The Vinyl Princess

*I'm going to start doing book reviews/suggestions on great books I think you guys should check out. I've been meaning to post some other books earlier, but I kept forgetting. So, uhm, anyway, here's a book I finished recently (in less in a day too, I must add). That must mean something, doesn't it?

The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz
Genre: Young Adult Fiction

"How does a sixteen-year-old vinyl jukie get by?


Summer is here and Allie is exactly where she wants to be: working full-time at the ultra cool Bob & Bob Records in Berkeley. Here Allie can spend her days bantering with the street people, talking the talk with the staff, shepherding the uncool bridge-and-tunnel shoppers - all the while blissfully surrounded by music. It's the perfect setup for her to develop her secret identity as The Vinyl Princess. Her very first zine is about ready to print and her new blog, www.thevinylprincess.com, is up and running. From the safety of her favorite place on earth, Allie's poised to launch a vinyl revolution - or at least reach some fellow music geeks out there.


They are out there...aren't they?" - taken from the blurb inside the book.


*I rated this book a 10/10, or perhaps an 11/10 because of the humor, the voice, the music, but most of all the character, Allie. This book really caught my interest because it was about a young girl who is truly obsessed with music. Now, if you love music as much as I do, you will definitely enjoy this book.

---Excerpt---

*I will only include excerts for books that I rate 9/10 or above.

Chapter 1

"I sense him in my midst. The air seems to thin when he's near me. I get light-headed. I don't even have to look up but I can't help myself. It's my fourth sighting this week but who's keeping track? He calmly takes in the standoff at the buy counter before carrying on to the bins. Our eyes meet and he nods and offers up a half smile. I follow him with my eyes and relectantly bring my focus back to the pile of CDs sitting in the middle of the scratched-up blue countertop between Thombo and me like an island no one wants ot claim. I remember when Thombo was "Thomas." It wasn't that long ago. He was an okay kid back then but he fell through the cracks and emerged as "Thombo," someone you definitely shouldn't turn your back on.

"This is the same tired pile of crap you brought in yesterday." I slide the stack of CDs across the counter toward him.

"No, no, man. This stuff is good, it's all good." He twitches and scratches him skinny arm.

"Yeah? So, when did you start listening to Whitesnake and the Grateful Dead?" I ask, looking into his bloodshot eyes.

Thombo's eyes dart around quickly. "You gotta help me out here. It's my sister, man, she's really sick."

I steal a glance at my friend out in the bins. He's flipping through the Bs in the used-CD section. I pull up the sagging waist of my skinny jeans and stand up straighter.

"Yeah? Yesterday you said it was your mom who was sick, and by the way, I saw your sister this morning and she looked fine."

"Let me talk to Bob. Bob's my man."

"Bob isn't here and you know he'd have kicked your ass out of here already."

Thombo thinks for a second or two. "Gimme twenty for the stack. All's I need is a twenty." He slides the pile back toward me like a poker player going all in. His eyes become hopeful again.

"And what do I tell the guy when he comes around looking for the CDs you stole from him and he asks me what you look like and where you live?" I furtively glance out the front window, looking for Laz. Damn it, he should be here by now.

Thombo finally faces the fact that I'm standing firmly between him and his next fix and I'm not budging. He relectantly puts the stack back into a rumpled paper bag and stalks out the door. He was waiting for me when I arrived this morning, his sweatshirt hood pulled over his head, jumping around while I unlocked the smeared double glass door. I'm annoyed at Laz. I don't like handling the tweakers alone. I press the worn-out play button on the amplifier. My Life in the Bush of Ghost by David Byrne and Brian Eno starts up, booming African percussion and techno weirdness through eight speakers. It's only the two of us now, alone in the store, but he doesn't look up even though he must feel me watching him. I smooth ny spiky hair and then, on second though, I mess it up again.

The music makes it official: This house of worship is open for business. The is the place where people come to find commuinity; they come here to confess their sins and talk to their gods; they comes for validation and understanding; they come here to get their groove on, let their hair down, visit the past, look to the future, find some spirituality, searching their souls, get some peace, stir things up, or live a little. This is Bob & Bob Records. This is where I work..." - pages 1-3

*I hope you guys enjoyed that little excerpt. Okay, so it was a little longer than expected, but didn't you get that feeling that you didn't want to stop reading?

Candy♥