She also only uses her phone when strictly necessary, like arranging when to meet her friends (part of this was being grounded from the phone, but Z is prepared to restrict herself on her own). By the time they reach VidCon, Z’s mom is impressed with her efforts and gives her another chance when the student comes down with food poisoning. Specifically, Z gets to film the interview with Winter Costello! Winter offers to grant Z a short interview for her vlog but Z has to decline—just before meeting with her, Z ran into some fans who asked her for an interview, and staying any longer would mean missing that and letting her fans down. Z wants to stay true to her word.
Sticking with the original plan was definitely the right choice. Her fans bring some more fans along, and Z’s friends are there. It’s amazing for Z to see how many people enjoy her work. Even better, Winter shows up and features Z on her vlog! Doing something because it was the right thing rather it being the cool thing led to something even better.
Misc
The author dedicates the book to her mother.
I love that Z sends her videos to her parents for approval before posting them online. It’s a good idea for kids the ages of this book’s target audience. (She still uses her full name though, which I wouldn’t be comfortable letting my kids do).
Good research, author! Z’s friends at home send her pictures of a wallaroo at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. It does indeed have wallaroos.
Plot
Z is excited for summer: her favorite vlogger, Winter Costello, has issued a challenge for her followers to to post about their summer adventures. And does Z ever have an adventure! She’s going to VidCon in San Francisco, where she’ll meet some of her far-flung friends, and on the way...Her mom is traveling to some locations in Washington and California to interview different people in the tech business to find out how they’re integrating new technologies into people’s everyday lives (e.g.; an AI robot to help people with autism learn about social interaction, and a company make smart device that connect to each other). She’s letting Z come to help film the interviews!
The first interview is fantastic. Z’s stoked for the next one, but gets distracted by her phone alerts. Her mom tries to get through to her to live in the moment rather than just thinking of what wil make a good post, but it’s hard for Z to not be connected to the internet. As the interviews progress, Z gets more and more distracted until her mom finally calls in one of her students to meet them and take over. Z wants to prove herself, but screws up even worse: she sends a picture from a pen interview with a virtual reality company to her friends back in Seattle...who post the proprietary information on social media. The company finds out and ban them from coming back and revokes permission for the interview to be shown. Z feels awful, and knows she has to regain her mom’s trust. Acting on the student’s advice, she starts small, taking care of tasks she knows she can do, even it’s just something simple like making breakfast. She helps with the interviews rather than trying to make them flashier for posting. She also only uses her phone when strictly necessary, like arranging when to meet her friends (part of this was being grounded from the phone, but Z is prepared to restrict herself on her own). By the time they reach VidCon, Z’s mom is impressed with her efforts and gives her another chance when the student comes down with food poisoning. Specifically, Z gets to film the interview with Winter Costello! Winter offers to grant Z a short interview for her vlog but Z has to decline—just before meeting with her, Z ran into some fans who asked her for an interview, and staying any longer would mean missing that and letting her fans down. Z wants to stay true to her word.
Sticking with the original plan was definitely the right choice. Her fans bring some more fans along, and Z’s friends are there. It’s amazing for Z to see how many people enjoy her work. Even better, Winter shows up and features Z on her vlog! Doing something because it was the right thing rather it being the cool thing led to something even better.
Misc
The author dedicates the book to her mother.
I love that Z sends her videos to her parents for approval before posting them online. It’s a good idea for kids the ages of this book’s target audience. (She still uses her full name though, which I wouldn’t be comfortable letting my kids do).
Good research, author! Z’s friends at home send her pictures of a wallaroo at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. It does indeed have wallaroos.
11/6/17
Contemporary Character 2017: The Real Z
Published: 2017. Author: Jen Calonita, book design Susanne Lagasa Photos by April Mersinger Photography, Michael Frost for Scholastic, Eric Isselee/Shutterstock, Inc.
Summary
Pacific Northwest resident Suzanne "Z" Yang loves making movies. Her mother teaches film at a nearby university and her dad's a computer expert, so she has great resources to help her with planning, shooting, and editing movies. She does a lot of stop-motion animation with her American Girl dolls and posts the videos online; they're very popular. So while she's excited, it's a not a huge surprise that she's selected to make a documentary about her city for a film festival in Seattle (it's called "CloudSong" but the timing and setup of it...it's SIFF, the Seattle Independent Film Festival). She has six weeks and a nice chunk of change from the festival to film. She shares the news with her friends right away, and they brainstorm ideas about how to make her film stand out.
Z jumps right into shooting different scenes. One of her friends is part of a band, and they agree to cover "Singing in the Rain" for it. Her other friends are on board to help her, too. But Z is so focused on the contest that she lets a few other things slide, like the school project she's working on with her best friend, Lauren (group projects SUCK). Lauren and some of Z's other friends feel pushed to the side, and until Z realizes that she can't just live in one aspect of her life and apologizes, they're annoyed with her. Z finds a way to balance all of her interests with the contest, and is able to put together a rough shoot of what she has. She invites her friends, online and in Seattle, to watch it together.
Z's friends agree that it's very well-shot, but there's something off about most of the footage. It feels more like a commercial for Seattle. It doesn't feel like it has Z's touch on it. Some of the scenes, like of her friend's band performing in the rain, do feel authentic and unique though. Z accepts the constructive criticism well, and thinks about how she can improve her film. She wants to tell not just A story, but HER story. Z re-edits what she's filmed and gets some more footage, changing her focus to being more "a day in the life" from her perspective. When she's satisfied with her film, she submits Zeattle and waits for the results of the contest.
A short time later, Z gets the news that she won second place! (First went to someone who did a documentary focusing on the Seattle Underground.) Her film will be shown at the film festival! It's not first place so it doesn't have the prize money she was hoping to donate to her school's AV club, but she's going to have her work shown in a real film festival! When the big day arrives, Z even gets interviewed on the red carpet. With this under her belt, Z can hardly wait to see what happens next.
