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Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie (Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie #1)

4.26 of 5 stars 4.26 · rating details · 8,549 ratings · 1,361 reviews

From first-time novelist Jordan Sonnenblick, a brave and beautiful story that will make readers laugh and break their hearts at the same time.

Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnos...more

Hardcover, 273 pages

Published September 1st 2005 by Scholastic Press (first published June 4th 2004)

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Oct 11, 2012 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kids-and-teens, audio-books, made-me-cry, humor, cancer, library-books

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 (view spoiler)...more 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 (view spoiler)

Steven is a very typical 13-year-old boy. His younger brother is a little terror, his parents are annoying, he hates math, and he has a crush on the hottest girl in school. When Jeffrey has a nosebleed that doesn’t want to stop, Steven’s life is suddenly turned upside down when he learns his little brother has leukemia. Now it’s all about Jeffrey and Steven seems to have been forgotten. He must handle the situation the best way he can. Thanks to help from his teachers, his friends, and his family he copes, he changes, and his pesky little brother isn’t so annoying any more.

I was a little hesitant about listening to this story, thinking it would be way too depressing and sentimental. It was actually the perfect story to listen to on the long drive to my mom’s house. It made me laugh and made me cry, a perfect balance of humor and drama. Joel Johnstone did an outstanding job narrating, making each of the characters’ voices distinctive and engaging. I was especially impressed with the female characters. Some male narrators seem to try too hard getting women’s voices just right, that they fail completely. Even little Jeffrey’s voice made me smile.

The characters were all very believable and easy to relate to. While some situations were a little predictable, Steven kept me thoroughly entertained as he talked about his life in school, his friends, his brother’s illness, his parents, and the physical, emotional, and financial hardships associated with cancer.

It’s funny and moving, and you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy it.
(less)

31 likes · like · see review

May 04, 2008 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, trt-gold-star-award-winner, lendle-spot-booked-copies-available

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 of her days at the hospital taking...more 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 of her days at the hospital taking care of his brother, and his dad is mostly keeping to himself, too worried about the bills to spend time with or even talk to his oldest son. Steven wants to believe that everything will just go back to normal, and tries to release his anger, anxiety, and fears by playing the drums. But his brother doesn't seem to be getting any better, and Steven has a hard time concentrating at school, he's not turning in his homework, and his grades are starting to fall behind. To make things worse, he doesn't want anyone to find out what is going on--but somehow his best friend, Annette, the school counselor, and even Renee Albert, the hottest girl in the eighth grade, all seem to know that something is not right.

This unforgettable novel took me on an incredibly moving ride. And when I felt I was all the way down on this emotional roller coaster, and found myself struggling to see the words through my tears, Sonnenblick lifted me up gently, word by word, page by page, and put a grin on my face that eventually turned into a big smile and then an out-loud laugh. The author's great voice shows real characters with real feelings, and the true struggle of a teenager trying to understand the unfairness of a deadly disease, and how to cope with the fear of losing his beloved little brother.

So you think your little brother is a pest? You will think again after reading this touching story.

Tissues are highly recommended.

The paperback edition of DRUMS, GIRLS, & DANGEROUS PIE also includes a section with an interview, information about the author, tips on writing, and a preview of Jordan Sonnenblick's next novel, NOTES FROM THE MIDNIGHT DRIVER. (less)

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Jan 23, 2013 ESTHER710 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 7th-grade-shelf, favorite-books

I feel bad for Jeffrey because I feel like Steven treats him badly. But then again if I were Steven and Jeffrey embarrassed me in front of my crush i would like die of humiliation. Jeffry did do a bad thing by sharing things about Steven that shouldn't have been said in front of his classmates.Also where are Steven's parents when Jeffry took Steven's special sticks? Also when he said all those embarassing things in the auditorium? Those are some irresponsible parents because they haven't done an...more

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Dec 11, 2008 21awsomeswimmer2121 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 this book ou...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

*Cross posted on AmyLovesYA.com

Let me start by saying that this is the first Jordan Sonnenblick book I've read, It will NOT be the last. In fact, I'm reading another one right now titled After Ever After. Back to the point--I have not read many middle grade novels because I teach high school and figured I should keep with the age range of my students. I was wrong. SO wrong. This book is funny, heart-breaking, and just plain beautiful whether you are ten or thirty...something (like me).

