Told in a voice thats life seems to be headed for major catastrophe, will his music be enough to keep him together?
read full description
reviews
Aug 06, 2011
Carla
rated it: 
It seems quite fitting to for my first review of 2010 to be of the last YA book I read in 2009. To put it lightly, I friggin loved this book, I even named by brand spanking new laptop "Macbook Sammy". I've only ever read one YA music book, which was so funny and unique, I went into reading this book quite guarded, I never expected to like it nearly as much as I did. Jon Skovron has this way with words that seems so real and raw, the openness of the writing style is heart breakingly bea
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jun 26, 2010
Heather
rated it: 
If you love music this book would be great to read. I thought it was really cute.
I thought it was funny, because of the timing of reading it now- Jen5 so reminds me of Crystal Bowersocks from this seasons American Idol. It must be the dreadlocks.
I also thought back to the rock band my high school had. I could only imagine the drama swirling around their lives I didn't know about. I wonder what happened to them or how many high school bands make it big...hummmm.
I thought it was funny, because of the timing of reading it now- Jen5 so reminds me of Crystal Bowersocks from this seasons American Idol. It must be the dreadlocks.
I also thought back to the rock band my high school had. I could only imagine the drama swirling around their lives I didn't know about. I wonder what happened to them or how many high school bands make it big...hummmm.
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Dec 09, 2009
Heidi
rated it: 
STRUTS & FRETS has one of the hottest covers- and titles -around.
And what's inside is even better.
Honest, sweet, authentic boy voice.
Fully fleshed female characters.
Three dimensional grown-ups.
Surprises, drama and most importantly MUSIC!
I kept thinking while reading, "I can't wait to give this to my son when he's a teenager."
And my daughter.
One of the my favorite reads of 2009.
Enjoy the beat.
And what's inside is even better.
Honest, sweet, authentic boy voice.
Fully fleshed female characters.
Three dimensional grown-ups.
Surprises, drama and most importantly MUSIC!
I kept thinking while reading, "I can't wait to give this to my son when he's a teenager."
And my daughter.
One of the my favorite reads of 2009.
Enjoy the beat.
0 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Jul 02, 2010
kari
rated it:
I've had this book on my TBR for a bit and I should have read it sooner. Terrific. Fabulous. A wonderful and complete story with an authentic sounding voice.
Sam wants to be a musician. No, more than that, he has to be one, he can't imagine his life without music. I liked the chapter titles that were song titles or lyrics. They tied in well with the story and made sense as Sam is always thinking music, either listening, hearing it in his head or writing it.
The other characters are als More...
Sam wants to be a musician. No, more than that, he has to be one, he can't imagine his life without music. I liked the chapter titles that were song titles or lyrics. They tied in well with the story and made sense as Sam is always thinking music, either listening, hearing it in his head or writing it.
The other characters are als More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Oct 18, 2010
K
rated it:
Sometimes when I start a book, I can see the plot and outcome right away and end up going through the motions of reading. To feel all-knowing, maybe? While this book wasn’t a wild twist from what I’d foretold in the beginning, it did have personality I wasn’t expecting and told a story with heart that wasn’t totally transparent.
Sammy is a guitarist in a band. He writes all the music and lyrics, but wants no part of being a front man. Instead he damns his band mates to Joe. Dude is s More...
Sammy is a guitarist in a band. He writes all the music and lyrics, but wants no part of being a front man. Instead he damns his band mates to Joe. Dude is s More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Nov 19, 2009
Ziaria
rated it:
This was a sweet coming of age tale of a talented boy with big dreams and lets face it who as teenagers didn't have big dreams? I gotta say it was weird for me seeing the male perspective though. I apparently don't read many books from that perspective. When I started this book, I found myself thinking, yuck boys are gross a few times and then I would laugh at myself for thinking that.
This story has a lot of elements in play. Single parent household, a grandfather who is going senile More...
This story has a lot of elements in play. Single parent household, a grandfather who is going senile More...
Sep 27, 2011
Vivienne
rated it:
Every time I thought about reviewing Struts and Frets, I was reminded of my initial response to the first couple of chapters. I was convinced that this book featured a group of hormonal teenagers who were milder in their tone than the Inbetweeners but still had their attitude. Imagine placing this bunch of teenagers at a High School Musical party which they are about to gatecrash! Get the picture?
For the first half of the book, this was the way I viewed it. The story line was entert More...
For the first half of the book, this was the way I viewed it. The story line was entert More...
Nov 23, 2009
Kate
rated it:
I received this book as an ARC from the publisher.
Sammy loves music. He loves it so much he's willing to be in a band with Joe, who scares the crap out of him. He loves it so much he can't see that his best friend, Jen5 (all the other Jennifer nicknames were taken), is in love with him. Music is his bond with his grandfather, who seems to be going a little crazy. Now Sammy's got a girlfriend, and his band, Tragedy of Wisdom, is going to enter a Battle of the Bands contest.
More...
Sammy loves music. He loves it so much he's willing to be in a band with Joe, who scares the crap out of him. He loves it so much he can't see that his best friend, Jen5 (all the other Jennifer nicknames were taken), is in love with him. Music is his bond with his grandfather, who seems to be going a little crazy. Now Sammy's got a girlfriend, and his band, Tragedy of Wisdom, is going to enter a Battle of the Bands contest.
More...
3 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 06, 2010
Jen Bigheart
rated it:
I haven't read a YA book from a male perspective that was written by a male in a long time. It got me thinking....I'm not really sure there is a whole lot out there. A lot of the titles I think about are more J FIC than Y FIC. Carmen, Colfer, Riordan, etc...
Struts & Frets is a story about Sammy and his two loves: his music and his changing relationship with his BFF Jen5. Sammy has an honest voice. He tries to please his mother, his friends, and his bandmates. His grandfather, a form More...
Struts & Frets is a story about Sammy and his two loves: his music and his changing relationship with his BFF Jen5. Sammy has an honest voice. He tries to please his mother, his friends, and his bandmates. His grandfather, a form More...
Mar 05, 2010
elissa
rated it:
Exactly the right book for me right now, and I read it quickly. Emotional, but not too much. A very likeable main character (plus great secondary characters--the grandfather, the mom, the girlfriend, friends), and lots of pondering about music and sex. This has the best description of sex, for a teenager who's also a musician, that I've ever heard, and this book is one that's inspired me to add quotes in to goodreads, which I haven't done in awhile. There's not much of a plot, but that's not
More...
Feb 09, 2012
Carmel
rated it:
Read the review also at Book Filled Blog.
The first thing to be said about Struts & Frets is that the cover and inside are AMAZING. It looks so cool outside and inside!
Sammy, seventeen, wants to be a musician. Not a rock star, even though some times, he lets the daydreams excel that far. No, he wants to be a musician, to play music because he enjoys not for super fame and fortune. Yet, he also has to worry about family and daily life due to uncooperative band mates, his friend More...
The first thing to be said about Struts & Frets is that the cover and inside are AMAZING. It looks so cool outside and inside!
Sammy, seventeen, wants to be a musician. Not a rock star, even though some times, he lets the daydreams excel that far. No, he wants to be a musician, to play music because he enjoys not for super fame and fortune. Yet, he also has to worry about family and daily life due to uncooperative band mates, his friend More...
Aug 14, 2011
Thebookbutterfly
rated it:
"He would talk about how important all music was. How it took us--not just the people who played it but the people who heard it--to a place above the normal boring world."
What I've realized with the world is that you cannot talk about music, good music, without being pretentious which 1) I don't really care. I love music so much that I just don't let it bother me anymore. And 2) There is something wrong about that because you should be able to talk about your opinions on More...
What I've realized with the world is that you cannot talk about music, good music, without being pretentious which 1) I don't really care. I love music so much that I just don't let it bother me anymore. And 2) There is something wrong about that because you should be able to talk about your opinions on More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 09, 2010
Jamie
rated it:
Imagine picking a book up with no expectations and suddenly realizing it's set in your own past. That's the feeling I got from reading this Young adult debut by Jon Skovron. Set in my hometown of Columbus, OH, it namedrops places (Blue Danube/a re-named Bernie's) and real life bands and songs (Monster Zero, Charles Cicirella's WHITE JEEP, which I spent HOURS AND HOURS trying to find online last night, even though I know I at one point in time had some kind of recording of it.) Now, imagine that
More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Jan 23, 2010
Jodysegal
rated it:
This probably deserves another of my half stars, putting it at 3.5, but since I just finished it, I'll give it the full four.
Struts and Frets is the very enjoyable musical coming-of-age story of Sammy, high school student, new boyfriend of his best friend, grandson to a jazz musician increasingly afflicted by dementia, son to a single mother, psychologist, and apparently "hot babe," according to his friends, and songwriter and band leader. Why the long list? Because all t More...
Struts and Frets is the very enjoyable musical coming-of-age story of Sammy, high school student, new boyfriend of his best friend, grandson to a jazz musician increasingly afflicted by dementia, son to a single mother, psychologist, and apparently "hot babe," according to his friends, and songwriter and band leader. Why the long list? Because all t More...
