Five Flavors of Dumb

by Antony John

Overview

Piper is a seventeen-year-old high school senior, and she's just been challenged to get her school's super-popular rock band, Dumb, a paying gig. The catch? Piper is deaf. Can she manage a band with five wildly different musicians, nurture a budding romance, and discover her own inner rock star, though she can't hear Dumb's music?

"Complex characterizations, authentic dialogue and realistic ups-and-downs give this title chart-topping potential." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"I loved it and laughed out loud. Hilarious and so smart. Dumb proves that everyone, no matter what, deserves to be heard." - Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of Dairy Queen

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780142419434
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/29/2011
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	890L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Antony John (antonyjohn.net) is a stay-at-home dad who writes by night - the only job that allows him to wear his favorite pair of sweatpants all the time. He lives with his family in St. Louis, Missouri.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"I loved it and laughed out loud. Hilarious and so smart. Dumb proves that everyone, no matter what, deserves to be heard." -Catherine Gilbert Murdoch, author of Dairy Queen

Editorial Reviews

"I loved it and laughed out loud. Hilarious and so smart. Dumb proves that everyone, no matter what, deserves to be heard." -Catherine Gilbert Murdoch, author of Dairy Queen

From the Publisher

This smart, lively novel captures the downs and ups of young rock and rollers…
—The Washington Post

Mary Quattlebaum

Piper--gutsy, savvy and, yes, deaf--has signed her way into a gig that promises a big, necessary payoff: manager of Dumb, Seattle's Battle of the Bands winners. Seething with resentment and feelings of inadequacy after her parents raid her college account to pay for her baby sister's cochlear implants, Piper is determined to shape both Dumb's future and her own. Piper's struggles and growth as a manager--she is initially hampered by lack of both experience with intra-band politics and knowledge about music--enjoy realistic treatment, as do her nuanced relationships with family members and the super-talented and adorable Ed Chen. As Piper learns about Seattle's rock heroes (Cobain and Hendrix), she sees both the band Dumb could be if they would choose rocking over fighting and the person she will become once she truly owns her deafness. Making Piper the manager of a rock band never feels like a cheap trick (pardon the pun) because Piper is not A Great Deaf Character but a great character who is deaf. Complex characterizations, authentic dialogue and realistic ups-and-downs give this title chart-topping potential. (Fiction. YA)

Kirkus Reviews