The book...more *Cross posted on AmyLovesYA.com

Let me start by saying that this is the first Jordan Sonnenblick book I've read, It will NOT be the last. In fact, I'm reading another one right now titled After Ever After. Back to the point--I have not read many middle grade novels because I teach high school and figured I should keep with the age range of my students. I was wrong. SO wrong. This book is funny, heart-breaking, and just plain beautiful whether you are ten or thirty...something (like me).

The book starts off with Steven at his middle school graduation, but then he reflects back to a journal entry he wrote early in the school year. His teacher asked the class to write about what they thought was the most annoying. Naturally, Steven wrote about his relationship with his little brother, Jeffrey.

Jeffrey is five, so of course he gets into stuff he shouldn't, messes up things he doesn't mean to, and uses Stevens special sticks to mix his dangerous pie (love this part). But all of that pales in comparison to what happens in October. An unusually bad nose bleed due to a moatmeal incident lands Jeffrey in the ER where ends up being diagnosed with leukemia. As an eighth grader, Steven thought his biggest worries were drum practice, his crush on Renee Albert, and protecting his stuff from his little brother, but Jeffrey's diagnosis turns the whole family upside down.

Sonnenblick, a former eighth grade English teacher, perfectly crafts each family member's reaction to Jeffrey's diagnosis and treatment with heart-breaking clarity sprinkled with bits of relieving humor. His understanding of the middle school adolescent is spot on. The transformation that Steven undergoes, from his initial denial of Jeffrey's illness to his selfish reactions to finally seeing his family members as individuals rather than orbiters in his world, is what brings him to the culminating point at his eight grade graduation. Above all, Sonnenblick has crafted a beautiful story that I will not soon forget.

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie was Jordan Sonnenblick's debut back in 2004, and if you still have doubts about whether or not you will like this book, take Sonnenblick's word for it. "This is my first book. My mom says it is good. Please feel free to buy it. And read it, too." Check out his website and blog where you can find out about his other seven books.

*Currently reading After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick(less)

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Aug 25, 2011 Juneetta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 might be...more

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Mar 25, 2008 Sondra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 atten...more

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Dec 06, 2012 7706lily rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

WOW! What an emotional book. I think that Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pies is one of the best realistic fiction books I have ever read. Steven, the main character, has a little brother who early in the the book is diagnosed with leukimia. Now remember Steven is 13 years old so not only does he have to deal with his brothers cancer but he also has to deal with parents, school, drums and girls. Throughout the book Steven changes to the extreme! I enjoyed this book because it made me feel so many di...more

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Dec 11, 2008 Shorty96 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Dec 07, 2012 7706serena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is scary! This realistic fiction book is about an 8th grade boy named Steven. Steven has average problems and average teenage boy worries until (spoiler alert!) his little brother Jeffrey gets leukemia. Leukemia is blood cancer. At first Steven feels in denial about it. Then, when Jeffrey comes back from the hospital in Philedelphia, Steven focuses on nurturing and praying for Jeffrey. What I find so incredibly amazing is how strong Jeffrey is. When Steven had the flu, Jeffrey wrote St...more

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Mar 13, 2009 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, realistic, leukemia, families, books-for-boys, 2008-caudill-nominees, depression, borrowed-from-the-library

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 hi...more

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May 13, 2013 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Drums, Girls & dangerous Pie is an amazing. Its just a book that really touches your heart, If you start to read it you just wont want to stop reading it. This book is about a boy named Steven has a younger brother, yet Steven is just like no other original kid. He is 13 years old in the 8th grade.At school he likes this girl that he has had a crush on for a very very long time she is very pretty too. He start high school with good grades and start to play the drums. His little brother jeffr...more

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May 07, 2013 Anthony rated it 5 of 5 stars

