She's Got the Beat

by Nancy E. Krulik

SHE BANGS! SHE BANGS!

Miranda was the quiet type...until she moved to Austin. Home of the hippest college rock bands, Austin, Texas, is a scene. And Miranda is dying to break out of her small-town shell. So she decides to do something totally un-Miranda: learn to play the drums.

When crashing the cymbals, the girl's a wild child! Plus there's a perk to her new gig: a cute bass player. Unfortunately Mr. Bass Man isn't exactly looking for love. Can this rocker chick change his tune? Or does finding her own rhythm mean sacrificing true love?

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Teen, Fiction, Contemporary Romance

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 30, 2008

About the author

Nancy Krulik is the author of more than 100 books for children and young adults, including three New York Times bestsellers. She is best known, however, for being the author and creator of the Katie Kazoo Switcheroo book series, which has brought her to the attention of second, third, and fourth graders nationwide.

Nancy has also written extensively for teens and is well known as a biographer of Hollywood's hottest young stars. Her knowledge of the details of celebrities lives has made her a desired guest on several entertainment shows on the E! network as well as on Extra and Access Hollywood. She can be seen there talking about the secret lives of such celebs as Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, and Frankie Muniz. Nancy has also been a guest on radio broadcasts nationwide discussing the superstars she has researched over the years.

As the author of several teen and preteen advice books, including Grosset and Dunlap's Prom!: The Complete Guide to a Truly Spectacular Night, Nancy has been interviewed by several prominent magazines including Cosmo Girl, Teen, Teen People, Seventeen, and Teen Celebrity. She has also been the celebrity guest for three Teen People chat presentations. Nancy has recently begun to delve into the teen novel market, writing four romances for young adults, all of which will be published between 2004 and 2005.

Nancy currently lives in Manhattan with her husband, composer Daniel Burwasser, their two children, Amanda and Ian, and a crazed cockerspaniel named Pepper .

Reviews

[Elizabeth Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, so far Simon Romantic Comedies seem to be hit and miss. Guess which one this is? Swing and a ... MISS! When I first saw the description for this, I was pretty excited. I mean, somewhat trashy book with actual rock and drums? That's what I'm talking about. But it turned out to be a drag, because no matter how much your story line is going for you, it is still possible to butcher your stories, just FYI authors.

Miranda, the main character is all ready to go to college and is NOT going to let her boyfriend's marriage proposal get in the way. So she ends up swingin' single, as well as adjusting to not being in a small town and not knowing what to do socially. Luckily, she ends up with a couple of awesome roommates* who tell her to get out there and grab some adventure. Uncharacteristically, Miranda spontaneously signs up for drum lessons. And falls in crush with her instructor.

Predictably, he seems to like her too. And, come on, she's around for a couple weeks and they're together? That's seriously heading for disaster. (not a plot spoiler, this all happens relatively early in the book) Surprise, surprise, she sees him cheating on her, dumps him and searches for a band. Then, as the cover states: "When crashing the cymbals, the girl's a wild child! Plus there's a perk to her new gig: a cute bass player. Unfortunately Mr. Bass Man isn't exactly looking for love. Can this rocker chick change his tune? Or does finding her own rhythm mean sacrificing true love?"

First of all, "Mr. Bass Man" (can you see the sarcasm dripping?) isn't exactly not interested in Miranda. Just because he doesn't kiss her in a couple months doesn't mean that he's given up girls! Plus he doesn't exactly blow her off . . . Second of all, doesn't true love seem like a bit much when included with the words "long-time boyfriend" or "marriage"?

But the cover isn't what made me not like this book! Miranda is a "natural". Do they just talk about naturals so that us less-talented people feel guilty for not finding out special talent? Or is it writer's way of making us lazy? Either way, I don't like how Rand is a really good drummer within a couple lessons without even learning how to read music! And then she's thinking about graduating in music, don't you think she also needs a little hard work, too? Plus she has what seems to be absolutely NO music education. I mean, heloooo, her music references only seem to go as far as DIXIE CHICKS!!!! Ooh, I almost forgot school. School is almost NEVER mentioned, testing seems to be no prob with her. School is not the only thing, there are certain things that were barely mentioned and sort of left me hanging. Nancy Krulik's philosophy on writing seems to be only including details that seem to be like an abridged version of a better story. Also, people may want some details so satisfy them while keeping the philosophy, AKA add details that seem to be forgotten and never referenced to again.

