Five Flavors of Dumb

Don't miss out on this one!!

3 words - READ THIS BOOK! Great story, interesting characters, not just for young adults. The premise and the cover reeled me in, but once I started reading I was hooked and I did not want the book to end. It's about high school, music, family, friendships, finding yourself, and much more! I don't want to spoil it by telling too much, you just have to read it yourself - you'll be glad you did!!

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Amazing

Well crafted story. This is one I am putting into my "recommend for my daughter" pile. Some language but I didn't find it to be excessive. I'm in my 30'syears and I fell in love with the book, i think the issues and relatioships the story deal with makes it appealing for teens and up.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

An addictive and inspiring read!

John could have made the band of high schoolers trying to make it big the set-up a whole book in and of itself, albeit a much less satisfying one. Instead of being a book all about the band, this is a book all about how Piper, their manager, deals with them. But it's also a book about Piper and her life at school and at home. Woven through her parents reactions to Dumb are Piper's reactions to her family. Her maternal grandparents (now deceased) were both deaf and very into deaf culture. They instilled a sense of pride in Piper, along with the sense that she has the ability to do anything she wants to do regardless of her lack of hearing. Piper's mother and brother are both fluent in ASL (American Sign Language), but her father does not sign at all. Her infant sister was born deaf. In her, Piper saw a kind of ally. Or, she did until her parents raided Piper's college fund to get her sister a cochlear implant (a surgically implanted device that can restore hearing to severely deaf persons). Betrayal and closing doors all in one. She hopes Dumb will be her ticket out of town and to the college of her dreams.

The juxtaposition of why Dumb's different members, Piper included, are in the band (money, fame, the music (said very seriously), and various crushes on other band members) cause problems. All the band drama keeps this from turning into a problem novel about a moderately severe deaf girl in a hearing family and high school. Though the fact that Piper is deaf comes up over and over and over again in her dealings with various people in the music business as well as with the band itself (and, sadly, her family), it is never Piper's defining characteristic, just as Kallie's skin color is never hers (though she is proud of her mother's self-proclaimed status as "the first African American to go grunge" (p160)*).

The best part about Five Flavors of Dumb really is Piper herself. She has such a strong voice, sense of herself, and talent for sarcasm. I also loved her developing relationship with the girls of Dumb, Tasha and Kallie. I LOVE great girl friendship books, and by the end this one totally fit the bill. And watching Piper's rock music education was fabulous (the Seattle setting helped a bit). I grew up listening to Hendrix and other musicians of that era, and I was in middle school and just getting into Nirvana when Kurt Cobain killed himself. I can't imagine coming to these musicians as a senior in high school. Seeing them through Piper and the rest of Dumb was like "meeting" them all over again.


Book source: ARC picked up at ALA


*Quotes and page numbers are from an uncorrected proof and may not match the published copy.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Inspiring

John tells the story of eighteen-year-old Piper, who is deaf, and becomes the unlikely manager of a rock band, Dumb. Crazy, right? A deaf girl, managing a band? Well, it doesn¿t seem crazy when you read it. Piper is a capable person, who is strong and determined. If only all of us in the hearing world were as confident and self assured as she is. She even manages to fuse these five very different personalities into a group that works together. The winner of the Schneider Family Book Award 2010. Highly recommended.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

great book if you like music

really enjoyed seeing life through a teenage deaf girl. it shows the difficulties she goes through with managing a band and daily life. she realize people are more than what they seem.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is marineclan territory

Yes this us marineclan territory. Leader is marinestar

I've never read a book with a deaf protagonist in it before. I a

I've never read a book with a deaf protagonist in it before. I also don't have any hearing disabilities, but author Antony John made me feel as though I might understand what its like to be deaf. I'm glad that the novel is written in first person because I got to feel all of Piper's emotion towards her deafness, family and band with her. Piper's someone trying hard to figure out where she fits in, not just at school, but at home too, which made her a very easy character to relate to. She's also extremely sarcastic, incredibly smart and very determined. She refuses to let her disability stop her from achieving what she wants, whether its getting into her dream college or managing her high school rock band.

I adore the relationship that Piper shares with her brother Finn, because its such a honest and realist one. They bicker and annoy each other just like siblings always do, but they also really care and look out for each other too. Finn is also quite mature for his age, which I found very refreshing, since so often younger characters can be rather obnoxious. I love how Piper's mom and dad are portrayed as well rounded characters. They come with their own set of problems, so they're not perfect, but they try to be active in their daughter's life, even when she doesn't want them to be. It's so nice to see a family that although a bit dysfunctional, genuinely do care about each other.

As for the band, I loved how each member of Dumb was so completely different. Early on it seems like everyone is just a stereotype, but as they spend more time together, you start to see different sides to all of them. I'm sure that everyone who reads the novel will find at least one band member they can relate to, if not more. My favorites were Ed and Tash. I adored Ed for his constant willingness to help Piper and Tash for her take no crap attitude towards life.

Since Five Flavors of Dumb is about a high school rock band in Seattle, I really appreciated all the musical references to artists like Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix. It added so much atmosphere to the novel, since these were musicians that not only changed an entire city, but the whole landscape of rock music.

The novel has a nice steady pace to it, which made it pretty hard to put down. I really did love everything about this book, I was even sad when I got to the last page because I wanted to spend so much more time with Piper and Dumb. Here's hoping for more...

I don't normally mention my favorite quote, but I really loved this one:
"Don't worry about wanting to change; start worrying when you don't feel like changing anymore. And in the meantime, enjoy every version of yourself you ever meet, because not everybody who discovers their true identity likes what they find." ~pg. 234

Five Flavors of Dumb

Best book ever! I couldn't put it down,and it told a story that is believable.