Simplicity is the best thing on the planet, or at least to 8th grader Steven Alper. As long as he had his drums, life was bliss. Little did he know that tragedy was right around the corner. Steven’s 5 year old brother, Jeremy, was suddenly struck down with Leukemia. Stevens simple days of drums were over. It didn't take long before the news had spread all through town as well as Stevens's school. And to build on top of all of this, a few girls have taken an interest in him. You will see in this...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Lauren Goetz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie is a book that I definitely recommend. This book is about a boy named Steven, who has an average life and everything is normal, until his little brother Jeffery gets leukemia. From then on, his family has financial problems, Jeffery is constantly in and out of the hospital, and Steven is basically left to fend for himself. Although this book is full of really sad and depressing parts, the author manages to incorporate humor by having Steven look on the positive an...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Ariel Trevino rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is really amazing. Touching pretty much all the topics a book possibly can, it will appeal to most anyone. 8th grader, Steven, lives a super typical life facing everyday, typical problems. From his annoying younger brother to a crush on the prettiest girl in school, Steven had no way of preparing for the inevitable that struck his "typical" life. In early October, Stevens annoying, younger brother, Jeffery, got an unusually gory nose bleed from a fluke oatmeal accident. After being rus...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Camryn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-tears

Wow! I'm reading about a bazillion books right now, but I squeezed this one in (it's an insanely fast read)! After thinking about it, I've kinda categorized this as “Small But Mighty”. It may not have been the most difficult read, but it was still amazing. The author created this incredibly human and relatable character, and that right there would have to be one of my favorite parts of this book. I feel like the author got the emotions so spot on… jeez, it makes me all depressed just to think ab...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Evan Judge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked the book. The author, Jordan Sonnenblick, did a great job illustrating this novel. I liked this novel because I am a drummer and I liked how Steven played in the marching band and the jazz band. You could understand the dialogue between the characters and their feelings. I would rate this book, four and a half stars. The novel was very humorous, yet sad and made you understand how hard it is for people to try to live normal lives, still fighting a disease. The key points in the novel wer...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Lydia Mitchell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you're going to read Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, bring some tissues, be ready to laugh until your sides hurt, and prepare to make some new best friends. The characters in this book are so easy to get attached to, plus they're the perfect example of the phrase "characters are complicated". There were many times when I felt exactly how I imagined Steven, Annette, Jeffrey, and all the other characters, feeling. When Steven didn't turn in his homework or doesn't pay attention in class, I feel...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Jake rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie
If you are looking for a tear jerker, comedy and romance all in one, this is the book for you. This book was honestly the best book I have ever read. It is comical and heart wrenching all at the same time. The main character is Steven he is a thirteen year old boy in the eighth grade who loves to play drums. Like all teen boys steven has a crush, but she just isn't kinda girl she is Renee Albert head cheerleader of the middle school cheer squad. He has had a crush on...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Ms. Ramsborg rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: realistic-fiction

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
Lexile: 940

I liked this book a lot because it is the book that comes before the sequel, After Ever After (also a great book). I didn’t know there was a first book, so I read the sequel first. In this book, I got to read about Steven, Jeffrey’s older brother. In the beginning of the book, Steven mainly sees Jeffrey as his annoying 5-year-old brother who everyone else thinks is adorable. Steven’s life changes when Jeffrey is diagnosed with cancer and becomes very sic...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite, library, ya

Steven is a terrific drum player in middle school and although he thinks his life is boring, his life is actually pretty good. He has a crush on a hot girl, a handful of friends, he’s a great student, his parents have great jobs and he has a five-year old brother who could be annoying at times but for the most part, they got along. His life gets turned upside down when his younger brother Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia. Steven decides to tell only his closest friend but when the pressure of...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Ravenous Biblioworm rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rating: 4/5

As seen at http://ravenousbiblioworm.wordpress.com (Come check out my book review blog!)

For a debut novel (though this was published back in 2004, but it is Sonnenblicks first published novel), this novel was entertaining and done well. Well, not “even for a debut novel,” but any book. There are many likable things about this book and the only reasons why I rated it a 4 came down to two things. Pacing and sentimentality. Which even then wasn’t all that bad.

The pacing was fairly fast a...more Rating: 4/5

As seen at http://ravenousbiblioworm.wordpress.com (Come check out my book review blog!)

For a debut novel (though this was published back in 2004, but it is Sonnenblicks first published novel), this novel was entertaining and done well. Well, not “even for a debut novel,” but any book. There are many likable things about this book and the only reasons why I rated it a 4 came down to two things. Pacing and sentimentality. Which even then wasn’t all that bad.

