Band Geek Love »

Josie Bloss grew up in East Lansing, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. When not mining her high school journals for material, Josie enjoys obsessing over various TV shows, karaoke and all things theater. She lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

All band, all the time. That's how trumpet goddess Ellie Snow has made it to senior year. No drama, no dating. Just keeping lock-step within the safe precision of the Winslow Marching Band. She's a fierce section leader now, and so over the heart-crushing social disaster of her freshman year. No boy is going to ruin Ellie's shining moment-her senior solo performance at the homecoming game.

And then Connor Higgins shows up. Not even Ellie can resist the trumpet player who could be a model for Abercrombie & Fitch. It's a hook-up made in band-geek heaven! But Ellie's not ready to publicize their romance, not even to her best friends. After all, Connor's just a sophomore. What would everyone say? Breaking formation and revealing her true self would be like . . . marching on the field completely naked!

Then Ellie discovers the flipside of secrets and how it feels to be shut out by the ones she loves.

KLIATT

For Ellie, high school has always been all about marching band. Now in her senior year, she is the trumpet section leader and thrilled to have a big solo. To say that Ellie is obsessed with marching band would be an understatement. She takes it very seriously and expects her section to be flawless. Just before school starts, Conner, a new sophomore, joins the marching band. Ellie is upset that he will throw off the section, but is more upset over the fact that she has a crush on him. Ellie has resolved to avoid romance in high school, after an embarrassing crush freshman year scarred her. Despite Ellie being rude and bossy, Conner pursues her. Ellie's feelings waver. She really likes Conner, but can't handle the idea of people gossiping about their relationship. Conner remains unfailingly patient while Ellie tries to figure out what to do. Ellie's life used to be so simple; everything revolved around band, her two best friends put up with her moods, and boys were out of the question. Now Ellie is slipping up in band, her friends are acting mysterious, and she just can't seem to get over her crush on Conner. Ellie is obsessive, high-strung, and sometimes rather horrible. She's touchy and domineering, and cares too much about what people think about her. Somehow, though, her behavior and attitude come off as refreshingly real and honest. Ellie is indecisive and makes mistakes, just like many teenagers. Her strong personality is nicely offset by Conner's kindness, and their relationship, with all of its twists and turns, is interesting to watch unfold. The unusual setting of marching band, a microcosm of high school not often seen in YA novels, helps this stand out. Reviewer: AmandaMacGregor