Face the Music (The Startup Squad Series #2)

by Brian Weisfeld, Nicole C. Kear

Overview

Girls mean business in The Startup Squad: Face the Music, the second novel in the series, which Kirkus Reviews calls “an enjoyable and diverse story highlighting friendship, entrepreneurship, and perseverance.”

Harriet’s brothers are hoping to enter a local battle of the bands. Winning could get them on a reality TV show! But low funds have left them without even a working guitar. The Startup Squad jumps into action—and quickly pulls together a plan to sell T-shirts to raise money.

The girls have a lot of great ideas—until everything starts to go wrong. When all the problems start turning disappointed fans into an angry mob, the girls realize they have to get back into the groove before the band members—and the Startup Squad—break up for good!

Each book in this middle-grade series by Brian Weisfeld and Nicole C. Kear also features tips for kids starting or running their first businesses, plus a profile of a real-life tween girl CEO.

An Imprint Book

“Filled with flawed characters and moments of growth, including lessons on trial and error, practicing customer service, and learning from mistakes, this drama-filled, fast-paced, entertaining read places friendship and hard work at its heart.” —Kirkus Reviews

Praise for The Startup Squad:

"An inspiring story about entrepreneurial girls. I loved this story of girls finding their way in the world of entrepreneurship."
—Ann M. Martin, author of the Baby-Sitters Club series and Newbery Honor winner A Corner of the Universe

This title has common core connections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250180469
Publisher:	Imprint
Publication date:	05/05/2020
Series:	Startup Squad Series , #2
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	702,546
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Brian Weisfeld has been building businesses his entire life. In elementary school, he bought 95 pounds of gummy bears and hired his friends to sell them. As a teen, he made and sold mixtapes (ask your parents what those are), sorted baseball cards (he got paid in cards), babysat four days a week after school, and sold nuts and dried fruit (and more gummy bears) in a neighborhood store. As an adult, Brian helped build a number of well-known billion-dollar companies including IMAX Corporation and Coupons. Brian is the Founder and Chief Squad Officer of The Startup Squad, an initiative dedicated to helping girls realize their potential and follow their dreams, whatever their passions. Brian lives in Silicon Valley and can often be found eating gummy bears with his wife while watching his two daughters sell lemonade from the end of their driveway.

Nicole C. Kear grew up in New York City, where she still lives, with her husband, three firecracker kids and a ridiculously fluffy hamster. She's written lots of essays and a memoir, Now I See You, for grownups, and The Fix-It Friends series for kids. She has a bunch of fancy, boring diplomas, and one red clown nose from circus school. Seriously.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Startup Squad:

"The Startup Squad encourages girls to dream big, work hard, and rely on each other to make good things happen. It teaches them how to succeed—and reminds all of us that girls mean business!"
—Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and founder of LeanIn.Org and OptionB.Org

“A great read that is fast-paced, fun, and empowering. The Startup Squad comes complete with a treasure trove of tips for starting a business.”
—Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal-winning author of The One and Only Ivan

“A refreshing depiction of drama turned positive, this series opener is perfect for young entrepreneurs.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Teamwork and friendship are at the fore of this business-savvy series, which will hold particular appeal for girls struggling to find ways for their ideas to bloom.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

2020-03-15
The Startup Squad discovers that selling merch for their favorite rock band is more complicated than it seems.

Harriet Nguyen lives life in the fast lane. She loves creating spectacular outfits every day, adores reptiles, and is the youngest of four siblings. She has three older brothers—Sam, Joe, and Larry—who are also in a band together called the Radical Skinks, named after their favorite reptile. When Harriet accidentally breaks Larry’s guitar and dooms the band, her friends quickly come up with a scheme to keep the band together and help them compete in Battle of the Bands. Together, the four middle schoolers come up with the idea of selling Radical Skinks T-shirts at a concert to raise money for a new guitar. Though the idea seems simple at first, the girls quickly realize they have underestimated how much effort and teamwork it will take to reach their goal, especially with Harriet’s act-first-think-later attitude, which results in disastrous mishaps. Filled with flawed characters and moments of growth, including lessons on trial and error, practicing customer service, and learning from mistakes, this drama-filled, fast-paced, entertaining read places friendship and hard work at its heart. The characters are cued as the following: Harriet and her family are Vietnamese, Amelia is white, Didi is South Asian, and Resa (the focus of series opener The Startup Squad, 2019) is Afro-Latinx. Practical tips on entrepreneurship and a Q&A with a kid entrepreneur appear in the backmatter.

An enjoyable and diverse story highlighting friendship, entrepreneurship, and perseverance. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews