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Feb 07, 2012

Nancy rated it:

The Drums are what 13-year-old Steven plays in the marching band and jazz group in school and are the only thing that makes him feel good when his life starts to unravel.

The Girls are Renee Albert, the hot cheerleader, guitarist, and neighbor who Steven wishes would notice he was alive, and Annette Watson, a pianist and friend of Steven’s who occasionally watches his younger brother Jeffrey on weekends.

Dangerous Pie is <spoiler>lovingly made by 5-year-old Jeffre More...

2 comments like (24 people liked it)

May 04, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

Reviewed by Christian C. for TeensReadToo.com

"The most annoying thing in the world is...My little brother, Jeffrey." That's what thirteen-year-old Steven Alper had written in his journal for his English class. But on October 7th, everything changed. Jeffrey had a small accident in the kitchen, was taken to the emergency room, and was diagnosed with leukemia.

Steven's life turns upside down, and just when he needs his parents the most, his mom has to spend most o More...

1 comment like (13 people liked it)

Dec 11, 2008

21awsomeswimmer2121 rated it:

I really loved reading this book. It made me feal really bad, sad during the book. It is about an eight grader named Steven and his brother, Jeffery gets Luekemia, a form of cancer! The book go's through Steven's perspective and tells how he feels all the time. Weather he is happy or sad, it explains hoe Steven is feeling all the time! Steven loses his mind, and the only two people at his school that care about him is his friend Annette and crush, Renee.

I'd suggest you should check More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Aug 25, 2011

Juneetta rated it:

Drums,girls and dangerous pie is one of my favorite books I've ever read.This book is hilarious but also upsetting.It's about a 13 year old boy name Steven who loves drumming,has a crush on the hottest girl in school,has a little brother name Jeffery.It all started over a nose bleed when Jeffery was standing on his stool while Steven was making oatmeal he fell off and hit his nose.Then Jeffery is rush to the emergency room.

Hours later his mom called and told Steven's dad that Jeffery More...

10 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 25, 2008

Sondra rated it:

This is an adolescent novel about luekemia, targetted probably to 12-15 year olds. Despite the subject, it's very funny, with lovely banter between the 8th grade boy, who narrates, and his sick five-year-old brother. There were difficult passages describing the treatments the boy received in the hospital and the side effects. The book candidly described the tensions on the family, including an explanation of the financial problems faced by people with insurance. It touched on the undesired att More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Dec 11, 2008

Shorty96 rated it:

Steven is a teenager who has one thing in common with all of us... he absolutly hates his sibling! His brother Jeffery is always taking his things without asking, nagging him, and tricking mom and dad into beliefing that he is the trouble maker in the family.But, one day something terrible happens to Jeffery.He hits his nose and it bleeds an enormouse amount of blood so his mother takes him to the emergancy room,when he gets back Steven is told that he has cancer.This is an inspirational book th More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Mar 13, 2009

Barky rated it:

Steven, a thirteen year old 8th grader is just a normal kid. He plays drums, has a crush on the pretty girl at school – Renee – and makes good grades. Then, his little brother Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia and Steven’s whole world begins to unravel. His mother takes a leave of absence from her job so she work full-time ferrying Jeffrey to and from doctor’s appointments, his father stops communicating with him, and Steven stops caring about school, girls, and pretty much everything except More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Dana rated it:

I had the opportunity to hear Jordan Sonnenblick speak to a group of middle school students last week when I was substitute teaching. I had already read After Ever After, the sequel to the book Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie, but had not read anything else he had written. I was impressed by what Jordan shared with the kids. He used to be an 8th grade English teacher and he knows how to talk to middle school kids. He told the story behind the book Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie, which was very i More...

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Jan 13, 2012

Kelli rated it:

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
Jordan Sonnenblick
Thirteen year old Steven Alper is enjoying his life by: playing the drums in the All-Star band, being best friends with a girl named Annette, and crushing the hottest girl in school, Renee. Pestered by his little brother Jeffery, Steven soon will be realizing that Jeffery isn’t so annoying after all.
When Jeffery get diagnosed with an awful cancer, Stevens life turns around. Steven is in shock and he is almost is deprived th More...

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Dec 09, 2011

Ashley rated it:

I admired Jordan Sonnenblick before I even knew his books. Like me, he put in a number of years teaching in the public schools of Houston through Teach For America. Plus he's a funny, unassuming guy who is unstinting when it comes to sharing his experiences. Among other things, he gave me heaps of advice about managing publicity and pulling off high-quality author visits.

