The Vinyl Princess

The Vinyl Princess

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3.69 of 5 stars 3.69  ·  rating details  ·  881 ratings  ·  174 reviews

Summer is here, and 16-year-old Allie, a self-professed music geek, is exactly where she wants to be: working full-time at Berkeley’s ultra-cool Bob and Bob Records. There, Allie can spend her days bantering with the street people, talking the talk with the staff, shepherding the uncool bridge-and-tunnel shoppers, all the while blissfully surrounded by music, music, music....more
Hardcover, 313 pages
Published December 14th 2009 by HarperTeen
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Mahlon
Mar 05, 2010 Mahlon rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone whois from northern CA, or likes musically-themed novels
Recommended to Mahlon by: Amazon
The Vinyl Princess is a must read for anyone who spent any time in Berkeley in the 90's. When I was in college Amoeba Music (disguised as Bob and Bob's records in the book) was my refuge from the chaos and craziness that was (and is) Berkeley. Reading this book brought back many memories for me. While not as good as other novels in the genre such as High Fidelity or Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, it comes very close. Anyone who enjoyed those two books will enjoy this one.
Isamlq
3.5/5

It’s a good thing I don’t judge books by their first lines. Or their second lines for that matter because lines like, “I sensed him in my midst. The air seems to thin when he’s near me.” Does not even scratch the surface of how delightful I found Allie to be. With those two lines, one might imagine girls of the frilly dress and maybe even ghostly would be lovers. Not the case. Thank god.

Vinyl Princess is a girl with a passion for the little record shop she works in; a passion running a c...more
Saviourofmusic
This is my favourite book, hands down, always will be, and I have read a LOT of books.
This story is about a teen music junky named Allie who works at a vinyl music store called "Bob & Bob's" and her summer there.
The plot is very subtle and there are many other subplots to it. That's kinda what I like about it. It's a really laid back story but at the same time it can keep you on edge.
The characters are fantastic. Allie is so indie and unique you have to love her. She's anti-mainstream and lo...more
Sara
Yvonne Prinz is one of the co-founders of Amoeba Music, an independent music store with locations in Hollywood and Berkeley, California. So she has first hand knowledge and experience befitting this novel about a young girl working at a record store on Telegraph in Berkeley.

Allie is sixteen years old and it is summer. Now working full-time at Bob & Bob Records, she has also decided to start up a blog devoted to vinyl records, called “The Vinyl Princess,” and is working on a printed zine to p...more
Canadian Children's Book Centre
Reviewed by Rachel Siegel

Teen audiophile Allie has a busy summer ahead of her. Working at Bob & Bob Records, she’ll also be launching her Vinyl Princess blog, and working on her fanzine, which she plans to distribute in the store. For Allie, it’s a summer where anything can happen, and she sits poised and ready to embrace whatever may come her way.

Allie, short for Alberta, offers a unique voice in teenage heroines. Allie’s number one priority is music, and she immerses herself in it. Her kn...more
Amy
Just okay. A LOT of YA books have a protagonist with an immense passion/talent/hobby/etc., and sometimes it feels real, and sometimes it doesn't. This one didn't ring true for me. The passion for music/vinyl felt hollow and forced. I did like the details surrounding vinyl collectors and Berkeley though............

Ugh. It's been extremely difficult for me to construct my review of this book. I hate being scared to give a harsh review on Goodreads, but I am. I really wish we could set our reviews...more
Adele
Reading this book is a little like struggling to work out who you are as a person. Your identity is seemingly in flux and there are many details and facts floating around but you're not exactly sure how they all fit together to make you. The Vinyl Princess is a book that knows what it wants to be but isn't wholly successful. If it were a tiled floor I would say the grout was missing, it has all the right pieces but just doesn't mesh together entirely.

The characters voices were indistinct, the pr...more
Alex Green
The Vinyl Princess
By Yvonne Prinz
Harper Collins
ISBN# 978-0-06-171583-9

"I've always loved independent music stores because the staff is usually there because of a genuine love and appreciation for music…some of my greatest music discoveries have come from picking up an album at an indie store and the cat behind the register saying "You like this man? Have you heard of so-and-so?" I prefer to shop where people understand me and the music--the music I like."

--Brother Ali

“Folks who work here are pro...more
Lyn
Sixteen-year-old Allie lives in Berkeley with her mom, an indifferent cat, and a nearly-invisible boarder. She's on summer vacation, but instead of hanging out at the mall, Allie is working a dream job and feeding her passion for vinyl at Bob & Bob's Records, an independent record store on Telegraph Avenue. Allie collects vinyl records the way some kids collect baseball cards, and she knows music like other kids know designer shoes. To share her passion, she starts a blog, The Vinyl Princess...more
cEe beE
Superlative read! I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The narrator is 16 yr old Allie. Smart, wry and obsessed with music and vinyl records, she works at Bob's and Bob's Records in Berkeley. Summer is out, and unlike other girls her age, she prefers to hang out full time at the musty old store, waiting on customers, watching for shoplifters and the resident crossdressing homeless duo who loiter around.