Misc
Dedicated to Keiran Cook, "a true American Girl and an excellent first reader."
This book is very fast-paced. Z and her friends are all very energetic and seem to be doing everything at top speed. Makes it a very fast and engaging read.
A lot of the mentions of Seattle fit pretty well with the city. The only thing that really stood out to me as not Seattle was how many people were using umbrellas. Most of us in the greater Seattle area have sort of given up on umbrellas and don't bother unless it's really pouring or we're dressed up for something; it's usually people from out-of-town with umbrellas. Since the rain we usually have is fairly light drizzle and it's often breezy, umbrellas aren't as common as you might expect. So while it makes sense for Z to have rain gear for her camera equipment, people carrying them is a bit odder.
Z has a dalmatian named Popcorn.
Z's mom probably teaches at Seattle Pacific University. They live on Queen Anne hill and her university is close to their house--SPU's on Queen Anne.
Z's friends are a fairly diverse group; she's Korean, one friend is Hispanic, one lives in London (online friend), one uses a wheelchair (also an online friend; they all met at a con). But it's not shoved in your face, and just comes up naturally. Plus the characters are all well-rounded. For example, one girl isn't just the girl in the wheelchair; she's the girl who loves to make online videos and plays basketball too.
An Asian character in Seattle makes a lot of sense: being closer to Asia than the East Coast, there are a lot of people here of Asian descent. Just in my family, I have three aunts, an uncle, three first cousins, a brother-in-law, two nieces, a nephew, and four first cousins once removed who are all or part Korean, Vietnamese, or Filipino. Some were actually born in Asia, some have been here their whole lives.
Z's best friend plays soccer and her favorite soccer ball is bright green. It should have been a Sounders ball; Seattle's pro soccer team colors are "rave green" (a sort of kelly green), "Sounder blue" (a sort of slightly greyish royal blue), and "Cascade shale" (dark grey, almost black).
It's so weird to read about American Girl dolls in an American Girl book.
There are a lot of videos in the style of Z's on the American Girl Youtube channel here.
Summary
Pacific Northwest resident Suzanne "Z" Yang loves making movies. Her mother teaches film at a nearby university and her dad's a computer expert, so she has great resources to help her with planning, shooting, and editing movies. She does a lot of stop-motion animation with her American Girl dolls and posts the videos online; they're very popular. So while she's excited, it's a not a huge surprise that she's selected to make a documentary about her city for a film festival in Seattle (it's called "CloudSong" but the timing and setup of it...it's SIFF, the Seattle Independent Film Festival). She has six weeks and a nice chunk of change from the festival to film. She shares the news with her friends right away, and they brainstorm ideas about how to make her film stand out.
Z jumps right into shooting different scenes. One of her friends is part of a band, and they agree to cover "Singing in the Rain" for it. Her other friends are on board to help her, too. But Z is so focused on the contest that she lets a few other things slide, like the school project she's working on with her best friend, Lauren (group projects SUCK). Lauren and some of Z's other friends feel pushed to the side, and until Z realizes that she can't just live in one aspect of her life and apologizes, they're annoyed with her. Z finds a way to balance all of her interests with the contest, and is able to put together a rough shoot of what she has. She invites her friends, online and in Seattle, to watch it together.
Z's friends agree that it's very well-shot, but there's something off about most of the footage. It feels more like a commercial for Seattle. It doesn't feel like it has Z's touch on it. Some of the scenes, like of her friend's band performing in the rain, do feel authentic and unique though. Z accepts the constructive criticism well, and thinks about how she can improve her film. She wants to tell not just A story, but HER story. Z re-edits what she's filmed and gets some more footage, changing her focus to being more "a day in the life" from her perspective. When she's satisfied with her film, she submits Zeattle and waits for the results of the contest.
A short time later, Z gets the news that she won second place! (First went to someone who did a documentary focusing on the Seattle Underground.) Her film will be shown at the film festival! It's not first place so it doesn't have the prize money she was hoping to donate to her school's AV club, but she's going to have her work shown in a real film festival! When the big day arrives, Z even gets interviewed on the red carpet. With this under her belt, Z can hardly wait to see what happens next.
Misc
Dedicated to Keiran Cook, "a true American Girl and an excellent first reader."
This book is very fast-paced. Z and her friends are all very energetic and seem to be doing everything at top speed. Makes it a very fast and engaging read.
A lot of the mentions of Seattle fit pretty well with the city. The only thing that really stood out to me as not Seattle was how many people were using umbrellas. Most of us in the greater Seattle area have sort of given up on umbrellas and don't bother unless it's really pouring or we're dressed up for something; it's usually people from out-of-town with umbrellas. Since the rain we usually have is fairly light drizzle and it's often breezy, umbrellas aren't as common as you might expect. So while it makes sense for Z to have rain gear for her camera equipment, people carrying them is a bit odder.
Z has a dalmatian named Popcorn.
Z's mom probably teaches at Seattle Pacific University. They live on Queen Anne hill and her university is close to their house--SPU's on Queen Anne.
Z's friends are a fairly diverse group; she's Korean, one friend is Hispanic, one lives in London (online friend), one uses a wheelchair (also an online friend; they all met at a con). But it's not shoved in your face, and just comes up naturally. Plus the characters are all well-rounded. For example, one girl isn't just the girl in the wheelchair; she's the girl who loves to make online videos and plays basketball too.
An Asian character in Seattle makes a lot of sense: being closer to Asia than the East Coast, there are a lot of people here of Asian descent. Just in my family, I have three aunts, an uncle, three first cousins, a brother-in-law, two nieces, a nephew, and four first cousins once removed who are all or part Korean, Vietnamese, or Filipino. Some were actually born in Asia, some have been here their whole lives.