Maybe all this awesomeness contributed to the moment of fear that struck my first-time-author heart: what if I do More...

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Aug 28, 2011

Chris rated it:

Drums,Girls, and Dangerous Pie is about a 13 year old

boy named Steven that has a crush on a girl and and he

thinks having a brother is terrible. He is also jelous

his little brother is cuter then him. Jeffrey the

little brother just destroys everything. Steven pretty

much avoids him and sets rules as in no touching my

drums or cymbals or using them for shields but jeffrey

didnt care at all. Stevens favorite drummer is Corder More...

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Aug 28, 2011

Phong-le rated it:

Steven's life was all normal. He had a crush on a girl named Renee, he gets annoyed by his brother, who's name is Jeffery, and he's also in a band being the drummer. Until Steven finally realized that Jeffery had a type of cancer. So during the times when Jeffery had cancer, Steven was always there for him. And when the school realized that Steven's brother had cancer, everyone started paying more attention to Steven.

Soon Steven was popular. None of this would have happened More...

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Jul 04, 2011

Carla rated it:

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie is my favorite book than all the books I've read. It was given to me by my teacher Ms.Zika, when we had to read it for summer vacation HW. She let me borrow it and let her know when i had finished reading it. At first i didn't want to read it.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie is about a boy name Steven that is 13yrs old that lives with his parent's nd his lil brother. He has a little brother name Jeffrey that later on gets cancer.Steven hangouts with his frien More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Apr 15, 2011

Alison rated it:

This book will steal your heart.

The media specialist/librarian from our township's middle school chose Jordan Sonnenblick's books as part of a reading initiative modeled off of the One Book New Jersey program. I wasn't sure what to expect, since I had never read any of his work before. Let me tell you, the middle school librarian knows her stuff! A great book for boys and girls, adults and teens, parents, teachers and students alike.

Steven is a typical 13 year o More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 21, 2011

Rebekah rated it:

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblickis a novel that I truly enjoyed. I found it both heartbreaking and uplifting for its readers. Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie is a story of a boy, Steven whose younger brother is diagnosed with Leukemia. Steven then has to deal with his sick younger brother along with all of the normal problems that come with being in middle school: girls, friends, schoolwork and even being the top drummer in his school and All-City bands. Steven is the typical Amer More...

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Feb 21, 2011

Tina rated it:

I was mildly disappointed I wasn't quite as in love with this book as most of my classrooms but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book regardless. Author Jordan Sonnenblick does a fabulous job in reaching students of all ages in this novel. The main character, Steven, is central to making this possible. Steven encounters so many teenage (and human) struggles. I think that's what makes this book so great; every reader can relate to Steven on some level. We used to be Steven (or a More...

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Feb 21, 2011

Natalia rated it:

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, by Jordan Sonnenblick is by far my favorite book we have read so far in this class. It was obvious to me that the reading level for this book would be appropriate for younger students in middle school, because the writing was straightforward yet clever and humorous. I thoroughly enjoyed Steven’s character and appreciated the sarcastic humor given to most situations. I think many boys in the middle school age group could identify with Steven’s character and what he More...

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Feb 20, 2011

Elisa rated it:

This book is one of my favorite young adult books. I have a document in which I collect various sentences that are really amazing and I took countless ones from this book. There are many things that readers can learn from the story. As I was reading the book many memories came to my mind about the things teachers have to be aware about as it pertains to student’s personal lives.

The story seems to be a roller coaster ride because there are various situations that suddenly appear in the More...

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Feb 20, 2011

Iris rated it:

Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie was such a great novel. I am so happy that we got to read this because Jordan Sonnenblick is a spectacular author. The way he is able to take such a depressing event and share it through humor and sarcasm is extremely impressive. I laughed, almost cried, and cringed all throughout the book. There was not a moment that I wanted to stop reading. Sonnenblick does a great job of keeping the reader attentive and attached to the story. All of his characters are so easy to More...

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Feb 19, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

I'd give this book six stars if that were an option and this book is as good as set on my stack of favorites. I loved it because Jordan Sonnenblick has such a way with words. I found it amazing that I was laughing out loud with a book that should supposedly be somber. I think that is a testament to the author saying it is okay to experience emotions and that positive emotions should not be left by the way side because of a serious matter like cancer. I think Sonnenblick did a great job of develo More...