The pacing was fairly fast and the narrative moves along at a rapid rate. Sometimes I felt as if the issues were blown over in what Steven was feeling and couldn’t fully get into his emotions during those scenes, but then this notion felt purposeful. The fast pace was done on purpose and it isn’t rushed because the narrative didn’t know where to go or didn’t know what to do or have a plan on where to go but nowhere how to get there… it was none of these reasons. It felt right and yet it also distanced the empathic tie with Steven and reader. So I’m thinking this is a personal view.

Sentimentality goes hand in hand with the pacing. When I read about dying kids with cancer, I want to ball up, weep, and sob. I’m not being sarcastic. I really do. I want snot to run down across my lips and my cheeks to puff up to match an overstuffed chipmunk’s cheeks and eyes so red, it’ll make vampires jealous. And when I gasp for air, this nasty gross hoarse of a breath of air would blare like a fog horn across the house. I mean kids are dying of cancer; their life potential is so high up there, they can achieve so much, learn and love so much and all of that is being taken away. It’s super sad. So yeah, I want my heart to break into a million little pieces and feel like it is the end of the world and all I want to do after I read the book is hug the book tight to my chest and sob under the covers. I didn’t get that with this book. But that’s okay.

Because the way its written now works for it. It may not pull on the heartstrings as much as it should or could, but I still enjoyed and liked the story. Details were given to us to paint the characters in the story. Contradictions were many, but these are the good kinds. The kinds where you know a certain brother seems to hate his little brother, only to have him need and want his little to do something that annoys him or something he hates, just so that life can feel normal and that cancer can hide away from the moment. Those types of contradictions. And they are done well.

The characters all dealt with the cancer all differently and believably. Everyone acted out in different ways and it showed and created a unique and acceptable world. Steven’s pent up anger, sadness, and grief is slowly built upon and when he blows over, it’s completely sad. Only his expression of his tone, the voice of the narrative, a joking and somewhat ansty funny voice drains some of the emotion out of the scene. Like the intervention scene… dear goodness I leaned forward and hugged my tissue box close to my chest in anticipation (if you could have seen my gleaming anxious eyes of excitement and preparation to weep) and it fizzles out and I didn’t cry but I did feel sorry for Steven. Mom was head strong and consistently was shown to be the person who barreled through the turmoil with her head. Dad … man, he kinda sucked (personality wise) but it’s understandable. I thoroughly enjoyed Annette, the one who steadily is there and you (aka Steven) seems to think she’s the most annoying creature in the world only to realize that your assessment of her had been wrong.

It was the characterizations that carried this story through and made it enjoyable.

Overall, I liked the book a lot.

Verdict: Read it.(less)

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Oct 21, 2012 Nathan R. added it · review of another edition

A HOT GIRL. DRUMS. AND PIE. DANGEROUS PIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!This story takes place in New York City in during modern times. Steven and his family, live in an average 2-story house and for the most part live a pretty normal life. Steven is a kid who is very quiet he has a burning crush on the hottest girl in school: Renee Albert, who he stares at all day. His only friend is a girl his age named Anette. Also, he absolutely loves to play drums and its his only way to get his mind off of h...more A HOT GIRL. DRUMS. AND PIE. DANGEROUS PIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This story takes place in New York City in during modern times. Steven and his family, live in an average 2-story house and for the most part live a pretty normal life. Steven is a kid who is very quiet he has a burning crush on the hottest girl in school: Renee Albert, who he stares at all day. His only friend is a girl his age named Anette. Also, he absolutely loves to play drums and its his only way to get his mind off of his annoying little brother Jeffery. He and his mom love each other, but he and his dad aren’t very close.
Things are pretty normal for Steven until one day, everything changes. When Steven is in the kitchen his brother, comes down for breakfast and climbs up on a stool to get a bowl. But instead, when he reaches, the chair slips, he falls and hits his head on the stove. His nose is bleeding like water coming from a sink, but Steven notices there's a lot of blood so he gets his parents goes to school and his brother to the hospital. Later that day when Steven gets back from school his parents call him in. They gave him some terrifying new, “your brother has Leukemia.” Steven is now faced with watching his brother go bald, golden curls gone, and pale. Once people start to find out, Steven started getting more attention, especially from the “It” girl, Renee who starts to talk to him, even though she had never even noticed him before. On top of all that, Steven’s family is going bankrupt from Jeffrey’s treatment and surgeries. Steven decides to try to raise the money for Jeffrey and his family. How will Steven do it? Will Steven’s brother die? Will steven raise the money before its too late!?!?
One thing I learned from the story is that no matter how far you are into the deep end you can always swim back up. This book has themes of accepting tough things in your life and finding away to overcome them. One thing I liked about the book was how it put me on the edge of my seat. The way the author made the characters because he made really realistic details. I felt like I kind of knew the character. I think its was all pretty good, except I didn’t like the ending and I would have changed it. I would recommend this book to teenagers who like books with drama that keep you hanging on the edge. I liked this book so much I read it in one day and I give this book 5 stars.(less)

