Review: She's with the Band by Georgia Clark

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

'Life never starts when you think it will. When I turned 15, I figured I'd be tossed the keys to the city, make out with a hottie, and have a modest parade thrown in my honour. But all that happened was that I got out of doing the washing up. The day we moved to Sydney was supposed to be the start of the new Mia Mannix - confident, charming, taller. But so far, it sucked.'

Mia Mannix has made a deal: in return for moving from the social backwater of the Snowy Mountains to life in the fast lane in Sydney, she's promised her dad she'd give up music and concentrate on real art. 

But that was before she discovered new friends, a cool record store and a ridiculously hot rockstar.

'She's With the Band' is for every girl who's ever wanted to start a band, had a crush on the wrong boy, or made a promise she couldn't keep.

Review:

When I was first offered the chance to read and review She's with the Band, I instantly agreed! As most of you know by now, I always jump at the chance to read a new contemporary, and since She's with the Band was just that, I knew I had to give it a try. Thankfully, even though She's with the Band fell victim to a few cliches and a little underdevelopment, it was still a funny and sweet book about growing up and learning how to be yourself!

She's with the Band tells the story of Mia Mannix, a girl who ready to embark on new journeys in Sydney, Australia and leave her boring old town in the dust. However, as Mia is about to learn, everything won't be as easy or glamorous as she thinks, because lying in her path are mean girls with hidden agendas, the right and wrong guys (but which one is which?!), and a great opportunity if only her dad would allow her to give it a try. What will happen to Mia? Will she find her place, or become more lost than ever before? Only time and more pages can tell in this fast paced book filled with plenty of musical goodness!

From the first page, I instantly liked Mia. She carried a sarcastic yet sweet tone throughout the book, and even though she was a bit naive at times when it came to making decisions, it was still very easy to root for her character, especially when she finally made the right choice! In addition to her character I also adored the addition of her band mates as well as Emil! Her band contained Lexie, a girl facing her own demons, and Sabe, an adorable guy hiding a few secrets of his own! Together, all of them made for a great book due to the problems and fun that always ensued when they were together.

In addition to the characters, the plot in this was also lots of fun, and even though I've seen this formula (new girl goes to new school, makes some bad decisions, and finds herself in the process) countless times, I still enjoyed it. I felt the music addition allowed it to stand on its own a bit, especially when Georgia gave it a little twist, and even though I knew who Mia was going to end up with from the beginning, it was still fun (albeit a little frustrating) watching her figure everything out.

However, I did have a few tiny problems with this book. One was the constant amount of cliches thrown in my face as mentioned before, but , it wasn't the biggest of problems. I also would have loved some more development into the characters, specifically Mia's family life.

In all, She's with the Band is a good little novel, and while it wasn't necessarily a favorite of mine,  I still suggest it to fans of contemporary looking for a small book for a rainy or snowy day.

Grade: B

She's with the Band (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads) is now out!

Source: Publicist at Independent Publishers Group- thanks Shara!