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118th out of 232 books
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728 voters
DJ Rising
by
Love Maia (Goodreads Author)
The first thing I hear is music. The first thing I've always heard is music.
Meet Marley, an unassuming high school junior who breathes in music like oxygen. In between caring for his heroin-addicted mother, and keeping his scholarship at a fancy prep school, he dreams of becoming a professional DJ.
When chance lands Marley his first real DJ job, his career as "DJ Ice" sudde...more
Meet Marley, an unassuming high school junior who breathes in music like oxygen. In between caring for his heroin-addicted mother, and keeping his scholarship at a fancy prep school, he dreams of becoming a professional DJ.
When chance lands Marley his first real DJ job, his career as "DJ Ice" sudde...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
February 6th 2012
by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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Great book about a young teenage guy that lives with his drugaddict mother and her boyfriend of the time. He has trouble juggleing school and work as it is , then he gets a chance for his dream , being a dj at a popular club . He gets in! He loves it, he loves seeing people move to his music he feels like he can control them with the beat.
I think teens should read this book becouse its about a teenager , music ,real life ,and working towards what you love . Teens like myself would love this book...more
I think teens should read this book becouse its about a teenager , music ,real life ,and working towards what you love . Teens like myself would love this book...more
Marley says the first thing he heard when he was born was music and music is always the first thing that he hears. After his father died some years before, his mother took to drugs. She brings a steady stream of low life boyfriends through their home while Marley watches and waits for her to be the mother she once was. Marley, at 15, works a full time job and attends a local private school on a scholarship where he is made to feel like an outsider because of his lower economic status. He has two...more
See My Full Review Here: http://www.hippiesbeautyandbooksohmy....
First Impressions: I love music! I’ve never been musically talented myself, even though I have tried my hand at playing guitar, violin, and a number of other musical instruments. I have friends that are good at these kinds of things, so I leave all of that stuff up to them….but I wish I could do the things they do. That is why I wanted to read this book. I love the fact that the author isn’t a huge reader and she created this book...more
First Impressions: I love music! I’ve never been musically talented myself, even though I have tried my hand at playing guitar, violin, and a number of other musical instruments. I have friends that are good at these kinds of things, so I leave all of that stuff up to them….but I wish I could do the things they do. That is why I wanted to read this book. I love the fact that the author isn’t a huge reader and she created this book...more
If there's a character to admire, it's Marley. He sets high goals and works hard to maintain his scholarship in an expensive prep school. In addition, he works as a DJ while caring for his heroin-addicted mother. True, Marley wants a normal childhood, but he still makes something of his situation. Marley is far from perfect, but he is a protagonist that you want to support, someone you want to see rise and live the American dream.
The plot focuses on the characters and Marley's path as a DJ, and...more
The plot focuses on the characters and Marley's path as a DJ, and...more
3.5 stars
The book tells the story about Marley, a boy who has seen a lot of sorrow. Yet for all the times he's down, he finds his way back up and keeps swimming. He sets his goals high and works for his dreams. It all sounds quite After-School-Special but I assure you it is not. Although Marley is a hard working student on scholarship in an expensive prep school, finding jobs as a DJ, he is still dealing with a mother who shoots the rent through her veins then does nothing but sit in a heroin in...more
The book tells the story about Marley, a boy who has seen a lot of sorrow. Yet for all the times he's down, he finds his way back up and keeps swimming. He sets his goals high and works for his dreams. It all sounds quite After-School-Special but I assure you it is not. Although Marley is a hard working student on scholarship in an expensive prep school, finding jobs as a DJ, he is still dealing with a mother who shoots the rent through her veins then does nothing but sit in a heroin in...more
I just finished reading an advanced copy of DJ Rising and I was quietly weeping as I read the final pages. I loved this book. Marley, the 16 year-old aspiring DJ, narrates his own story, and I totally fell for this kid before I’d finished the second chapter. He’s a tough, bright, sensitive, talented bi-racial kid from the wrong side of town – a scholarship student at a tony private school where most of the kids are white and rich. His world is filled with equally fascinating and wonderful charac...more
This novel unfolds with the introduction of Marley Johnnywas Diego-Dylan who only has one goal in life : to become a famous and well know DJ. Marley's life is far from normal due to the fact that his mother is an heroin addict that hardly ever acknowledged his presence and his father died when Marley was young. Marley life consists of waking up at the crack of dawn to be able to attend a fancy prep school and then rushing from there to work the night shift at a restaurant to be able to provide f...more
This is a type of story that I love. One with hard times and redemption. I mean, who doesn't go through hard times and want a happy ending?