Z's best friend plays soccer and her favorite soccer ball is bright green. It should have been a Sounders ball; Seattle's pro soccer team colors are "rave green" (a sort of kelly green), "Sounder blue" (a sort of slightly greyish royal blue), and "Cascade shale" (dark grey, almost black).
It's so weird to read about American Girl dolls in an American Girl book.
There are a lot of videos in the style of Z's on the American Girl Youtube channel here.
10/23/17
Contemporary Character 2017: A Song for the Season
Published: 2017. Author: Kellen Hertz. Cover design Angela Jun.
Summary
Following an exhilarating performance at Belle Starr’s final stop in her world tour, Tenney and Logan find themselves gaining more and more internet fame—enough to justify their own, much smaller tour. They’ll play five locations around Nashville the week before Christmas, returning home Christmas Eve. Tenney is excited, but sad she’ll be missing out on some of her holiday traditions and time with her friends, mom, and siblings (her dad is coming, as is their manager). Logan is more reserved, worried about Jude. But they set out optimistic.
The first performance is a nightmare. The sound system goes haywire, and by the time it’s fixed, half their allotted time is gone and much of the audience has left. Tenneyand Logan power through, bringing back some viewers, but are understandably disappointed with how things went. The next performance has a hitch as well: they’re double-booked with a children’s choir. They work out singing some songs with them, which delights both the younger children and a set of sisters who drove a long way to see them. Zane gives the sisters tickets to their next performance, which will be in a proper concert hall, unlike the two previous bookings. That one goes well, aside from Logan slipping up a few times. Well, and Tenney snapping at him on stage about it (away from the microphone, fortunately).
Logan’s been so tense and withdrawn during the trip, no matter what Tenney does to draw him out of his shell (maybe leave him alone for half a second?). And one evening Tenney overhears her dad and her manager discussing how if Tenney and Logan don’t stop getting on each other’s nerves, maybe they’re not ready to record an album. Tenney tries to find a time to talk to Logan, but it never seems right. Finally, on the way to their last venue Christmas Eve, she gets her chance...when the van gets stranded in a snowstorm (her dad walks to get help while their manager tries to flag down a passing car). Logan reveals that he’s upset not just because of his brother, but because he figured his dad had so much fun touring that he rarely visits, but seeing how much of it is draining and grueling makes him wonder how his dad can choose that over his family.
By the time the group gets towed into town, Tenney and Logan have made up. But while the fix is relatively simple, the shop is backed up and the snow has closed a main road. They’re stranded until at least the morning. The group checks into a hotel, worried about how they’ll spend Christmas. Tenney decides to make the best of things, and with the okay of the hotel owners, her dad, the manager, and Logan, she and Logan put on a performance right in the lobby for other stranded travelers.
The morning greets the group with a working car and clear roads. They’re all able to make it back in time to spend at least most of Christmas with their loved ones.
Misc
Dedicated to Mikayla, Kaiya, Owen, and Kieran.
Aubrey wants to learn to play another instrument, because she only knows accordion. I understand wanting to expand her repertoire, but accordion is hard! If she’s good enough to say “only accordion” she must be really good.
One concert is in Franklin, TN. I have a fridge magnet from there, with (fake) ladybugs on it.
We stayed in hotels on Christmas Eve in 2014 and 2015. Both times the hotels had festive decorations, not dusty relics like in this book, and last year the staff put a stocking on everyone’s room with some treat so inside. We use that stocking for our pets now. That hotel was in Washington, the 2014 one in Texas.
Summary
Following an exhilarating performance at Belle Starr’s final stop in her world tour, Tenney and Logan find themselves gaining more and more internet fame—enough to justify their own, much smaller tour. They’ll play five locations around Nashville the week before Christmas, returning home Christmas Eve. Tenney is excited, but sad she’ll be missing out on some of her holiday traditions and time with her friends, mom, and siblings (her dad is coming, as is their manager). Logan is more reserved, worried about Jude. But they set out optimistic.
The first performance is a nightmare. The sound system goes haywire, and by the time it’s fixed, half their allotted time is gone and much of the audience has left. Tenneyand Logan power through, bringing back some viewers, but are understandably disappointed with how things went. The next performance has a hitch as well: they’re double-booked with a children’s choir. They work out singing some songs with them, which delights both the younger children and a set of sisters who drove a long way to see them. Zane gives the sisters tickets to their next performance, which will be in a proper concert hall, unlike the two previous bookings. That one goes well, aside from Logan slipping up a few times. Well, and Tenney snapping at him on stage about it (away from the microphone, fortunately).
Logan’s been so tense and withdrawn during the trip, no matter what Tenney does to draw him out of his shell (maybe leave him alone for half a second?). And one evening Tenney overhears her dad and her manager discussing how if Tenney and Logan don’t stop getting on each other’s nerves, maybe they’re not ready to record an album. Tenney tries to find a time to talk to Logan, but it never seems right. Finally, on the way to their last venue Christmas Eve, she gets her chance...when the van gets stranded in a snowstorm (her dad walks to get help while their manager tries to flag down a passing car). Logan reveals that he’s upset not just because of his brother, but because he figured his dad had so much fun touring that he rarely visits, but seeing how much of it is draining and grueling makes him wonder how his dad can choose that over his family.
By the time the group gets towed into town, Tenney and Logan have made up. But while the fix is relatively simple, the shop is backed up and the snow has closed a main road. They’re stranded until at least the morning. The group checks into a hotel, worried about how they’ll spend Christmas. Tenney decides to make the best of things, and with the okay of the hotel owners, her dad, the manager, and Logan, she and Logan put on a performance right in the lobby for other stranded travelers.
The morning greets the group with a working car and clear roads. They’re all able to make it back in time to spend at least most of Christmas with their loved ones.
Misc
Dedicated to Mikayla, Kaiya, Owen, and Kieran.
