Thursday Tunes: Song of the Month: Planetary (GO!) chosen by CJ Skuse

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Bio: Taken from Chicken House
C.J. Skuse, author of Pretty Bad Things, was born in 1980 in Weston-super-Mare, England. Loves: My Chemical Romance, 1980s sitcoms, gummy bears and Nanook from The Lost Boys. Hates: omelettes, carnivals and coughing. The book C.J. would most like to have written is Twilight. C.J. has a First Class degree in Creative Studies in English and gained a distinction for her MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University. Her second teen novel for Chicken House, Rockoholic (review here), is released in March 2011. She is currently working on a third stand-alone novel for teenagers.

Synopsis: From Chicken House
Jody loves Jackson Gaitlin. At his only UK concert, she's right at the front. But when she's caught in the crush and sent back stage she has more than concussion to contend with. Throw in a menacing manager, a super-wired super-star, and a curly-wurly, and she finds herself taking home more than just a poster. It's the accidental kidnapping of the decade. But what happens if you've a rock god in your garage that doesnt want to leave? Jody's stuck between a rock-idol and a hard place!

Review  HERE

As you can imagine Rockaholic is chock full of fantastic music reference, it is my pleasure to have the first song of the month chosen by Claire as we have similar tastes in music [ : D ]

MG Monday: Review: Rockaholic by CJ Skuse

Title: Rockaholic
Author: CJ Skuse
Publisher: Chicken House
Publication Date: 7 Mar 2011

Source: Publisher - Thank you




Synopsis: From Chicken House
Jody loves Jackson Gaitlin. At his only UK concert, she's right at the front. But when she's caught in the crush and sent back stage she has more than concussion to contend with. Throw in a menacing manager, a super-wired super-star, and a curly-wurly, and she finds herself taking home more than just a poster. It's the accidental kidnapping of the decade. But what happens if you've a rock god in your garage that doesnt want to leave? Jody's stuck between a rock-idol and a hard place!


Review:
Written in 1st person narrative from Jody’s perspective. At 16 she appears selfish, self centered and occasionally immature yet completely relatable. I can remember being this age (so many years ago) and in a similar situation to Jody (minus the rock star [ ; D ] Music has always played a big part in my life – it is my sanctuary in my ears away from reality – so yes, I completely identified with Jody, sometimes uncomfortably so. Plus we have very similar taste in music. I use music for motivation to do everything even to go to sleep therefore the references helped immerse me in Jody’s world.

As a mother myself now I can see both sides of the family divide, Jody a favorite of a rather colorful Grandfather, coping with his loss but not taking into consideration anyone else’s feeling but her own. I don’t want a funeral either but I certainly wouldn’t be happy about a food fight at my wake. The details surrounding her Grandfathers death are revealed sporadically throughout the book until a complete picture of him and his relationship to Jody is formed. Showing how Jody’s personality had been shaped by this relationship more than any other. I had the feeling that Jody has been in her Grandfathers illustrious shadow and now that he is no longer there she has to discover who she really is. Although Jody feels the only way this can be achieved is via her crush on rock star Jackson.

Jackson in reality, obviously, is a complete contrast to the fantasy Jody has in her imagination. The topical reference of Princess Diana and Michael Jackson added to the image of stars how no peace at all and why so many go into rehab as there only escape is of a chemical form. It is good to remember that stars are people as well, sure we are interested in what they do but they should not be hounded like animals.

For me this book was all about finding your own identity on a multitude of levels, Jody/Jackson/Mac as well as the peripheral family characters. It was really heart warming to follow.

From start to finish I completely adored Mackenzie, Jody’s best friend, he is kind, considerate, talented and HOT, at times I felt like hitting Jody over the head to open her eyes to just how wonderful Mac is and how completely perfect they would be as a couple.

The vivid descriptive writing style brings all the events to life some use of strong language should be noted for younger readers but it isn’t out of context within the narrative. Plus I have to mention that Cardiff features in the story (Wales [ : D ])


Jody’s self-realization and acknowledgement of her talent/romance/personality is written in a straight forward manner but with warmth and humor sprinkled on top. Even at my advanced age I remember being a teen (yes it does get better) and the portrayal of Jody is spot on – there is no idealistic view of the teenage years in this book which make it all the more believable.

If you love rock music then make friends with Jody and travel through Rockaholic with her. A really enjoyable rock filled journey of self discovery.