I love the way this plot line flowed. The reader meets a young man who has big dreams. I love that the plot line isn't filled with partying at clubs and doing stupid things. The plot line is full of real life experiences that a lot of teens face today. Nothing is painted pretty.
The characters of the book both amaze and shocked me. Marley is a bright young ma...more
I love the way this plot line flowed. The reader meets a young man who has big dreams. I love that the plot line isn't filled with partying at clubs and doing stupid things. The plot line is full of real life experiences that a lot of teens face today. Nothing is painted pretty.
The characters of the book both amaze and shocked me. Marley is a bright young ma...more
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Scored an early copy. Marley is the coolest. Can't wait for this one to come out for real so everyone can read it!!!
While everything else in his life may not be going perfectly Marley has always kept his eye on the prize of someday being a world famous DJ, playing at the biggest clubs. He loves creating new beats and getting lost in the music, spinning record after record. Between school and working to pay the rent and bills for the apartment he and his strung out mom share Marley doesn’t get to spend as much time as he’d like mixing music and practicing DJing. DJing at at the hottest club in his neighborhood...more
I highly recommend this fast-moving and surprising book. I loved it and will read it again!
This book hooked me in from the first page with its description of how a DJ casts a spell with his beats and mixes, can energize a crowd, or even create calm after a fight, and draw an audience to the dance floor. I love the way the author puts me in Marley’s head as he imagines ways to fuse different music to create a sound that is fresh and alive.
It’s an inspiring story about a high school kid from a br...more
This book hooked me in from the first page with its description of how a DJ casts a spell with his beats and mixes, can energize a crowd, or even create calm after a fight, and draw an audience to the dance floor. I love the way the author puts me in Marley’s head as he imagines ways to fuse different music to create a sound that is fresh and alive.
It’s an inspiring story about a high school kid from a br...more
I was fortunate to read an advance copy of DJ Rising and thought it was absolutely extraordinary! I could not put it down – I was so captivated by the engaging and exciting story and the wonderful, memorable characters. The brilliant depth of character development brings them fully into your world and you feel yourself walking beside them, thinking aloud with them, and living their fears and disappointments and also celebrating the bright moments and the joys. You are drawn into the unique and d...more
I really enjoyed this one. Marley is a likeable and accessible protagonist - a creative, thoughtful, driven and strong teen guy who also fumbles around girls and class presentations. (I especially liked how the book offers a script for being totally engrossed in music and club culture while staying clean.)
A predictable but satisfying plot shows Marley overcoming obstacles and gaining public recognition, along with his internal process of growth as an artist. Although I had a little trouble with...more
A predictable but satisfying plot shows Marley overcoming obstacles and gaining public recognition, along with his internal process of growth as an artist. Although I had a little trouble with...more
DJ Rising was a book that I thought would make me feel one way but made me feel another. Marley the main character breathes in music like oxygen and he is so in love with it. He gets nervous when talking in front of people but when he is playing his turntables he feels like a different person. His dad died when he was 10 in a hit and run accident and his mom is a drug addict who doesn’t care about him at all. He has to bust tables and wash the dishes to keep a roof over him and his mother’s head...more
MY THOUGHTS
LOVED IT
Marley, a junior in high school that has an unusual after school job as a DJ. He can mix songs on the fly, creating new music and soon becomes in demand. He also must balance his new career with caring for his heroin addicted mother while keeping up his scholarship to a private prep school. He tries desperately to hold it all together and at the same time trying to make a better life for his family. I don't know much about the DJ world, but the descriptions in this book are so...more
LOVED IT
Marley, a junior in high school that has an unusual after school job as a DJ. He can mix songs on the fly, creating new music and soon becomes in demand. He also must balance his new career with caring for his heroin addicted mother while keeping up his scholarship to a private prep school. He tries desperately to hold it all together and at the same time trying to make a better life for his family. I don't know much about the DJ world, but the descriptions in this book are so...more
