Amplified

by Tara Kelly

Overview

When privileged 17-year-old Jasmine gets kicked out of her house, she takes what is left of her savings and flees to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it. . . .

In this fresh new novel by critically acclaimed author Tara Kelly, Jasmine finds out what happens when her life gets Amplified.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466805958
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	10/25/2011
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	1,015,374
File size:	374 KB
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Tara Kelly adores variety in her life. She's a YA author, one-girl-band, web designer, video editor, digital photographer, and literary agent intern. She lives in Oregon with her ten guitars, supercool bf, and a fluffy cat named Maestro.

Tara Kelly grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2004 where she earned a B.A. in Film and Digital Media. Her books include Amplified and Harmonic Feedback. She is enjoying life as a freelance artist in the Denver area.

Editorial Reviews

When Jasmine tells her father that she wants a year off before attending Stanford, he gives her 15 minutes to pack her things and move out. So Jasmine drives down to Santa Cruz, guitar in hand, to pursue her dream of making music. When her car breaks down upon arrival, she meets sarcastic yet sexy Sean at a garage where (nonautomotive) sparks fly. As Jasmine looks for an apartment, Sean quickly shows up in her life again, this time as a member of the band C-Side, which is searching for a new guitarist/roommate. Jasmine scores the spot in the band, but she’s keeping a secret: she’s never performed live. This secret and a few others cause their share of problems in this highly entertaining story of romance, rock music, and a girl coming into her own. Jasmine will have readers in her corner from the first flip remark out of her mouth, and Kelly’s (Harmonic Feedback) background in music is evident in her electric descriptions of Jasmine’s evolution as a performer. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

“Jasmine is a talented guitarist and a hard worker, but her almost crippling stage fright and defensive attitude create barriers that could end her dream before it starts. She is realistically imperfect but likable, and, with time, she convinces her bandmates and herself that she is much more than a spoiled wannabe.” —School Library Journal

“…readers will be rooting for her [Jasmine] and her newfound family to make it big.” —BCCB

“...inspiring, heartwarming, and engaging.” —VOYA

“…an engaging story about a girl following her musical dreams, and readers will be drawn to Jasmine's wit.” —Booklist

“Kelly's (Harmonic Feedback) background in music is evident in her electric descriptions of Jasmine's evolution as a performer.” —Publishers Weekly

“A treat for industrial-rock lovers; a pleasant summer read for others.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Gr 9 Up—When Jasmine's wealthy, demanding father tells her he will not support her decision to put off college for a year to pursue her musical dreams, she sets out to Santa Cruz, CA, to find a job, an apartment, and a band to prove that she can make it. Somewhat shy, she is rebelling against her father's control in the wake of her mother abandoning them. Jasmine is a talented guitarist and a hard worker, but her almost crippling stage fright and defensive attitude create barriers that could end her dream before it starts. She is realistically imperfect but likable, and, with time, she convinces her bandmates and herself that she is much more than a spoiled wannabe. Although the bad-girl and bad-boy musicians remain stock figures, most secondary characters are developed enough to make them more than just background filler, and they react in ways with which readers can identify. A romantic interest is included but does not distract from the story, which focuses mainly on Jasmine's finding confidence in herself and her decisions. This novel will be of particular interest to music fans.—Natasha Forrester, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

School Library Journal

This chronicle of a shy guitarist's summer living with a rock band poses bigger questions than it answers but tells a likable story nonetheless.

Kicked out of the house by her strict father after she decides to defer her college admission, Jasmine is determined to prove that she can make it on her own. Looking for a room to rent in Santa Cruz, she finds an industrial band seeking a live-in bandmate and tries out. Kelly (Harmonic Feedback, 2010) relates each musical challenge—Jasmine's tryout, a bad gig, a final, triumphant performance—as a tense action sequence. The author gives enough imagery and context that even the musically uninitiated will appreciate her descriptions, though readers who understand licks, riffs, arpeggios, EBows and wah pedals will get a fuller effect. Veta, the moody-but-loyal lead singer, is the best realized of the colorful cast; other characters feel a bit more sketched in. A romance between Jasmine and one of the band members is satisfyingly paced, and the energy between them is as charged (without being graphic) as some of the scenes between Jasmine and her guitar. Some of the novel's big questions are left open: Jasmine's relationship with her father, for instance, or what it means to start a relationship with a roommate.

A treat for industrial-rock lovers; a pleasant summer read for others. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews