October 25, 2011
Henry Holt and Co.
Synopsis:
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.
My Review:
AMPLIFIED is a one-of-a-kind and outstanding YA that I cannot stop thinking about!! Seriously, I was so engaged in the characters and their lives that I was stuck thinking about them long after I had finished. AMPLIFIED is so honest, raw, and mesmerizing. I don't have a single complaint about it at all. You have to pick this one up when it hits shelves!
Jasmine, to quote Kari from A Good Addiction, is so spicy! She doesn't back down from anything and is determined to make a niche for herself in the band. The whole situation with her controlling dad really made an impact on her and she just had to get away after graduation. I can definitely understand how she feels. When you have just had it with the world, you will go to extreme lengths to get away from all the pressure and the stress.
I just loved Jasmine's attitude. She is tough, but she also has a softer side that comes out during the perfect moments. I don't know anything about music, but I could feel her raw passion for it. I wanted so badly for her to have her moment in the band. But it isn't at all easy for her. She has major stage-fright which causes quite a few problems with her and C-Side. Especially Bryn, the uber delicious drummer and self-appointed leader of the band. Oh, and she also has to deal with the brooding and yummy Sean who has a few problems of his own. Jasmine does have a rough time of it, but I was so proud of her by the end.
I cannot brag enough about all of Kelly's characters. Even though they each have their darker sides, I came to care for them all. Sean is my absolute favorite. He is snarky, intense, and has so much chemistry with Jasmine. I really don't know how to describe their relationship with each other. It is rough, slow but oh-so sweet. There is just one teensy tiny complication that had me wanting to pull my hair out, though!
Bryn is such a jerk, but I adored him. He is a bit of a player and he can be brutally honest, but he has just as much passion for music as Jasmine does. Vita is amazing! Props to her for owning who she is and never doubting it. Her friendship with Jasmine really made the whole story. Felix is a bit of a teddy bear. He is such a sweetheart and lightened the mood when it was needed.
AMPLIFIED is definitely going on the list of my favorite YA novels. It is so powerful and gorgeous. Kelly has become an auto-buy for me!
My Rating:
AHHH, I definitely have to get my hands on this book now. Thanks for the awesome review, hon!
ReplyDeletePowerful and Gorgeous?! I'm there! Awesome review, Bailey :)
ReplyDeleteAmplified sounds awesome! I love books about music. The way you describe the characters sounds like my cup of tea, too. Great review, Bailey! :)
ReplyDeleteSUCH a great book! I read Tara's first novel, Harmonic Feedback, and adored it - her writing is so powerful and it really gets under your skin. Loved Jasmine, loved to be irritated with Bryn (just wanted to get in there and tell him off!), and adored the musical aspect. So good. Great review!
ReplyDeleteOo, the characters in this one sound amazing! After reading Virtuosity, I'm definitely willing to give more YA contemps revolving around music a try :)
ReplyDeleteYAY!!!! So glad you loved this one too Bailey, I adored it:) I've read it twice already and could easily read it many, many more times. I could have just died in several scenes, especially her first performance, I was right there freaking out with her:)
ReplyDeleteSounds like one helluva read! At first, I was a bit thrown off by "privileged" because those kind of characters can be written either really good, or really badly. But everything here sounds right up my alley, reading-wise. Definitely going to have to check this one out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the awesome review!
Smiles!
Lori