Aubrey wants to learn to play another instrument, because she only knows accordion. I understand wanting to expand her repertoire, but accordion is hard! If she’s good enough to say “only accordion” she must be really good.
One concert is in Franklin, TN. I have a fridge magnet from there, with (fake) ladybugs on it.
We stayed in hotels on Christmas Eve in 2014 and 2015. Both times the hotels had festive decorations, not dusty relics like in this book, and last year the staff put a stocking on everyone’s room with some treat so inside. We use that stocking for our pets now. That hotel was in Washington, the 2014 one in Texas.
10/16/17
Contemporary Character 2017: Tenney Shares the Stage
Published: 2017. Author: Kellen Hertz. Cover illustration: Juliana Kolesova and Sonya Sones
Summary
Tenney and Logan are starting to mesh well as a duo finally--not perfectly, but with help from Portia and encouragement from Zane, they're able to bring out each other's good qualities rather than antagonize each other. They're meeting more often, despite Logan's odd insistence on not being able to work certain days or times. The turning point seems to be when Tenney writes out some frustrated lyrics to go with a song Logan wrote...not very vaguely describing how he annoys her. Logan responds with a second verse about how Tenney annoys Logan. The song's really good though, and they have fun playing it together. It ends up showing them how to work together.
But just when things are going so right, Logan fails to show up to a meeting with Zane and Portia to perform their new song. He's not just late, he never comes. Tenney is surprised to find herself wanting to defend Logan and explain his absence, insistently reminding the adults how much Logan loves music. Soon the reason for Logan's disappearance is revealed: he was arrested for shoplifting.
Tenney and Portia go to Logan's house (Tenney and her father had given Logan a ride home a few days before). Logan's not there, but his mother and younger brother are. Logan's mother explains: Logan's brother had had an asthma attack, and when Logan went to pick up his new inhaler at the pharmacy, he'd forgotten his wallet. He intended to pay the pharmacist back later, and thought he had an understanding with her, but when he took the medicine another worker saw and reported it as theft. It turns out that Logan's dad has been on a music tour for months, and might not be back for another few months. Even worse, he won't be paid until the end of the tour. Logan's been trying to help by watching his younger brother and even working as a janitor at his mom's hospital (his mom is a nurse; she's been picking up extra shifts). Tenney tries to be understanding but does an imperfect job of it, and Logan's embarrassed of his circumstances. He ends up quitting the duo.
Tenney is more upset than she expected she'd be. It was only recently that she never wanted to see Logan again, but now that she knows him better and sees how well they work together, she can't imagine performing without him. Her parents and Zane tell her to move on, because Logan either can't or won't focus enough on his music, and will hold Tenney back. But Tenney just has to try once more. Her older brother Mason understands, and drives Tenney around to look for Logan. She finds him at the hospital where he works, and just before his shift is over she meets a young girl with a chronic condition (it's not specified what she has). Logan's told the girl, Alice, about Tenney because Alice is one of Tenney's biggest fans. Meeting Alice gives Tenney an idea for fixing everything.
With Mason's help, Tenney gets permission from the hospital to put on an acoustic session for the sick children there. Logan is happy to agree. Tenney doesn't tell him that she's inviting her parents, Logan's mom, Zane, Portia, and just for good measure, Belle Starr (she's probably too busy, plus Logan's quitting meant cancelling a schedule gig opening for one of Starr's private shows in Nashville). Of course, she doesn't tell anyone besides Mason that Logan's going to be there. They're all peeved when they find out, but it's too late to cancel with all the hopeful children waiting for there performance. After it's over, everyone agrees that with a little help (for example, Logan's brother can come to the Grants' music store for rehearsals and play with Aubrey so that Logan doesn't need to baby-sit) Tenney and Logan are back together.
Misc
Dedicated to "John--I love sharing our song with you."
The Southern (or "Southun" as my Georgia-born granny would say) really shows up a lot in this book. Lots of y'all and Southern foods are mentioned, more so than in the previous two books.
Another thing that shows up more in this book is Tenney's habit of assuming she knows what people are thinking and forging ahead with those assumptions, which are often wrong. As in, "Logan must be upset because of X; I'll try to reassure him about X without asking if that's actually the problem."
To her credit, Tenney does realize that she has a pretty privileged life: a loving, supportive, and stable family, and the money and opportunity to foster her natural talent.
Tenney's younger sister Aubrey plays accordion for one of the songs during the acoustic performance. I can't quite imagine how accordion would sound with guitar, but I'm not very musical. The audience loves it, and Aubrey is apparently very good at accordion.
Summary
Tenney and Logan are starting to mesh well as a duo finally--not perfectly, but with help from Portia and encouragement from Zane, they're able to bring out each other's good qualities rather than antagonize each other. They're meeting more often, despite Logan's odd insistence on not being able to work certain days or times. The turning point seems to be when Tenney writes out some frustrated lyrics to go with a song Logan wrote...not very vaguely describing how he annoys her. Logan responds with a second verse about how Tenney annoys Logan. The song's really good though, and they have fun playing it together. It ends up showing them how to work together.
But just when things are going so right, Logan fails to show up to a meeting with Zane and Portia to perform their new song. He's not just late, he never comes. Tenney is surprised to find herself wanting to defend Logan and explain his absence, insistently reminding the adults how much Logan loves music. Soon the reason for Logan's disappearance is revealed: he was arrested for shoplifting.
Tenney and Portia go to Logan's house (Tenney and her father had given Logan a ride home a few days before). Logan's not there, but his mother and younger brother are. Logan's mother explains: Logan's brother had had an asthma attack, and when Logan went to pick up his new inhaler at the pharmacy, he'd forgotten his wallet. He intended to pay the pharmacist back later, and thought he had an understanding with her, but when he took the medicine another worker saw and reported it as theft. It turns out that Logan's dad has been on a music tour for months, and might not be back for another few months. Even worse, he won't be paid until the end of the tour. Logan's been trying to help by watching his younger brother and even working as a janitor at his mom's hospital (his mom is a nurse; she's been picking up extra shifts). Tenney tries to be understanding but does an imperfect job of it, and Logan's embarrassed of his circumstances. He ends up quitting the duo.