This was a GOOD READ! The main character Marley was described so well throughout the story, his life a dream goals were always involved and there was a lot of ups and downs to keep it interesting. But the best thing was the feeling you got when you read it, It was like I was there with him in that club hearing the music and feeling pulsing through my veins. It was an indescribable feeling; something that I never felt before. Though the dream is what really caught my attention and how is friends...more
DJ Rising by Love Maria is a book about A 16 year old teenage boy who is named Marley, Marley's dad passed away so he lived with his mother, his mom was a drug addict along with her boyfriend who was living with them. Marley had a dream of one day becoming a well known DJ, he played at parties and everyone though he was a great DJ! specially his friends Scuzz and Chuckie they were always their for him, they even knew each other since they were young and grew up together. Marley had a crush on th...more
Marley's passion is music - dj-ing, mixing music, finding the groove, and bringing the party to life! But he works two jobs to support his heroin addict mother, and struggles to keep his scholarship at an exclusive prep school. When the chance comes to play at a real gig, he lies about his age to get in. There, he meets an experienced DJ who wants to mentor him for a DJ contest at the hottest club in town! But will his mother's problems drag him down, and will he ever get a chance to talk to his...more
I'm not a DJ, nor do I even know THAT much about music...but the way Love Maia uses language and metaphors to describe Marley's (main character) relationship with music- his passion for beats and the power of a good set- was so relatable that I either found myself dancing along with him or crying along with him. This is the story of a boy forced to grow up too soon and music is his salvation. The maturity and perspective he displays in handling his enormously difficult situations(both the good a...more
Nov 24, 2012
Rachael Woohoo
rated it
4 of 5 stars
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This review appeared first @ Moosubi Reviews!
When reading this review, I feel it's important to mention three things:
1. I love music. That being said, any book with music is already pushed a little upwards.
2. I read a book I didn't like so much before DJ Rising (not that DJ Rising was a bad book though!)
3. I was probably in the mood for a quick, contemporary read!
That being said, I definitely still enjoyed this book!
When I think of it now, DJ Rising is the type of book that, in my opinion, would...more
When reading this review, I feel it's important to mention three things:
1. I love music. That being said, any book with music is already pushed a little upwards.
2. I read a book I didn't like so much before DJ Rising (not that DJ Rising was a bad book though!)
3. I was probably in the mood for a quick, contemporary read!
That being said, I definitely still enjoyed this book!
When I think of it now, DJ Rising is the type of book that, in my opinion, would...more
Okay, so this book caught me completely off-guard. I devoured it, reading it in just about 24 hours. I have never been in a club, never seen a live DJ...didn't matter one bit. It may be my favorite book of the years thus far. Yup. There, I said it.
Marley is a character your instantly fall in love with, but in a "I really want to see this boy win!" type of way. He's a boy, like many out there, who is forced to grow-up and become a man way too early in life. A boy forced to take on the responsibil...more
Marley is a character your instantly fall in love with, but in a "I really want to see this boy win!" type of way. He's a boy, like many out there, who is forced to grow-up and become a man way too early in life. A boy forced to take on the responsibil...more
This novel stands out from the rest of the YA music-centred pack with several distinctions: a male protagonist, a focus on mixing music rather than purely creating it, and a slightly grittier, more urban setting than, say, Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez or Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly. It’s easy to feel the heart poured into this story; it’s an ode to music.
Marley has voice and humour going for him. Even before we’re informed he’s Puerto Rican and black, the narrative lets us into his bubble...more
Marley has voice and humour going for him. Even before we’re informed he’s Puerto Rican and black, the narrative lets us into his bubble...more
3.5 stars
I am a huge music addict. I love it as much as Marley does, and as someone who has recently been joking about wanting to be a DJ as a side-job in the future, DJ Rising seemed like one ironic gift from fate when I received it in the mail the other week. Either way, I'm just glad that I ended up liking it.
For DJ Rising to be her first book, Love Maia did an awesome job. Although the beginning was a bit slow, getting used to the setting and Maia's writing style, the book got better as it p...more
I am a huge music addict. I love it as much as Marley does, and as someone who has recently been joking about wanting to be a DJ as a side-job in the future, DJ Rising seemed like one ironic gift from fate when I received it in the mail the other week. Either way, I'm just glad that I ended up liking it.