Overall, maybe this deserves a 1 but I'm not that mean because I (vaguely) enjoyed this at times.

*Ah, the roommate theory! Why is it when people write about roommates they seem to be extremely amazing or or they're always whining about them? Maybe it is that way because I've never had one, but I'm a bit suspicious.

P.S. Sorry for the excessive cynicism, I'll just shut up now.

[Devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't be scared, do something outragis! But do not change your whole self for someone.

[Aimee Caye Chang · Rating 4 out of 5]

makes your heart beat!!!

[syuhada ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was FUN!! It’s been a while since i read some old rom com novel! grab this book from some swap shelves, eventho there’s a cringe chapters, it’s still a slow burn romance within. I’m pretty sure this is like a teen romance. well, miranda is eighteen so i think it fits. adam definitely a whole charming nice guy, oh gosh i wish i have a boyfriend like him!

It’s funny how well good miranda with drums but to be honest, i really don’t mind bcs there is people out there actually talented without they’re knowing. tho, i still can’t imagine how miranda actually look like, cause what do you mean she was quiet kind of girl, that’s too generic (but i kinda pictured her like hilary duff in the lizzie mcguire movie (2003))

and the band i kinda pictured it like a 5sos members tho i think it’s hard to imagine them with mohwaks hair and dark eyeliner lol but i like that miranda create the new all girls band, i wish there was more of her with adam but well i guess it’s fine. a very good read for short stories!

tho i won’t keep the books, but a short stories like this is a really nice one! funny how the jerk guy from the pub named same as my ex lol and i had my own adam’s too few years back but it didn’t go anywhere but well i like the coincidence hshshs and yeah i feel if this is created as rom com movies, it’s definitely hit! some changes, some cringes, some sudden romance, some realisation, some love confession and ended happily ever after HSHSHHS

[Mary Strand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice concept for a story - a female drummer finding her way in college - but I confess I bought it for the music element, and many basic aspects of that didn't feel accurate, including descriptions of guitars, gear bags, mics (not "mikes"), etc.

[Izzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

i've read this when i was 15 and i'm 27 now and i can still remember the horrible story! jesus. and all those fucking poems/lyrics. TERRIBLE.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite easy reads. It goes by quick and there’s no real surprises. That’s probably why I keep coming back to it whenever I want something that’s easy and fun!

[Kayla Plutzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really fun and cute! I really like these books!

[Turbanlady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved it, when I was around 16 years old.
Genera caracter y te enseña que tomar cuenta propia, aunque sea de chica, no está para nada mal.

[Elgyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Konec byl takový... uspěchaný.

oblíbené slovo: chlapci

špatné dělení slov - s. 71

[Rikitra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every bit of it, kept me interested all throughout the story. Would definitely reread

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but rly cringy

[Kelsey Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars

I love these Romantic Comedy books because they are quick and entertaining and a good dose of romance. Basically like those made for TV movies/Lifetime movies for the book world.

I haven't read one in a while, since I graduated high school. But I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was a good plot with some interesting characters. I love how the plot takes a couple twists and turns that make it more interesting. Most of all, I love that this book has a real girl power theme through it. It shows that girls can do anything they put their mind to and that you shouldn't change for a guy. It also deals with acceptance and not judging a book by its cover.

Once again I fell in love with the characters. For it being a short book, I feel like that I got to know the characters well and they all had such a distinctive personality. I loved Miranda and thought she was a good female lead character. I loved the chemistry between her and Adam as well. It made me have all the feels and was rooting for them! But I have to say that I loved Jerry even though he wasn't really prominent in the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this one. Even though it was a quick read, I felt like I got a satisfying story and romance from it. Definitely one of my new favorites of the Romantic Comedies!

[La Sorciere · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was 10 back in 2005. <3

Its very special to me and will continue to be no matter what. I was so in love with the main guy, Adam and I was swooning over him all throughout. I rooted for Miranda (the main character) and her journey throughout the book. My copy is literally in tatters, some pages are missing and it's practically falling apart. I just
LOVE this book. SO SO MUCH. Ugh.
Anyway, I am planing to buy a new copy in the future in order to replace the old one because I cannot NOT own a copy of this book yo. And I want to do a proper reread of it.
Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies are the bomb yo.