Tenney is more upset than she expected she'd be. It was only recently that she never wanted to see Logan again, but now that she knows him better and sees how well they work together, she can't imagine performing without him. Her parents and Zane tell her to move on, because Logan either can't or won't focus enough on his music, and will hold Tenney back. But Tenney just has to try once more. Her older brother Mason understands, and drives Tenney around to look for Logan. She finds him at the hospital where he works, and just before his shift is over she meets a young girl with a chronic condition (it's not specified what she has). Logan's told the girl, Alice, about Tenney because Alice is one of Tenney's biggest fans. Meeting Alice gives Tenney an idea for fixing everything.
With Mason's help, Tenney gets permission from the hospital to put on an acoustic session for the sick children there. Logan is happy to agree. Tenney doesn't tell him that she's inviting her parents, Logan's mom, Zane, Portia, and just for good measure, Belle Starr (she's probably too busy, plus Logan's quitting meant cancelling a schedule gig opening for one of Starr's private shows in Nashville). Of course, she doesn't tell anyone besides Mason that Logan's going to be there. They're all peeved when they find out, but it's too late to cancel with all the hopeful children waiting for there performance. After it's over, everyone agrees that with a little help (for example, Logan's brother can come to the Grants' music store for rehearsals and play with Aubrey so that Logan doesn't need to baby-sit) Tenney and Logan are back together.
Misc
Dedicated to "John--I love sharing our song with you."
The Southern (or "Southun" as my Georgia-born granny would say) really shows up a lot in this book. Lots of y'all and Southern foods are mentioned, more so than in the previous two books.
Another thing that shows up more in this book is Tenney's habit of assuming she knows what people are thinking and forging ahead with those assumptions, which are often wrong. As in, "Logan must be upset because of X; I'll try to reassure him about X without asking if that's actually the problem."
To her credit, Tenney does realize that she has a pretty privileged life: a loving, supportive, and stable family, and the money and opportunity to foster her natural talent.
Tenney's younger sister Aubrey plays accordion for one of the songs during the acoustic performance. I can't quite imagine how accordion would sound with guitar, but I'm not very musical. The audience loves it, and Aubrey is apparently very good at accordion.
10/9/17
Contemporary Character 2017: Tenney in the Key of Friendship
Published: 2017. Author: Kellen Hertz. Cover illustration: Juliana Kolesova and Sonya Sones
Summary
Tenney's excited to start recording her songs in a professional studio. There's a steep learning curve though; things that she thinks sound perfect aren't quite right and need tweaking from Zane Cale (the recording person who sought her out) and Portia. Then Zane pairs her with Logan Everett, a drummer her age. Logan seems to think pretty highly of himself, barely giving Tenney the time of day while taking over her songs with his drumming.
Tenney's also distracted by the fundraiser Jaya's working on. Jaya's cousin lived in Bangladesh, and her school was badly damaged in a storm. They need three thousand dollars for the necessary repairs, or the school year won't be able to continue. And if all the teachers leave to seek work elsewhere, there might not be school the next year either. Tenney wants to help Jaya, but she's so busy with her songwriting that she can't devote the time needed. Jaya ends up enlisting the help of Holliday, of all people. While Tenney acknowledges that Holliday is great at organizing things, she can't quite over Holliday's mean streak. And then Jaya agrees with Holliday that Logan might improve Tenney's music.
Fuming at the idea of Logan touching her songs, Tenney tries to get sympathy from her family and from Portia, but they all remind her that much of music is collaborative, and encourage her to set aside the abrasiveness and irritation from her first meeting with Logan and really try to listen to his music. Tenney has to admit that he has some good ideas; the drum beat that he sent her via text is a good fit for her song. She takes Portia's advice to focus on the music rather than the tension between her and Logan, and the next recording session goes much more smoothly. They get the new song sorted out, and everyone agrees it sounds great.
But then Zane mentions the date of the performance he has booked for Tenney and Logan: the same day as the book sale fundraiser for Jaya's cousin. Tenney doesn't want to screw up her chances with music, so she doesn't tell Zane about the time conflict, reasoning that she can just be late to the fundraiser. She's sure Jaya will understand, but Jaya gets very terse with Tenney when she tells her about it.
The performance goes well, despite Logan playing faster than they had practiced. He says he was reading the crowd and responding to what the people wanted, but Tenney feels like he was competing against her rather than playing with her. Still, she had fun playing, and even gets to talk to her younger sister's favorite musician, Belle Star, and get some advice about keeping friendships through all the hard work. And it's then that Tenney realizes she's stayed too late. She rushes out to her dad's car, but by the time they arrive at the book sale, it's been over for half an hour and everyone's cleaned up and gone home. Tenney calls Jaya and leaves a message, but Jaya doesn't respond. After a while, Tenney takes her dog on a walk to Jaya's house. She starts out apologizing fine, but then it deteriorates into an "I'm sorry you're mad" rather than "I'm sorry I screwed up" apology. Jaya says they need to accept that since Tenney's been "discovered" she doesn't have as much time for friendships, and their friendship will have to take a backseat.