For DJ Rising to be her first book, Love Maia did an awesome job. Although the beginning was a bit slow, getting used to the setting and Maia's writing style, the book got better as it p...more
I'd give this book 3.5 stars if I could, so I rounded up because it was pretty different. A 16 year old boy has a mom who does nothing but drugs all day, and he has to take care of her. But his dream is to become a world famous DJ. After being discovered when he subs for a DJ who is out, he gets a big gig, but has to lie about his age. The book had memorable characters and a gritty, fast moving feel to it.
I love Marley. Here is a guy that is given a tough set of life circumstances and inspires you while he rises above it all.
I was given an advanced copy of the book to read and I picked it up on a Friday afternoon and didn't get much sleep that night because I couldn't put it down.
The story pulls you in and stays with you. Marley inspires. This is a great story. 5 Stars.
I was given an advanced copy of the book to read and I picked it up on a Friday afternoon and didn't get much sleep that night because I couldn't put it down.
The story pulls you in and stays with you. Marley inspires. This is a great story. 5 Stars.
This book is simply inspiring. It is about a young boy who has a dream of becoming something more and who works endlessly to reach it despite the huge obstacles in his life. It is well-written, realistic and imaginative. I was engaged throughout the entire read and could not put it down. Although this is Love's debut work, it reads like a well seasoned author. I look forward to reading more of her written work.
Lots of technical vocabulary that might turn off some readers, but the reason I gave this four stars is because of the main character, Marley. He doesn't use his home life as an excuse for making bad choices. He does the opposite and is a survivor. This is a great book for people who use the power of music to get through life.
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click here.
I really loved this book. I couldn't put it down! I loved the way the plot flowed and fitted together. I was silently crying at the end of it. I definitely understood where Marley was coming from about how music overpowers all the problems in the world. The book really connected with me and it was just all around a great read.
I've just finished reading this book a few minutes ago so it's still fresh on my mind.
It's a good story. Excellent writing. But...the story is Cinderella-ish. A bit too simple and easy.. if you know what I mean.
I really like the way Marley described music and his passion for DJ ing. (As I said excellent writing).
The sentences that grabbed me are the last ones.
"Last night, I had the most incredible dream.
I dreamed I was on the highest of highs, flying just like I said I would.
I dreamed I had a fa...more
It's a good story. Excellent writing. But...the story is Cinderella-ish. A bit too simple and easy.. if you know what I mean.
I really like the way Marley described music and his passion for DJ ing. (As I said excellent writing).
The sentences that grabbed me are the last ones.
"Last night, I had the most incredible dream.
I dreamed I was on the highest of highs, flying just like I said I would.
I dreamed I had a fa...more
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Love Maia has always been a reluctant reader. She sees her writing as an opportunity to reach out to other reluctant readers and make books more enjoyable for them by combining literature and music. In addition to writing, she enjoys underground hip-hop, pizza, fog, death metal, and butterflies. When not writing, Love can be found playing drums in an alternative rock band around the city of San Fr...more
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“The song reminds me of my life lately and the way things that happen devastate you so badly but then turn around and totally surprise you by growing into something unexpected and astounding.
Of course, i could be wrong. I mean, who knows what the song is really about except whoever wrote it? But that's one of the many things about music that's so great. You can interpret a song and relate it to your life any way you want.”
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4 people liked it
Of course, i could be wrong. I mean, who knows what the song is really about except whoever wrote it? But that's one of the many things about music that's so great. You can interpret a song and relate it to your life any way you want.”
“The way I see it, the blue is the stuff you can't control, life's major heartbreak and struggles, that feeling of devastation so massive and brutal it inflicts permanent damage on the heart and spirit that can never be undone and will always be there, spewing somewhere in a corner of your mind like deep scars you'll have with you you're whole life.
The green you also can't control. But that's the part that reminds you life is worth living. It's not the here-and-there type of good stuff that happens every day either. The green is the stuff that comes in huge doses that slap you in the face when you least expect it and brings a light to all that you are through growth, bravery, and goodness, and love. It's the stuff that picks you up when you're at the bottom and makes you keep on going even when you're sure you can't. That's the green.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
The green you also can't control. But that's the part that reminds you life is worth living. It's not the here-and-there type of good stuff that happens every day either. The green is the stuff that comes in huge doses that slap you in the face when you least expect it and brings a light to all that you are through growth, bravery, and goodness, and love. It's the stuff that picks you up when you're at the bottom and makes you keep on going even when you're sure you can't. That's the green.”
