BATTLE OF THE BANDS Book Review
Publication day: September 7, 2021
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Battle of the Bands
edited by Lauren Gibaldi and Eric Smith, featuring stories by Brittany Cavallaro, Preeti Chhibber, Jay Coles, Katie Cotugno, Lauren Gibaldi, Shaun David Hutchinson, Ashley Poston, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Sarah Nicole Smetana, Eric Smith, Jenn Marie Thorne, Sarvenaz Taghavian, Jasmine Warga, Ashley Woodfolk, and Jeff Zentner, and featuring Motion City Soundtrack’s Justin Courtney Pierre.
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Battle of the Bands is a collection of interconnected short stories. And the point of intersection is — you guessed it — a high school Battle of the Bands. I love these kinds of collections, and when I see them, they are usually written by the same author, all the stories set in the same town or centered around the same event. Battle of the Bands does this, but with sixteen different authors. There are so many ways this collection could have fallen flat.
It doesn't.
Each story is unique and hits a different note, much like the bands would.
Full disclosure: I never went to my high school’s Battle of the Bands. I was a theater kid whose friends were theater kids. And the only music I cared about had the words “Original Cast Recording” on it. Or Jesse McCartney. (I can’t claim that I had - or have - the greatest musical tastes.) I was unsure if I would find much to relate to in these tales of teenage musicians, teens who wrote their own music and played guitar and bass instead of the piano. I shouldn’t have worried. Here’s the thing about teenagers enmeshed in any kind of performing art: we’re all looking for a place, trying to find our voice, trying to stand out while longing to fit it. Even if I never played in a band, I found aspects of my teenage self in every single story.
In love with your best friend but unable to say anything: Me.
Growing apart and it breaking you: Me.
Sitting on the sidelines, telling yourself that’s where you should be before someone else puts you there: Me.
The thrill and the peace that comes with performing: Me.
Wanting to be remembered, wanting to claim your creativity: Me.
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These threads weave throughout the stories, alongside struggles with identity and sexuality, about finding your place and your people. The stories are best read in chronological order. Characters from an upcoming story run past you in the hall. Or you’re listening to the band from a previous story as you enter the newest one. “Hearing” the lineup is one of the most captivating parts of the book.
I was constantly floored by was who was at the center of these stories. All of the teenagers in these stories - protagonists and supporting cast alike - weave a very colorful, very diverse tapestry. Girls, teens of color, queer kids. (SO MANY BI TEENS! YES!) I would have loved to read a book like this as a teenager in the arts. It would have made me feel less alone, assured me that I had a place as my mixed race self.
Stand-out Stories
Celia
(You’re Breaking My Heart)
By Ashley Poston
This one had me crying by the end. It’s so full of longing and hope and being in love with your best friend.
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You Found Me
by Ashley Woodfolk
Another being-in-love-with-your-best-friend(s) scenario. The longing for and the fear of the status quo, even as your heart thrashed around in your chest, was so familiar.
Merch Ado about
Nothing
by Preeti Cchibber
This is a story of two teens relegated to the merch tables. It had me laughing out loud, and like any good theater kid, I loved the Beatrice and Benedict vibes.
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Reckless Love
by Jay Coles
Q’s journey to discover how he wants to live with his sexuality is achingly beautiful and had me holding my breath.
AND THEN THERE IS THE FINAL TRIFECTA
While almost all of the other stories happen within Battle of the Bands and center around the music, these final three do not. They center on people who are involved in the night in some way, and it was so powerful to see how a night like this can be healing and significant even if you aren’t a musician. (Especially as a self-proclaimed theater kid, and decidedly not a musician.)
“A Small Light”
by Jenny Torres Sanchez
This piece just captures that feeling of being invisible, of being unable to help someone you love.
Set the World on Fire
by Lauren Gibaldi
This was one of the my favorite stories: Lilly, the stage manager, is someone who we meet in nearly every story. I was so happy for her to get her own. AND, as a theater kid, I understood her possessiveness over the auditorium and her feeling of always being relegated to the chorus or some smaller role. In some passages, I felt like I was reading about myself.
The Sisterhood of Light and Sound
by Jeff Zenter
This story just took me right back to my evenings on my high school’s tech crew, the bonds with my crew mates, the kinds of relationships that are made as you make sure other people look and sound good. Together, these three stories give us a glimpse of what it feels like to be out of the spotlight and the growth that happens there.
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Overall, this collection of short stories is fun and moving. I highly recommend it. You can get your hands on it on September 7, 2021!
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Move over Percy, Annabeth, and Grover! You have competition for my favorite MG fantasy trio. Cassidy, Jacob, and Lara are all so vivid and curious and loyal and brave in the face of their fears. It’s hard not to love them.