Tenney is surprised to find guidance in Holliday, who points out that Jaya feels ignored, and she's worried about her cousin, who she wasn't able to help as much as she wanted (they only raised a third of the needed amount from the book sale). Holliday suggests Tenney do something to show Jaya that she cares about the things (and people) Jaya cares about. Tenney thinks if she puts on a benefit concert at her dad's music store, she can raise the remaining amount. Given the limited number of people who can fit in the store, the tickets would need to be $15 each, a lot for a benefit concert. But maybe between Tenney have personally talked with Belle Star and Holliday's dad being vice president of Star's recording company, they can get her to come. That would be worth $15! Jaya is touched and happy that Tenney is showing such interest in helping her cousin. And Holliday is ready to help organize. Together, the three girls are sure they'll raise the money easily. Portia will play in the concert too. Tenney even reaches out to Logan to have him perform with her. Due to some rude things Tenney said (both intentionally and unintentionally), Logan says he'll perform to help the cause, but then he and Tenney are going back to solo. She happily agrees--Logan's not the most polite person, either.
Unfortunately, Belle Star is touring out of the country, and can't make the show. But she does post about on Twitter and encourages her fans to go--resulting in more people showing up than can safely fit inside the building! Quickly, they set up in the parking lot, allowing more people to see the show--and buy tickets to rebuild the school. The crowd loves the music, and they raise $5,000, more than enough to rebuild the school. Jaya's cousin sends a thank you video of her class singing Tenney's newest song, inspired by her friendship with Jaya (Jaya's mom recorded the performance). Between the success of the concert and the publicity from Belle Star, Zane says that they should start booking small venues, a step on the way to a recording contract. "They"--he wants Tenney and Logan to be a package deal. When Tenney sees that Logan has already signed the contract (her parents looked it over to be sure Tenney was being treated fairly), she agrees. She and Logan are learning to get along, and to play well together. She's excited to see how far they'll go.
Misc
Dedicated to "Mom and Dad, who taught me to sing my own song, and Katie, who was always there to listen to it."
A boy is added to a traditionally-female group (American Girl dolls; Logan's available as a doll), from the South, with blonde hair, named Logan... Remind you of anyone? Louisville isn't even three hours from Nashville.
This book is better about people liking different styles of music than the first one. The big performance that Tenney and Logan have is even at the home of the pop star Tenney's little sister likes, and Tenney is a bit star-struck by her. The pop star's music isn't Tenney's taste, but she's still a professional musician like Tenney wants to be. Tenney also specifically mentions liking Taylor Swift.
Summary
Tenney's excited to start recording her songs in a professional studio. There's a steep learning curve though; things that she thinks sound perfect aren't quite right and need tweaking from Zane Cale (the recording person who sought her out) and Portia. Then Zane pairs her with Logan Everett, a drummer her age. Logan seems to think pretty highly of himself, barely giving Tenney the time of day while taking over her songs with his drumming.
Tenney's also distracted by the fundraiser Jaya's working on. Jaya's cousin lived in Bangladesh, and her school was badly damaged in a storm. They need three thousand dollars for the necessary repairs, or the school year won't be able to continue. And if all the teachers leave to seek work elsewhere, there might not be school the next year either. Tenney wants to help Jaya, but she's so busy with her songwriting that she can't devote the time needed. Jaya ends up enlisting the help of Holliday, of all people. While Tenney acknowledges that Holliday is great at organizing things, she can't quite over Holliday's mean streak. And then Jaya agrees with Holliday that Logan might improve Tenney's music.
Fuming at the idea of Logan touching her songs, Tenney tries to get sympathy from her family and from Portia, but they all remind her that much of music is collaborative, and encourage her to set aside the abrasiveness and irritation from her first meeting with Logan and really try to listen to his music. Tenney has to admit that he has some good ideas; the drum beat that he sent her via text is a good fit for her song. She takes Portia's advice to focus on the music rather than the tension between her and Logan, and the next recording session goes much more smoothly. They get the new song sorted out, and everyone agrees it sounds great.
But then Zane mentions the date of the performance he has booked for Tenney and Logan: the same day as the book sale fundraiser for Jaya's cousin. Tenney doesn't want to screw up her chances with music, so she doesn't tell Zane about the time conflict, reasoning that she can just be late to the fundraiser. She's sure Jaya will understand, but Jaya gets very terse with Tenney when she tells her about it.
The performance goes well, despite Logan playing faster than they had practiced. He says he was reading the crowd and responding to what the people wanted, but Tenney feels like he was competing against her rather than playing with her. Still, she had fun playing, and even gets to talk to her younger sister's favorite musician, Belle Star, and get some advice about keeping friendships through all the hard work. And it's then that Tenney realizes she's stayed too late. She rushes out to her dad's car, but by the time they arrive at the book sale, it's been over for half an hour and everyone's cleaned up and gone home. Tenney calls Jaya and leaves a message, but Jaya doesn't respond. After a while, Tenney takes her dog on a walk to Jaya's house. She starts out apologizing fine, but then it deteriorates into an "I'm sorry you're mad" rather than "I'm sorry I screwed up" apology. Jaya says they need to accept that since Tenney's been "discovered" she doesn't have as much time for friendships, and their friendship will have to take a backseat.
Tenney is surprised to find guidance in Holliday, who points out that Jaya feels ignored, and she's worried about her cousin, who she wasn't able to help as much as she wanted (they only raised a third of the needed amount from the book sale). Holliday suggests Tenney do something to show Jaya that she cares about the things (and people) Jaya cares about. Tenney thinks if she puts on a benefit concert at her dad's music store, she can raise the remaining amount. Given the limited number of people who can fit in the store, the tickets would need to be $15 each, a lot for a benefit concert. But maybe between Tenney have personally talked with Belle Star and Holliday's dad being vice president of Star's recording company, they can get her to come. That would be worth $15! Jaya is touched and happy that Tenney is showing such interest in helping her cousin. And Holliday is ready to help organize. Together, the three girls are sure they'll raise the money easily. Portia will play in the concert too. Tenney even reaches out to Logan to have him perform with her. Due to some rude things Tenney said (both intentionally and unintentionally), Logan says he'll perform to help the cause, but then he and Tenney are going back to solo. She happily agrees--Logan's not the most polite person, either.