Meanwhile, she started her own blog, aptly called The Vinyl Princess that's slowly gaining some fol...more
Trisha W.
Jan 08, 2010 Trisha W. rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who likes music.
Shelves: my-books
I wasn't going to write a review for this book because it wasn't the best book I have read and I thought if I wrote a review it would be a negative one. But after thinking about the book some more I have decided to still write my review and give it my honest opinion.

I liked The Vinyl Princess. I think the one thing that made me keep reading it was the boy that is mentioned in the beginning of the book. I wanted to know who he was so I kept flipping pages. And as soon this boy was out of the pict...more
Raina
Ok, first off, I have to say that the cover on this is totally wrong. It's attractive enough, but Allie describes her look as "the love child of Sid Vicious and Chrissie Hynde," and repeatedly describes her own rooster hair and brunette hair color. Long golden locks? I don't think so. But that doesn't make the book bad.
I found it quite compelling, thought-provoking and entertaining, actually. We follow Allie, a 16-year-old who's been (unlawfully) working at a record store for two years. She's ob...more
Ofilia
Allie is a sixteen year old vinyl obsessed music geek stuck in the digital age. She is passionate about music and not just one genre, but she is an expert in just about everything. She works at a grungy old record store with a varied cast of crazy characters which suits her just fine. Her entire identity is wrapped around her work and love of music. Prinz includes tons of info about the music and musicians that make you wish the book came with a soundtrack accompaniment. Luckily thanks to music...more
Matti Karjalainen
Kuusitoistavuotias Allie on kesäduunissa berkeleylaisessa Bob&Bob -levykaupassa, työskentelee eksentrisen myyjäporukan keskellä, keräilee vanhoja vinyyleitä, pitää musiikkiaiheista blogia ja setvii siinä sivussa niin omia kuin läheistensäkin ihmissuhteita. Kuulostaako tutulta? Niinpä niin! Jos Nick Hornby olisi kirjoittanut mestarillisen "Uskollisen äänentoistonsa" ensisijaisena kohderyhmänään teini-ikäiset tytöt, niin lopputulos voisi olla hieman Yvonne Prinzin "Vinyyliprinsessan" (Karisto,...more
Alexandra
As far as purpose goes, this novel satisfied mine: distraction from real life and mild entertainment during my free time, with a cute little romance thrown into the plot.

But as far being predictable, that's exactly what you get. If you're someone who has read as many Young Adult novels as I have (I spend about as much time in the YA section of my local library as Allie spends amongst the stacks of vintage vinyl LPs in Bob and Bob's) or even if you just have mediocre inferencing skills, the endin...more
Hilary
"The music makes it official: This house of worship is open for business. This is the place where people come to find community; they come here to confess their sins and talk to their gods; they come for validation and understanding; they come here to get their groove on, let their hair down, visit the past, look to the future, find some spirituality, search their souls, get some peace, stir things up, or live a little. This is Bob & Bob Records. This is where I work."

"...camping is not a da...more
Jodi
The best teen book I've read in awhile. Well written, smart, funny, sharp, contemporary, takes place in my beloved Berkeley and thinly disguised Amoeba Record store. Funny, well done descriptions of infamous Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley and it's unique colorful inhabitants. Not snide, cynical or mean-assed tone like lots of current YA fiction; but genuine, honest, sweet and sassy in a warm fuzzy way. Some good modern romance with a realistic twist too. Nice, realistic, sweet and completely accepti...more
DeEtte
Goodreads needs a half star choice...I would give this book a solid 3.5 stars. It was super predictable and super corny, but also super cute and cool. Let me preface my review by saying that I worship at the altar of rock! I love music, I spent a huge portion of my teenage years in independent record stores. I totally related to the theory that you can completely bond with someone over a mutual love of music. I would guess that in my late teenage/early adult years most of my relationships were f...more
Mti Librarian
Allie definitely has the best summer job working at Bob & Bob records, a vinyl LP music junkie idea of heaven. She's focused on sharing her love of vinyl through a new blog and newsletter. Allie checks out that cute guy in the record store and manages to overlook the boy gem right under her nose, but seems very level-headed compared to her best friend, Kit, who almost has a degree in boy drama, and Allie's mother, back in the dating pool after a recent divorce and dating like a ball in a pin...more
Aimee (Coffee Table Reviews)
I really liked this one. I couldn't help it, no matter how the author described Allie, somehow I pictured her as Watts from Some Kind of Wonderful. She even had some of the same attitude.

I really liked that this was more than just a romance. So many things happen in this, all of it feeling well connected to the story. I really hadn't seen a few things coming, like things with Mystery Guy. This was more of a coming of age story than a romance, and I think the novel was better for it. I liked seei...more
Vicki
Allie lives in Berkeley with her mother, cat, and a ghost of a boarder. She loves her job working at Bob & Bob Records. Life is good. That is until a rash of robberies begins in the neighbourhood and Allie starts dealing with some boy trouble.

