Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick (Realistic Fiction)

Steven Alper may seem to have a normal life to others but what he thinks of it as awful until it really becomes awful. Steven plays drums in the All-City Jazz band (whose members call him the peasant).  He has a crush on the hottest girl in the school Renee Albert, but she obviously has a boyfriend and Steven is constantly being annoyed by his younger brother Jefferey. To Steven, this seems to be an awful world but when Jeffery has cancer it turns Stevens life upside down. He starts to feel drifted away. No one ever seemed to have time for Steven on top of hospital visits to Philadelphia, hospital bills, and Jeffery throwing up all the time. The best thing Steven could think of during this was him and Renee and thinking about more things he must worry about like is Jeffery going to make it out alive, what if we don’t have enough money, what is the point of doing school work, and how is Renee ever going to like me if she finds this out! Annette, Steven's best friend was starting to figure out the decline in money that Steven's family had and they still needed to pay for many more hospital bills. And when Steven meets a new girl in the hospital, he learns some new lessons and perspectives. 

I think this book is an excellent book. I like this book because it shows you what other people must deal with in life and not just mini problems but life changing ones. I suggest this book to 6th graders because it is that level of reading and 6th grade is a good year to take in new things to learn about that may make you rethink what you are doing. This book made me have mixed feelings and that it gives you tons of lessons that you should take in. Also, you should never judge someone by the way they look because the ones you may not like on the outside are the ones who will be with you from dusk till dawn.

Reviewed by Isabella W., Grade 7