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Feb 19, 2011

Lenet rated it:

I absolutely loved this book. Sonnenblick did a fantastic job with the thirteen-year old writing style. The book made for a short and simple read but did a great job with engaging the reader in a teenagers struggle in overcoming a younger brother's battle through leukemia. I sympathized with Steven's sarcastic remarks and witty personally that brought much-needed humor into an otherwise depressing novel.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in dire need of a great book, b More...

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Feb 18, 2011

Erin-Beth rated it:

This is one of the few books I can confidently give full stars to.
Amazing.
It was a quick read, but packed a lot into such a small book.

Pretty much all the books we've been reading in class aren't what I would normally pick up to read on my own - I'm more of the fantasy fiction fan. And the same goes for this book - if I didn't have to read it for class and knew it was about a kid that gets cancer, the chances of me picking it up would be slim.
But this book changed my More...

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Feb 16, 2011

Nikki rated it:

I think back to when I was in the 8th grade and can't help but to remember all too well just how overwhelmig of a time that is in a person's life. Like Steven (the protagonist in Jordan Sonnenblick's "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie), I thought a lot about what others thought of me and making sure that I didn't come across as too dorky...though I'd love to see a truly undorky 8th grader. Unlinke Steven, I have neever had to deal with the struggles of a sibling diagnosed with cancer. This n More...

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Nov 09, 2010

Michele added it

Interest level: 7th +
Reading level: medium
Genre: realistic fiction, humor, music, leukemia, family, frienship, trial by fire

There aren't many books that will make you cry as well as laugh, but this is certainly one of them.

Steven is living a pretty normal thirteen-year old life consisting of friends, music (drumming), family (annoying parents and younger brother), a crush on the prettiest girl in his class, and school, but, one day, while Steven is making breakfast More...

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Aug 07, 2010

Laura rated it:

Sonnenblick's style is one of the most refreshing voices in young adult literature. Because he taught middle school, Sonnenblick speaks the language of middle school kids. The characters are real. He captures the sarcastic and quick wit that is rampant in young adults, and that wit and fresh voice make this book a fantastic read for both young adults and adults. Steven says things like, "You have to love it when the doctor lays all this horrific stuff on you and then tells you not to worry. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 04, 2010

Thanuja rated it:

This book was an assigned adolescent fiction book for my 11-year-old brother's 6th grade English class. Now as the 21-year-old sibling, you must be wondering, why would I even entertain the idea of reading this book. Well to be honest, I was just that bored. BUT to my surprise I not only did I enjoy reading this book, I even was MOVED. I mean I physically wept, sniffled, and laughed (of course when appropriate)so often that my family ceased being surprised by my loud outbursts. To take a story o More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Dec 14, 2009

Jessika rated it:

This book was about a kid named Steven that was in his last year of middle school, plays the drums in a jazz band and had a younger brother named Jeffery. Steven was forced to deal with his younger that he loved but disliked at times. One morning while steven was making his younger brother Jeffery oatmeal, Steven put Jeffery on a stool near the stove in order for Jeffery to watch. As soon as Steven turned around for a split second, Jeffery had fallen off of the stool and banged his face on the c More...

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Mar 23, 2009

Kristian rated it:

this book is really good i liked it alot.it is about this boy and his brother jeffy. this boys life was great he loves to play the drums and he is kind of a nerd. also his brother is kind of crazy and that little boy makes his life so hard. one day the boy went to school and he is in love with this girl renne albert he can not get his eyes off of her and because of this he is now failing math. he told his father exactly what happened and as a good father he sat there and listened and understoo More...

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Oct 17, 2011

JACK rated it:

I loved it!!!!! I saw it in the classroom library, and I decided it was time for a break from the holocaust literature. I was especially intrigued by the title... DANGEROUS PIE. I know it sounds awesome, but it doesn't really amount to anything important... just a flashback to a memory steven had a few years before. When his brother, the most annoying child in the world, is diagnosed with cancer, Steven starts to realize how much his brother actually means to him. Steven becomes very depressed, More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Colby rated it:

Drums ,Girls and dangerous pie is a book about a Young teenager named Steven who loves to play drums. He had a brother named Jeffery, Steven thought of Jeffery as being annoying.One Early morning Jeffery wanted some oatmeal. Steven sat him on the stool that his parents told him not to let Jeffery sit on alone. When Steven turned around to make the oatmeal Jeffery fell off the stool and hit him face on the counter top. Jeffery starts to scream. His parents soon come down to find out that his nos More...

2 comments like

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