Great book

I just started this book today and i think that it is great i cant wait to see how it ends. Anyways i hope that all you peeps out there have a great time peace out yo

Loved it!

This book was such a good read, I myself am someone who absolutely loves music and reading this book I felt like we had a bond going on, me and the book. The main character Piper is deaf and currently in need of some major money thanks to her parents and her new sister, and a band in her school challenges her to to be their manager and make them and herself money. Everybody thinks thats it's ridiculous that someone who can't hear music is managing a band, but Piper is stronger then anybody thinks and surprises many people. Along the book new characters join in, and new friends are made and feelings that have been hidden are finally presented. You will fall in love with Piper and her friends (but not all of them). Everything about this book is great, the humor, the characters and their growing relationships, the family drama, and of course the music (We love you Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain). I would recommend this book to everybody.

Good

Good book a little cussing but its alright .p.s. i skyped with the author

Not a book to put aside

If it even slightly

Read this! AMAZING BOOK!! :)

This book was amazing. It took you into a world where your voice should be heard and can be heard. This is a book out overcoming your issues and breaking through.
This book is good for eleven years old and up. Its got a bit of romance and a music prospect...
Once again amazing book!

Title

The title refers to the five unique members of the band, Dumb, which is in this book. Geez people! I haven't even read the book and I can tell you that!

R

Not a good title

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Loved it :)

I definately reccomend this book! It has an awesome plot and twists -one of my favorite books so read it :D

Purchased as a gift - can't review.

Purchased as a gift - can't review.

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Love this book

This book is amazing because it compares life with music and it shows you that music is not just a beat its a story that anybody can read as long as they feel the song in their souls

Who knew dumb could taste so good?

I hesitated to read Five Flavors Of Dumb for many reasons. The cover seemed to cool to be true, and sometimes I find that intimidating! I read a lot of favorable reviews which you'd think that'd be a good thing, but oftentimes that makes me worry that I might have a defective gene and won't like it as much. Anyhow, safe to say, it was dumb of me to wait this long to pick up a copy because Five Flavors Of Dumb is everything but dumb. Piper makes for an excellent narrator - and can I say that I love her? She's a little intimidating at first - quick to argue, slow to apologize or say thank you, deaf but definitely capable of speaking her mind. Which makes it hard to know how exactly to approach her. Granted, I cannot blame her for feeling angry at her parents for giving her baby sister a chance to hear or her dad refusing to learn ASL at all. If anything, Piper is a little passive-aggressive - and when she's gets aggressive, she gets rather brutal in her honesty. Yet she starts to melt when she becomes the "mother hen" to the band members. Socializing outside her comfort zone changes Piper for the better, and it serves as a turning point in everyone's lives as they start to make compromises instead of war. Five Flavors Of Dumb is a little misleading in having you think there are only 5 flavors - or characters - to get to know. Prepare yourself to handle at least double that number. I think Antony John does an marvelous job at introducing each character and providing multiple facets to their personalities that literally blew me away. Piper's parents, for instance, almost steal the show away - and I desperately wanted to know more about them and their pasts. Her mom starts off as Piper's strong advocate, but slowly and unexpectedly turns against her. Her dad never seems to see Piper as Piper but someone disadvantaged, but sneakily redeems himself by the end. How many flavors is there of dumb? I think Five Flavors Of Dumb will definitely answer that question quite adequately, and I'm sure the answer will vary from sweetness to tartness to bitterness to melts-in-your-mouth-goodness. Not as edgy as I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone or teeny-bop as AUDREY, WAIT!, but just as enjoyable with a memorable narrator who can easily be the next best thing since Please Ignore Vera Dietz entered the scene.

Missy's Reads & Reviews

I'm going to try to write this review without gushing too much about how it's one of my favorite reads of the century. I'm also going to try to prevent myself from ranting about how a GUY excelled at writing a book from a GIRL's POV. It makes me wonder if we females are getting a little too predictable/readable... Hmm.

I digress.

Okay, so, Five Flavors of Dumb IS on my list of best YA books of all time. I have backing, too. It's won the Schneider Family Teen Book Award and for good reason. Piper, your main girl in the story, is deaf. That doesn't make Piper an outcast in any way. She adapts well with reading lips and signing. As a matter of fact, Piper is pretty average yet strongly unique at the same time. What do I mean by that? She's smart, independent and funny, but she's not popular and never catches the eye of the popular boy at school. She sounds ordinary, yet she somehow manages to shine through on every page with her fierce determination and witty comments. She's also very human in that she has to deal with making mistakes, learning, moving on and struggles to understand her two parents who seem to put more time and effort into her infant sister than her.

The story grips you not in the way that most books do by its action, but rather its intense emotional roller coaster that you go on with Piper as she grows and finally breaks out of her shell. Just when you think she's going to give up, she pulls out more strength that you never realize she has and saves the day.

The supporting characters were all just as amazingly written, each with their own issues and quirks. I think the only ones I was annoyed with in the story was her parents, who drained Piper's funds given to her by her grandparents for college all so they could give her little sister a "chance to be normal" with a cochlear implant. The way they went about it was completely inappropriate and devoid of any concern for how it may affect Piper. If you ask me, it was almost selfish ... like they just couldn't bear the idea of having two deaf daughters. Thankfully, they do somewhat redeem themselves in the story. The love interest in the story completely blindsided me, although looking back I can say that it was there - I was just too wrapped up in other things to notice all of the hints at it within the story. I think of all the characters, Piper's brother Finn ended up with my heart. The love interest was all well and good, but Finn showed that he was much more than what met the eye - and my heart was pretty much jello there at the end.

I don't think that I can do this book justice by just writing a review. Instead, you should go out and buy this book. Read it for yourself, and I dare you to not fall madly in love with it.