Unfortunately, Belle Star is touring out of the country, and can't make the show. But she does post about on Twitter and encourages her fans to go--resulting in more people showing up than can safely fit inside the building! Quickly, they set up in the parking lot, allowing more people to see the show--and buy tickets to rebuild the school. The crowd loves the music, and they raise $5,000, more than enough to rebuild the school. Jaya's cousin sends a thank you video of her class singing Tenney's newest song, inspired by her friendship with Jaya (Jaya's mom recorded the performance). Between the success of the concert and the publicity from Belle Star, Zane says that they should start booking small venues, a step on the way to a recording contract. "They"--he wants Tenney and Logan to be a package deal. When Tenney sees that Logan has already signed the contract (her parents looked it over to be sure Tenney was being treated fairly), she agrees. She and Logan are learning to get along, and to play well together. She's excited to see how far they'll go.
Misc
Dedicated to "Mom and Dad, who taught me to sing my own song, and Katie, who was always there to listen to it."
A boy is added to a traditionally-female group (American Girl dolls; Logan's available as a doll), from the South, with blonde hair, named Logan... Remind you of anyone? Louisville isn't even three hours from Nashville.
This book is better about people liking different styles of music than the first one. The big performance that Tenney and Logan have is even at the home of the pop star Tenney's little sister likes, and Tenney is a bit star-struck by her. The pop star's music isn't Tenney's taste, but she's still a professional musician like Tenney wants to be. Tenney also specifically mentions liking Taylor Swift.
10/2/17
Contemporary Character 2017: Tenney
Published: 2017. Author: Kellen Hertz. Cover illustration: Juliana Kolesova and Sonya Sones
Summary
To say that twelve-year-old Tennyson "Tenney" Grant comes from a musical family might be an understatement: her father plays all manner of stringed instruments, her mother plays autoharp and sings, older brother Mason plays mandolin and drums (and likes repairing and working on electric instruments), younger sister Aubrey is learning accordion, and Tenney plays guitar and banjo, and writes songs and sings. Her dad is a member of a band, and various members of the family have been in it at times. Currently Tenney does backup vocals, and Mason plays in it too. Living in Nashville, TN is a great place for a family so into the music scene. There are tons of opportunities, even down to organizing a jamboree with the senior center through Tenney's middle school.
Tenney gets a huge opportunity (and surprise) when the band's lead singer suddenly quits before a performance. She volunteers to sing lead, and while it doesn't go perfectly, once Tenney gains some confidence she has a blast and does a great job. Not only that, but a representative from a record label heard her perform and invites Tenney to sing in a showcase at the Bluebird Cafe--the same place singers like Taylor Swift got started, where Garth Brooks and Faith Hill have played. Tenney's elated at the chance to break into the professional music scene, but her parents are more trepidation. They're not sure she's old enough.
The next time Tenney's class meets with the senior center residents about the Jamboree, Tenney ends up talking about the showcase with her senior partner, Portia. Portia plays guitar too, and encourages Tenney that the most important about music isn't age or this one particular showcase, but finding her voice. Tenney has a melody for a new song, but can't find the right lyrics. Maybe doing so will help her find her voice.
Tenney's mom tells her about the time she had a potential record contract, and how the label wanted to change her (including telling her to lose weight not for health but for show). Her own mother even signed over the rights to the songs she'd written, so even if Tenney's mom had wanted to sing her own songs, she wouldn't be able to. Not being able to be herself turned off of the music business, and is why she's so reluctant to let Tenney get so involved at a young age. But if Tenney agrees to take things one step at a time, listen to her parents' guidance, and remember what's really important in life, she can perform at the Bluebird Cafe. The performance is exhilarating, but has a rough start. The man from the record label says that someday, probably soon, Tenney will be ready to sign, but for now she needs to mature as an artist. Tenney tries to focus on the positive (being able to perform, overcoming the difficult opening) but she'd let herself daydream about signing right then.
She's still down the day of the Jamboree, to the point that she doesn't want to perform. She tells Portia, who expresses surprise and disappointment; she loved Tenney's new song (even helped her fine-tune it). Then Tenney gets a big surprise: Portia will play instead. She's been reluctant to perform since a stroke, but not only is she good with music, she was a star in her day, performing under a stage name. She was famous enough that Tenney's mom recognizes Portia instantly when they meet. In fact, Tenney's favorite song was one of Portia's! And Portia has a request: she wants Tenney to get up on stage with her. Her confidence restored by the knowledge that a music legend thinks she's talented, Tenney agrees. The duo perform Portia's famous song, and Tenney does her own song again.
The next school day, Tenney learns that someone filmed the performance and posted it online. Her song has over ten thousand views, and counting! Other students are asking for her autograph, and when her album will come out. Maybe sooner than Tenney thinks: when she goes to her dad's music shop after school, the man from the record label is there. He saw Tenney's performance (Portia is a friend and he came to support her return to the stage) and figures that while she's not quite ready for the big time, if he doesn't sign her someone else will. After talking with her parents, Tenney agrees to accept his tutelage.
Misc
Dedicated to "John, who taught me how to listen, and for Kieran, who dances to his own beat."
Tenney's mom owns and operates a food truck.
There's a strong vibe of snobbery against pop music (for example, immature Aubrey liking a singer who her older siblings think is beneath them). I know it's not the same as classical, but it's popular for a reason--even if some of it (okay, a lot of it) isn't my taste, looking down on a huge subset of people for not liking music the "right" way or not liking "real" music bugs me. Especially since on the cover, Tenney looks like Taylor Swift.
Tenney first sings lead at a concert for a "neighborhood association." Sounds like an HOA thing. Not my cup of tea--when were looking for a house last year, there was one really nice one that we considered making an offer on. But then we found out that not only was it in an HOA neighborhood, the HOA recently elected new leadership that was about to significantly raise the dues and add a bunch of rules.