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Dec 06, 2012 7706Evan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-liked

This book is very emotional. I'm dying to know what happens to Jeffery!!!

O.K, just finished the book and it totally deserves 5 stars! The book was so suspenseful, which is what I really want in a book, and many characters that are very interesting. Steven has changed a lot in this book. He started to care about his brother and being glad he had one instead of being in a, "Uh! My brother ruined my life!" kind of mood. The book was very touching and I totally recommend it for everyone!

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Jan 29, 2012 Dana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 ve...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Kelli Thorup rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 that he has to see his b...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade

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 don't like the...more 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 don't like the work as much as I like the person?

Not to fear, though: Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie and the companion novel After Ever After hit all the right notes. These are middle-grade fiction at its best. Put it out there for guys or girls. Serve it up in class or outside. These books are real without crossing any of those tricky boundaries that are so worrisome for librarians and teachers of the younger crowd.

I accidentally listened to these books out of order, hearing Jeffrey's story in After Ever After before Steven's in Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. It didn't really matter, though, because After Ever After really is a companion book, not a sequel, and nothing is lost for readers who haven't read D,G, and DP. The self-deprecating humor and general wholesomeness of the guys is a common thread, but Steven and Jeffrey's challenges, strengths, and outlooks are appropriately distinguished. Together, the two novels offer a view of how childhood cancer affects--and continues to affect--families.

For all their differences, both Steven and Jeffrey are sweet but not TOO sweet boys. The books are clean but not squeaky; Sonnenblick's pitch-perfect voice keeps the reader from ever thinking for a second that the writer is writing at a younger audience. This is writing for middle-grade readers at its best.

I know I mentioned the humor already, but really. Really. So funny. Like Tad in After Ever After calling his little sister the "emergency replacement child" that his parents cooked up just in case he croaked. In light of my colossal inability to generate humor, this kind of funny floors me.(less)

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Aug 28, 2011 Chris Le rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

Boford and he signed Stevens sticks after he was told

to do a Double S...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Phong-le Nguyen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 if his brother neve...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Carla rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-book-that-i-ve-read

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 friend na...more

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AFTER EVER AFTER CHARACTERS...	2	7	Feb 27, 2013 01:56pm
STEVEN YOU BALD NOW?!? What do y'all think? like,love,or hate?	4	9	Feb 27, 2013 01:55pm
Aiossa's Senior 5...: Nico Sirridge Book Review 5	1	2	Feb 07, 2013 08:21pm

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About Jordan Sonnenblick

I am the author of seven books for children and young adults, including Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie. So if youʼre looking for info about some other guy named Jordan Sonnenblick, youʼve got the wrong website.
Anyway, I know a lot of people are looking for stuff they can use in reports for school, so Iʼll just get this out of the way right up front:
My favorite color is blue.
I have a wife and two...more

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Trivia About Drums, Girls & Da...

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“It's amazing--my parents call everything a discussion. If I were standing across the street, firing a bazooka at my mother, while my father was launching mortar back at me, and Jeffery was charging down the driveway with a grenade in his teeth, my parents would say we should stop having this public "discussion".” — 66 people liked it

“Instead of agonizing about the things you can't change, why don't you try working on the things you can change” — 47 people liked it

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Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie (Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie #1)

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