I enjoyed this book, really. It made me want to haul out my vinyls and just chill. I mostly liked the characters and the writing style was fine. But that's it. The book was just fine. There was nothing wrong with, except perhaps Allie's music elitism. T...more
ananka
Allie is a vinyl expert. At 16 she has already put in 2 years of service working at her local record store; her home away from home. But the numbers of record aficionados are shrinking and so are the store's clientele. In order to reach more LP fans, Allie starts a blog and a zine, talking about all her favorites slowly garnering a larger and larger fan base, including "Fan in Berkley" whom she fantasizes is the illusive mystery man she sees occasionally in the store.

Like a simplified High Fidel...more
Sofia
This was a great read. So, yeah there might be that typical and cheesy moment when she talks about her crush, the mysterious 'M'.

But you have to appreciate the love for music that ingraved in every sentence. I assure you as someone who only has her face in books, I'm not that connected to other musc besides the songs I've had for years now. Don't even get me started on technology, that's where I'm a fail.

Allie has a great personality and I find it amusing at how caring she could be for her m...more
Amber
I'm more of a paranormal type of gal so when it comes to contemporary YA, I like it to have a little flair. I usually find my flair in the form of the novel using a different media to tell a story coupled with regular first person/3 person POV-- Gamer Girl had online gaming, Hold Still had Ingrid's journal, How To Say Goodbye In Robot had the radio show to name a few recently. (Oddly enough, I didn't connect this piece of information until I was thinking about this review, but it's really true)...more
Kristy
This is one of those books where a whole lot of nothing happens.... Don't get me wrong the characters experience a few things... maybe it's just not that interesting. Not bookworthy perhaps?!?!?

The book is basically about a girl who works in a record store. She's really into music. She starts a blog about said music, witnessess a robbery and meets a fella with the music bone as well. Throw in freshly divorced, dating parents and a somewhat quirky best girl friend experiencing a cheating boyfrien...more
dontouchmychocolate
I love music but damn, I feel like I've just had a 300-page lesson on music.

There was such a heavy emphasis on music and vinyl records that the plot itself fell flat for me. Gosh, and the music snobbery! Anyone who doesn't own a vinyl record really has no chance when reading this propaganda-like book. Seriously, all the mentioning of artists and albums and music tracks almost drove me mad enough to set fire to everything in sight.

The Vinyl Princess honestly felt like an outlet for the author to...more
Amy
For more reviews, check out http://vivaladolcevita14.blogspot.com/

Damn, this book rocked. I'm a huge music geek, so this book definitely appealed to me, even though I'm not the same kind of music geek Allie is. This book went nice and slow, pacing just right and hitting you with twists when you least expect it. Then when you're finally finished with the book you realize "huh, the clues were there the whole time." I loved every moment, savoring them.


Allie is a really cool character. Like I said,...more
Monique
Book review:
I was reading the Vynnyl princess. It was a really good book. At first There is a girl and she creates a website called the vynnyl princess. She also is on summer break and she gets to be in her favorite place. The record store, where she has a job there. Then she meets someone named Joel. She thinks that she might be falling in love with someone she doesn't even know about. So one day she is helping him out at the record store and he asks her out. And of course she says yes and she...more
Zoe
I didn't read this book properly. There's a lot I skipped. But there was something really special about it. I think it's all the music references and the sweet but totally reserved romance between Allie and Zach. I really liked them. Zach's nerdy and a bit of hypochondriac. He had a lot of quirks and he wears glasses. A bit stereotypical but totally adorable. They're both music junkies and have a lot to talk about even though they don't hit it off straight away. For Allie, it's a bit of a coming...more
Laura
Feb 25, 2010 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: ya
Obsessive record collector and self proclaimed “Vinyl Princess,” Allie is seventeen and already living her dream-working at an ultra-cool record store in Berkeley, CA. Working full time, Allie’s summer is peppered with often hilarious and sometimes dangerous adventures in retail. She also begins a blog and zine called The Vinyl Princess, finding her voice in her most favorite of topics-music! Her personal life also competes for drama in the story with a great best friend with a dud boyfriend, a...more
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The Vinyl Princess (ebook)
Princesse vinyle (Broché)
The Vinyl Princess (Kindle Edition)
Vinyl Princess
Vinyyliprinsessa (Hardcover)

449499
I was born on the prairies of Alberta, Canada to a musician and a music lover. In 1989 I moved to California where I met my husband, Dave, also a music lover and we founded Amoeba Music in 1990 (amoeba.com).
My first YA novel “STILL THERE, CLARE” was published in 2004 by Raincoast books in Vancouver. It was nominated for an IPPY and a RED CEDAR AWARD and it was a 2005 BOOKSENSE PICK.
The Second and...more
More about Yvonne Prinz...
All You Get Is Me Not Fair, Clare Still There, Clare Double-Dare Clare Vinylprinsessan

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