There's a little subplot with a Mean Girl, Holliday Hayes, who scoffs at Tenney's attempts to break into the music business because she's "nothing special." Holliday's own mother hears Tenney perform and starts going on about how if Holliday hadn't given up on her music and voice lessons, she could have cultivated her talent too. Tenney doesn't take the opportunity to gloat and instead points out Holliday's own talents, like the way she organized the Jamboree.
Mason is heartwarmingly supportive of his sister when the record agent seeks her out, volunteering information about her song writing and singing talents when Tenney is too stunned to talks herself up. Aubrey is helpful in her own seven-year-old way too; making a hairpiece with guitar picks for Tenney to wear at her debut.
Tenney's best friend Jaya is endlessly supportive and confident in Tenney's ability's as well. She's a gifted artist, and designs a logo for Tenney to use when she makes it big.
Summary
To say that twelve-year-old Tennyson "Tenney" Grant comes from a musical family might be an understatement: her father plays all manner of stringed instruments, her mother plays autoharp and sings, older brother Mason plays mandolin and drums (and likes repairing and working on electric instruments), younger sister Aubrey is learning accordion, and Tenney plays guitar and banjo, and writes songs and sings. Her dad is a member of a band, and various members of the family have been in it at times. Currently Tenney does backup vocals, and Mason plays in it too. Living in Nashville, TN is a great place for a family so into the music scene. There are tons of opportunities, even down to organizing a jamboree with the senior center through Tenney's middle school.
Tenney gets a huge opportunity (and surprise) when the band's lead singer suddenly quits before a performance. She volunteers to sing lead, and while it doesn't go perfectly, once Tenney gains some confidence she has a blast and does a great job. Not only that, but a representative from a record label heard her perform and invites Tenney to sing in a showcase at the Bluebird Cafe--the same place singers like Taylor Swift got started, where Garth Brooks and Faith Hill have played. Tenney's elated at the chance to break into the professional music scene, but her parents are more trepidation. They're not sure she's old enough.
The next time Tenney's class meets with the senior center residents about the Jamboree, Tenney ends up talking about the showcase with her senior partner, Portia. Portia plays guitar too, and encourages Tenney that the most important about music isn't age or this one particular showcase, but finding her voice. Tenney has a melody for a new song, but can't find the right lyrics. Maybe doing so will help her find her voice.
Tenney's mom tells her about the time she had a potential record contract, and how the label wanted to change her (including telling her to lose weight not for health but for show). Her own mother even signed over the rights to the songs she'd written, so even if Tenney's mom had wanted to sing her own songs, she wouldn't be able to. Not being able to be herself turned off of the music business, and is why she's so reluctant to let Tenney get so involved at a young age. But if Tenney agrees to take things one step at a time, listen to her parents' guidance, and remember what's really important in life, she can perform at the Bluebird Cafe. The performance is exhilarating, but has a rough start. The man from the record label says that someday, probably soon, Tenney will be ready to sign, but for now she needs to mature as an artist. Tenney tries to focus on the positive (being able to perform, overcoming the difficult opening) but she'd let herself daydream about signing right then.
She's still down the day of the Jamboree, to the point that she doesn't want to perform. She tells Portia, who expresses surprise and disappointment; she loved Tenney's new song (even helped her fine-tune it). Then Tenney gets a big surprise: Portia will play instead. She's been reluctant to perform since a stroke, but not only is she good with music, she was a star in her day, performing under a stage name. She was famous enough that Tenney's mom recognizes Portia instantly when they meet. In fact, Tenney's favorite song was one of Portia's! And Portia has a request: she wants Tenney to get up on stage with her. Her confidence restored by the knowledge that a music legend thinks she's talented, Tenney agrees. The duo perform Portia's famous song, and Tenney does her own song again.
The next school day, Tenney learns that someone filmed the performance and posted it online. Her song has over ten thousand views, and counting! Other students are asking for her autograph, and when her album will come out. Maybe sooner than Tenney thinks: when she goes to her dad's music shop after school, the man from the record label is there. He saw Tenney's performance (Portia is a friend and he came to support her return to the stage) and figures that while she's not quite ready for the big time, if he doesn't sign her someone else will. After talking with her parents, Tenney agrees to accept his tutelage.
Misc
Dedicated to "John, who taught me how to listen, and for Kieran, who dances to his own beat."
Tenney's mom owns and operates a food truck.
There's a strong vibe of snobbery against pop music (for example, immature Aubrey liking a singer who her older siblings think is beneath them). I know it's not the same as classical, but it's popular for a reason--even if some of it (okay, a lot of it) isn't my taste, looking down on a huge subset of people for not liking music the "right" way or not liking "real" music bugs me. Especially since on the cover, Tenney looks like Taylor Swift.
Tenney first sings lead at a concert for a "neighborhood association." Sounds like an HOA thing. Not my cup of tea--when were looking for a house last year, there was one really nice one that we considered making an offer on. But then we found out that not only was it in an HOA neighborhood, the HOA recently elected new leadership that was about to significantly raise the dues and add a bunch of rules.
There's a little subplot with a Mean Girl, Holliday Hayes, who scoffs at Tenney's attempts to break into the music business because she's "nothing special." Holliday's own mother hears Tenney perform and starts going on about how if Holliday hadn't given up on her music and voice lessons, she could have cultivated her talent too. Tenney doesn't take the opportunity to gloat and instead points out Holliday's own talents, like the way she organized the Jamboree.
Mason is heartwarmingly supportive of his sister when the record agent seeks her out, volunteering information about her song writing and singing talents when Tenney is too stunned to talks herself up. Aubrey is helpful in her own seven-year-old way too; making a hairpiece with guitar picks for Tenney to wear at her debut.
Tenney's best friend Jaya is endlessly supportive and confident in Tenney's ability's as well. She's a gifted artist, and designs a logo for Tenney to use when she makes it big.
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