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like reading the Simon Romantic Comedies for a quick read and change of pace. Krulik has a nice no nonsense realism about her writing that brings an authenticity to the story. Miranda is a small town girl who turns down her high school boyfriend to go off to college in Austin. She embraces new experiences and learns how to play the drums. In the process, she takes a spot in a band as the drummer. She loves the drums and is very naive but learns about what she really wants and who is through this story. I recommend it for romance fans who want a quick light read.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me but I haven't read it since high school (like six years ago), so it was like reading the book for the first time since I didn't remember what happened. It was pretty good. The beginning started off a little slow and I was reminded a bit of reading fanfiction, but it picked up pretty quickly. As a female drummer, I can feel a connection to the main character. Plus who hasn't done the whole "change yourself so a guy will like you" thing? We've all been there, done that, so it's nice to have the reminder that everyone makes the same mistakes. Overall, a great read!

[Anna Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This will be a nice short mini-review. This was a Simon Rom-Com, which are my guilty pleasure books of choise. I found this book to be the typical Simon Rom Com - girl meets boy, boy and girl fall in love, happily ever after. This one was great with incorperating the music part of the story in with the romance. Overall, it was a cute novel (like all the other Simon Rom Coms), and it was a fast read.

[Katrina Knittle · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are so my little guilty pleasure in the reading department. I know the writing and plots may not be amazing, but I just cannot stop myself from reading them. When I first started the book it felt a little slow, but then it started to pick up quite a bit. I really liked how relatable the main character was. Because at one point I tried to change myself for the guy I had liked. Cute read if your look for a fast, sweet, and cheesy read.

[SamZ · Rating 1 out of 5]

So many things:
1. Seriously, it only takes you 2 months to learn how to play the drums so well that you can drum solo and knock it out of the park?
2. Are you actually so hot that every guy you meet immediately wants to French you?
3. Is every guy you meet a cretin who can only think of getting into your pants until you meet the "one guy your heart was meant for?"
4. Why wasn't there more Jerry, he was the only well written character in the book!

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 4 out of 5]

After graduating high school Miranda starts college and finds her calling: playing drums.

She joins a band that's looking for a temporary replacement till their original drummer returns. Miranda soon gets the hang of not only college but playing in a band, getting to know her roommates and band mates. That is until someone from her past makes a return, having Miranda question her old life vs. her new life. This is another good read I really liked. Cute ending!!!!

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited about reading this book. I thought it could "rock". Miranda graduating college and wanting to do something different so she starts to learn how to play the drums. She first starts taking lessons from a hot instructor he likes to put the moves on many girls. Soon she moves on. The story had potential for me to really like it but it just ended up being o.k. for me.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, it was cute. One of the better ones of the series that I've read. Well, maybe above average. Anyway, I liked how much Miranda really found herself. The book was more about finding herself a place in the world than it was romance, even though she went through TWO guys before finding her perfect guy.

Anyway, I'd give it 3.5 stars.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read She's Got the Beat about five years ago and really enjoyed it at the time. Looking back at it now the story isn't as great as I once thought it was. It is a quick read that could have been longer to include more details to it. I recommend this book for younger YA readers but the older readers, like myself now, may not be the biggest fans.

[Jezza · Rating 4 out of 5]

See, in love, you find a guy like Paul and Mr. Bass Man (not telling you his name because I want you to read the story and find out). Paul is the guy you think you're in love with, but then you realize it's just lust. Mr. Bass Man is the guy that's Mr. Right, who's dependable enough to have a long-term relationship with.

[Sascha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quickie read with an interesting plot about a girl learning to play drums, joining a band and falling in love. It's filled with the usual ensemble of characters, none particularly standing out. The writing is average almost bordering on mechanical. A good book to read in between more serious reads.

[Samnda25 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a really good book on college and i found it intresting how rated g it was. Over all it was a good girly book that i normally would not read. It was so good that i read it in one day, actually 4 hours!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

When she moves to Austin, Texas, small-town girl Miranda decides to reinvent herself and, learning how to play the drums with a vengeance, joins a band and falls for the gorgeous bass player who has no interest in rocker chicks.

[Drucilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

To me, the description isn't exactly what the book's about. It's a little different. It was very easy to see early on which guy she was actually going to be with it. There really wasn't any surprise at all.

[Brittany Mosher · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it!

[Andi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another ONE of my favorites!