Rock 'n' Roll Rebel

Tig Ripley #1

by Ginger Rue

Thirteen-year-old Tig Ripley has plenty of good reasons for starting an all-girl rock band. Never mind she doesn't play an instrument--she'll figure that out. Fronting a band is sure to propel her out of the background and into the spotlight at her middle school. So after a few weeks' worth of drumming lessons under her belt, she starts assembling her band. With her cousin Kyra agreeing to play bass, soon Tig has her piano-playing friend Olivia down for the keyboard. And then she convinces tough girl Robbie Chan to sign on as lead guitarist. With a cool name--Pandora's Box--all the band needs now is a killer lead singer. How hard can that be? But when Kyra invites obnoxious diva Haley Thornton to join the band, Tig realizes snagging a lead singer--the right lead singer--is not going to be easy. Everyone says the drummer is the heartbeat of a band--does Tig have what it takes to lead Pandora's Box?

Genres: Friendship, Music, School, Realistic Fiction

349 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2016

Reviews

[Jene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tig Ripley is an okay-student. B-average grades, smart, likable, but largely forgotten by the masses of her middle school peers. Tig has a plan for getting some respect and attention: let's start a band. Not just a band, but an all-girl rock 'n' roll band. She and her cousin start music lessons (Tig is the drummer, her cousin Kyra is bass), and enlist the talents of other girls at their school. Hard-rocker Robbie is a natural choice (guitar) and Olivia is willing to give up her precious free-time away from tennis to play the keyboards. With some ups and downs with their lead singer, the band, Pandora's Box, is ready to rock this middle school. If only being in a band wasn't so hard?

Wow. What can I say, other than I loved this series starter! Tig isn't perfect, but she realizes and learns from her mistakes. Leading a band is hard; especially in middle school. Navigating the usual middle school bullies, living with the positives and the negatives of the internet age, juggling homework and maintaining good friendships - all of that makes being in a band even more difficult. The girls are an absolute hoot, and their love of music and the thrill of being really, really good is addictive. I cheered every single time those girls found their way around an endless sea of roadblocks.

Only one critique: The girls have obvious financial priveledges that might seem unrealistic or off-putting to some readers. While not wildly wealthy, Tig and Kyra's parents easily bought their children's instruments and music lessons with absolutely no struggle. The girls have enough of an allowance to afford an unplanned shopping-spree to make them look the part of rock 'n' rollers. This is a bit beyond the realm of many kids I know, and for those readers, I would also suggest Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly.

Okay, here's another critique: I was a bit uncomfortable with the portrayal of Edgy Abz, a secondary character who tries out for the band and the girls reject her. Edgy raps about running from the police, speaks in a street vocabulary that the girls do not understand, and becomes irate when the girls reject her. While the girls are polite and respectful in their rejection, the characterization of Edgy feels a bit too stereotypical for my comfort. There is no mention as to Edgy's race, just the description "a heavyset redheaded girl."

Recommended for: middle grade, going into YA
Red flags: A basketball girl calls Robbie a racial slur. An unnamed person in the crowd does immediately call the basketball girl out on it, saying "Hey, not cool!"

[Avery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pandora's Box is the new all girl band, and Tig Ripley is ready to show the world what she's got. In a realistic world set in the present, I could easily tell what the setting was. In this fictional book geared towards 10-14 year olds, 13 year old Tig Ripley decides to start up her own band. She looks past the fact that she has no idea how to play an instrument, and she starts to learn how to play the drums. She convinces her cousin to play bass, Robbie Chan to play lead guitarist, and Olivia to play keyboard. Now all they need is to find a lead singer. When Cousin Kyra decides to invite snobby popular girl Hayley to sing, the band doesn't know what to do. When the finally kick her out of the band and get amazing rock and roll singer Grace, the girls are out for revenge. Can Tig survive middle school and keep her band together at the same time? I liked Tig because she was a very relatable person. I could tie her life into my own. She was very likable, and I really understood her throughout the whole book. This book is definitely a worth while read because it keeps you entertained the whole time. There was never a time where I wanted to stop reading, and I think that all good books should make you want to keep reading. I truly loved this book because as I said before, I was able to relate to Tig the whole time. I am a singer myself, so this book definitely captured my interest. I think This book would be for entertainment, and it certainly did that. Overall, I loved this book and look forward to reading more!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thirteen-year-old Antigone (Tig) Ripley isn't interested in joining the popular crowd at her middle school, but she is tired of being dismissed and ignored by others. Even though she doesn't know how to play a single instrument, she starts taking drum lessons, she forms her own all-girl rock band. Each girl has her own baggage, though, and it takes a long time before the band starts to jell. I liked how the girl drama of middle school is woven into this appealing story of independence and being true to oneself. One of the best parts about the story is how Tig does not achieve overnight success with her band mates; in fact, she experiences a disastrous first outing when one member is out of town, and everything that could go wrong does go wrong. The possibility of a romance with Will Mason, a classmate who seems to be ready to tease Tig every step of the way, adds another layer of interest to the story even while allowing Tig's loyalty to her band to shine through. I was glad that the author chose not to have the band break up over a boy or a relationship, but it's clear that there are challenges that lie ahead for these girls. Middle graders who enjoy music or dream of starting their own band will enjoy this one with its interesting, relatable characters. I really loved Robbie.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for girls interested in music themes. Tig has no musical talent, but knows that being in a band is the best way to improve her social standing. Everyone has to start somewhere so she elicits the help of her former-band-member grandfather to buy a set of drums. Now all she needs are band members. Girls only. She recruits her cousin Kyra, also a newb, to play bass, Olivia to play keyboards, and Robbie to play guitar. To Tig's dismay, Kyra invites one of the popular mean girls to be the vocalist. Unfortunately, she's terrible, but kicking her out is going to bring on the wrath of the entire mean girl posse.

Cute book. Typical middle school drama and back stabbing. Some embarrassing moments, and of course, redemption.

[Audrika Chowdhury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m in middle school and this is my favorite book. It’s about a 7th grade girl named, Tig. After Will told her that girl bands don’t work, she started a band. The band has a lot of bumps in getting band members to becoming good. They also face normal middle school challenges outside of the band. It’s my favorite book and can’t do anything but hope that there will be a 3rd book.

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tig Ripley Rock'n'roll Rebel by Ginger Rue is a book for the ones that want inspiration to form something, like Tig, that wanted to join a band . But they face a lot of problems , I recommend it 100%

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very cute. It reminded me a lot of my own time in middle school and I was giggling at some very relatable dialogue. Nothing spectacular though. It's fairly predictable, but has good female protagonists and is about friendship and overcoming bullies.