Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley

 

It’s a Friday night in a campus bar in Berkeley, fall of 2000, and Percy Marks is pontificating about music again. Hall and Oates is on the jukebox, and Percy—who has no talent for music, just lots of opinions about it—can’t stop herself from overanalyzing the song, indulging what she knows to be her most annoying habit. But something is different tonight. The guy beside her at the bar, fellow student Joe Morrow, is a songwriter. And he could listen to Percy talk all night.

Joe asks Percy for feedback on one of his songs—and the results kick off a partnership that will span years, ignite new passions in them both, and crush their egos again and again. Is their collaboration worth its cost? Or is it holding Percy back from finding her own voice?

Moving from Brooklyn bars to San Francisco dance floors, Deep Cuts examines the nature of talent, obsession, belonging, and above all, our need to be heard.  penguinrandomhouse.com

I've read a lot of great books lately but Deep Cuts was truly one of the best books I've read in a long time.  I devoured it in just two days and contemplated reading it again immediately after I turned the last page.  I wanted to live in this book and be friends with Percy.  Like Joe, I too could listen to her talk music all night.  Deep Cuts isn't just a love story between two people, it's a love story to music itself.  Every chapter is titled by the name of a popular song relevant to the chapter and I could hear all of these amazing songs in my head as I read along.  I wish this book came with a mixtape.  I also wish mixtapes were still at thing!  

I purchased my copy of Deep Cuts at Barnes & Noble on that shopping spree I had a few weeks ago.  You can pick up yours there or at your favorite bookstore or online shop.  For more information, check out the publisher's website linked above.

 

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner

 

Sisters Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were born just a year apart but could not have been more different. Zoe, blessed with charm and beauty, yearned for fame from the moment she could sing into a hairbrush. Cassie was a musical prodigy who never felt at home in her own skin and preferred the safety of the shadows.

On the brink of adulthood in the early 2000s, destiny intervened, catapulting the sisters into the spotlight as the pop sensation the Griffin Sisters, hitting all the touchstones of early aughts fame—SNL, MTV, Rolling Stone magazine—along the way.

But after a whirlwind year in the public eye, the band abruptly broke up.

Two decades later, Zoe’s a housewife; Cassie’s off the grid. The sisters aren’t speaking, and the real reason for the Griffin Sisters’ breakup is still a mystery. Zoe’s teenage daughter, Cherry, who’s determined to be a star in spite of Zoe’s warnings, is on a quest to learn the truth about what happened to the band all those years ago.

As secrets emerge, all three women must face the consequences of their choices: the ones they made and the ones the music industry made for them. Can they forgive each other—and themselves? And will the Griffin Sisters ever make music again? -jenniferweiner.com

 

Whew did this book pack in a lot in just 384 pages!  You’ve got a searing look into the high stakes and pitfalls that come with sudden fame and the pressures of the music industry, plus a look into complicated and sometimes messy family dynamics between mothers and daughters and sisters.  But wait there’s more!! Do you remember those God awful tabloid headlines from the early 00s tearing apart young female celebs? Griffin Sisters takes a look back at that too plus there’s romantic drama galore.

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits was one of the best books that I’ve read this summer and one of Jennifer Weiner’s best in my opinion.  Despite packing so much in just 384 pages, nothing felt skimped on.  All the characters were fully developed and you feel for all of them including Zoe who I thought was actually kind of a self-absorbed menace, LOL.   I also wanted to hug Cassie multiple times and be the good friend she needed.  The book also jumps from present day to the early 00’s with varying POVs but it was all easy to follow.  I devoured this book in just 3 days. I couldn’t put it down and didn’t want it to end!

I got my copy of The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits at Barnes Noble and it’s this beautiful edition with splayed edges that are all the rage right now.  That edition is still available as of this writing on their website.   You can pick up your copy there or standard editions at your favorite local bookstore, online retailer or library.

***I am not getting any compensation for referencing Barnes & Noble in any of my recent posts.  I went on a little spree a few weeks ago and picked up a lot of great books.***