Oct 09, 2011
Nicole
rated it:
Samuel "Sammy" Bojar's whole life revolves around listening to and making music with the high hopes on one day making it big in the underground scene. Despite what his therapist mother says. There's just one hitch in his plan: his band, Tragedy of Wisdom. Tragedy of Wisdom has the potential of being a really great band, but besides Sammy and his drummer/friend TJ, no one else seems to take the band seriously, or even care that much about it.
So when his band decides to enter More...
So when his band decides to enter More...
Feb 19, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
From shutupimreading.blogspot.com
This isn't my normal type of book, and I hadn't heard much about it. I just randomly saw it at the bookstore, and decided that I needed to read it. Maybe I had some kind of contemporary craving, I don't know. But it must have been just what I needed, because I really enjoyed it.
I know I've mentioned this once or twice (or twenty times...), but I love music. So when my love of music and books combines, it usually agrees with me. I like indie ro More...
This isn't my normal type of book, and I hadn't heard much about it. I just randomly saw it at the bookstore, and decided that I needed to read it. Maybe I had some kind of contemporary craving, I don't know. But it must have been just what I needed, because I really enjoyed it.
I know I've mentioned this once or twice (or twenty times...), but I love music. So when my love of music and books combines, it usually agrees with me. I like indie ro More...
Jul 07, 2011
Jenn
rated it:
growing up, i would've been all over this book, simply for existing. because at that time, in columbus, ohio, the only cultural touchstones we had were "family ties" which didn't count at all because all the place names were made up. so, a book that actually took place in columbus, dropping location names (the dube! bernies! newport! idiot boy! schiller park! not-named cup o'joe!) and experiences i could totally relate to? yes, please. but, because the setting is near and dear, there a
More...
Jan 19, 2011
Melody
rated it:
Oh, this was fun! The authorial voice was completely authentic- so much so that I found myself saying stern motherly things to the protagonist. Out loud.
Sammy lives for music, but he's also a regular teenage kid with insecurities, blind spots, family issues and in short, a normal life. I love reading about kids with normal lives, kids who are not Representing A Disorder. Samuel is hilarious to read about from an adult perspective, too- this book works on more than one level, and hits More...
Sammy lives for music, but he's also a regular teenage kid with insecurities, blind spots, family issues and in short, a normal life. I love reading about kids with normal lives, kids who are not Representing A Disorder. Samuel is hilarious to read about from an adult perspective, too- this book works on more than one level, and hits More...
3 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 25, 2010
Nikki
rated it:
Forewarning: major musical geeking out is about to take place. I kind of feel like a babbling baboon (say that 5x fast, I dare you) Anyway!
Music is such a big part of my life, even considering the fact that I can't play an instrument to save my life. But reading this book reminded me why I love it so much. Like reading, it transports you to a different place. When nothing else can seem to get me grounded, music has what it takes to give me that push.
Struts & Frets reverbe More...
Music is such a big part of my life, even considering the fact that I can't play an instrument to save my life. But reading this book reminded me why I love it so much. Like reading, it transports you to a different place. When nothing else can seem to get me grounded, music has what it takes to give me that push.
Struts & Frets reverbe More...
Jan 28, 2010
Katie
rated it:
After reading non-stop paranormal, this book was a huge shift for me. I was afraid I’d get antsy, but luckily that was not the case. Struts & Frets was humorous and extremely entertaining.
My brother plays guitar. Every boyfriend I’ve ever had has played guitar. And my dad wishes he could play guitar. So needless to say, even though the only guitar I can play is for a videogame, this book felt really familiar to me. I’m definitely not saying that you have to have those kinds of connec More...
My brother plays guitar. Every boyfriend I’ve ever had has played guitar. And my dad wishes he could play guitar. So needless to say, even though the only guitar I can play is for a videogame, this book felt really familiar to me. I’m definitely not saying that you have to have those kinds of connec More...
Jul 05, 2009
Vania
rated it:
Struts and Frets by Jon Skovron tells the coming of age story of Samuel Bojar a high school rock and roll member of a garage band. Skovron explores the rollercoaster moments of growing up, the moments of inspiration and the moments in life when things click. Sammy is a songwriter and musician who is struggling to find his place not only in his band but also in life. In a time span of two weeks Sammy struggles with friends, band mates, and worst of all with family all while trying to get ready f
More...
May 14, 2010
Lauren
rated it:
I don't know about you but I love it when books are inspiring in a way that makes you have the impulse to chase after your own dreams as soon as possible. If you haven't guess already, Struts & Frets was exactly that- and more!
If I were asked to quickly sum up Struts & Frets in a few words, a lot would come to mind. One being inspirational, obviously, along with moving and poignant. Since in all honesty that's just how Sammy's coming of age tale was.
Sammy is a char More...
If I were asked to quickly sum up Struts & Frets in a few words, a lot would come to mind. One being inspirational, obviously, along with moving and poignant. Since in all honesty that's just how Sammy's coming of age tale was.
Sammy is a char More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Nov 30, 2009
Kathryn
rated it:
Can't Stop This Music
I freaking loved this book. Any book that can make Jane's Addiction and Shakespeare come together to create a beautiful story has my full support. And it didn't hurt that the writing style has a rawness and openness about it that nearly broke my heart and kept me laughing all at once.
Sammy Bojar is going to be the next big thing--or will be after the current next big thing gets out of his way. All he has to do is figure out how to keep his indie/punk/ More...
I freaking loved this book. Any book that can make Jane's Addiction and Shakespeare come together to create a beautiful story has my full support. And it didn't hurt that the writing style has a rawness and openness about it that nearly broke my heart and kept me laughing all at once.
Sammy Bojar is going to be the next big thing--or will be after the current next big thing gets out of his way. All he has to do is figure out how to keep his indie/punk/ More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 24, 2010
Natali
rated it:
Cute. Kind of ordinary but told in an interesting perspective. People who like jazz, rock, and/ or are in a band will totally get this book. Sammy has a problem... well several problems. 1) How can he get his best friend to be his girlfriend without his friends and himself completely freaking out? 2) How can he write songs and practice without the lead singer flipping off and possibly killing him and his band? And finally, 3) How can he save the grandfather that he knows and loves before
More...
Nov 08, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
I really enjoyed reading this book! It was a good read about a young male musician trying to establish a band, start a relationship with a good friend, and care for his elderly grandfather. The beer seemed a little to easy to get, and but the sex scene was sweet - not a paperback romance steamy scene, but a meaningful moment between two people who care for each other, and happen to both be teens. I thought it would be just the book I would give to a thoughtful teenage boy.
Jan 14, 2010
Shellie
rated it:
At times this book is a little awkward, but often in a way that seems like an authentic adolescent awkwardness. The main character's dedication to music feels genuine and familiar to me. This a far from like-changing book, and the parallel problems that the main character experiences seem to detract from the intensity of the each other (the situation with Gramps feels especially underinflated to me), but this is a great book for any teen, especially a music lover or a boy.
Sep 18, 2010
Heather
rated it:
3.6 stars
Sammy's life is getting complicated: his grandfather is slowly losing his mind, his band is falling apart, and he just discovered that his best friend is in love with him.
Sammy is a music geek - music is his life, it sustains him. So when his band begins to fall apart, his whole life seems to be taking a turn for the worse.
Sammy and his friends are characters you'll enjoy spending time with and getting to know.
Sammy's life is getting complicated: his grandfather is slowly losing his mind, his band is falling apart, and he just discovered that his best friend is in love with him.
Sammy is a music geek - music is his life, it sustains him. So when his band begins to fall apart, his whole life seems to be taking a turn for the worse.
Sammy and his friends are characters you'll enjoy spending time with and getting to know.
Mar 16, 2010
Ricki
rated it:
I ended up liking this one in the end. I think it is a great book for students who love music and are in bands. Some of the sexual comments made me cringe a bit, and I won't be putting it in my classroom because of phrases like "big hard cock." That's not to say I won't be recommending it to students. I loved the music theme of this book and wish there were fewer sexual references, so I could keep this one out on my bookshelf.
Jul 23, 2010
Caroline
rated it:
Just browzing the teen section in the library this books cover made me pick it up. And so glad I did! This book really related to me in alot of ways. The main character, Sammy, lives in German Village, his best friend, Jen5 takes art classes at CCAD, and its all about being in a band and writing lyrics and stuff, which is what my friend and I do all the time This book was facinating and I really enjoyed it.
Jul 30, 2010
Laurie(Time Stand Still)
rated it: 
I thought this books was okay and would probably be better received if I was say, a thirteen or fourteen year old boy who was a little bit geeky and liked alot of things about music. Being a mom of two boys I was glas I read it as it reminded me of things to come as my boys get older. This book was an easy read and easy to follow but there was one thing that J5's dad did that I just really can't see happening. If you wonder what that it is, pick it up from your library and find out.
