The Club

by Eric Walters

Jaxson is the only child of a single mom, but he’s never been short on family. His best friend Logan, who has four sisters, claims Jax as a “brother.” Jaxson enjoys the chaos of Logan’s home, but he also loves the calm of his own. Between hanging with Logan, going to the movies with his first girlfriend, Samantha, and being the star trumpet player in the school orchestra, eighth grade is sure is looking up for Jaxson! But then Liv, the new girl at school, joins the band and becomes Jax’s trumpet duet partner. Liv understands Jax’s love of music better than anyone else, and the more time they spend together rehearsing, the more he finds they have in common. Soon, they learn that they share something that will change their world ― something that will make them rethink what it means to be “family.”

264 pages, Paperback

Published March 2, 2024

About the author

Eric was born in Toronto in 1957, which makes him "real old". But, as Eric says, "Just because I have to grow old doesn't mean that I have to grow up!" In his many roles as parent, teacher, social worker, youth sports coach and writer he is in constant contact with children and young adults. He draws from these experiences and feels that this helps him to capture the realistic interaction between young people—the conflicts, tensions, stresses and interests that make up their lives.

Eric began his writing as a teacher. He taught in classes from kindergarten up and his stories often reflect the curriculum that he was teaching. He always read stories—picture books and novels—to his students and this helped him to understand what children liked, responded to, and were inspired by. He enjoys the enthusiasm of his students and often looks at them to provide him with the inspiration to pursue a particular topic in both the classroom and in his writing.

Eric tries to write every day. When he has a story idea he starts with research. This could involve reading books, watching a documentary, or trying to experience the things that his characters are going to go through. This could include rock climbing or riding white water (for Stars), spending time in a wheelchair (Rebound), playing and walking with tigers (Tiger by the Tail), hanging around a tough biker bar (Diamonds in the Rough), standing out in his backyard in a blizzard wearing a T-shirt and shorts (Trapped in Ice), or traveling to Africa (Alexandria of Africa).

"The most important thing anybody ever told me about writing was to write what you know . . . and the only way to get to know things is to do your homework and research before you write," Eric stated.

Once the writing begins the story is always playing around in his head. He takes any opportunity, even if it's just a few minutes between presentations, to put things down, either with pen and paper or on his laptop.

Prior to entering teaching and writing Eric was a social worker (B.S.W., M.S.W., B.A.Hons—specialized major psychology). He worked in a variety of settings including child welfare, private practice, a mental health centre, and, for twenty years on a part-time basis as a Crisis Social Worker in an emergency department. He stopped teaching 4 years ago and left the ER only last year.

The majority of Eric's time is spent in the company of his wife, children and dogs (Lola a big standard poodle and a little white dog named Winnie the Poodle).

Reviews

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 4 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

**Necessary Spoilers**










Jaxson is a talented trumper player who loves band, although his best friend Logan gives him a hard time about it and wants him to join the basketball team. Over the summer, Jaxson has been texting Samantha, and is excited to begin 8th grade with a girlfriend, even though he's not entirely sure what that entails. A girl new to the school, Liv, also plays trumpet, and she and Jax find an instant connection. She's a talented player as well, but forthright and funny. She doesn't brook any nonsense from the popular girls who are mean to her and ask if she's in 6th grade. Logan admires her as well, and soon has a little crush on her. The band director, Ms. Hooper, has Jax and Liv prepare a duet for a school assembly, and the two are evenly matched in playing levels. Liv even loans Jax her expensive trumpet. When their mothers meet, they instantly connect as well. Even though their styles are very different (Liv's mother is a cybersecurity expert who is a minimalist, and Jax's mother is a college art professor who embraces a more artistic chaos), the two have a lot in common. They remark on how similar Jax and Liv look. Unfortunately, it turns out that Liv is enrolled in the wrong school, and has to leave, and it looks like the music program might get cut. Jax has problems trying to figure out how to balance his friendship with Liv and his relationship with Samantha when surprising information comes to light: both Liv and Jax's mother used a donor to have the children, and they have the same father! This catapults them into a world of DNA testing, family reunions, and an exploration of what it means to be family as they meet their half siblings. They also work together to try to help save the music program.
Strengths: This took a direction that I did not expect, becoming more like Robert's Nikki on the Line than the light middle school romance I thought it was going to be! I read a few books, so surprising me is NOT an easy thing to do. I adored Liv and her slightly snarky attitude (She tells Logan "You look someone who spends a lot of time confused"; she's not wrong!), and she and Jax get along so well. There should be many, many more books where boys have crushes or "go out" with girls, and the situation with Samantha seemed very realistic. There is a lot of good information about genetics, and I can see this being used by science teachers as a read aloud during a unit on this topic. Walters always does a great job appealing to middle grade readers, with titles as varied as The King of Jam Sandwiches, Elephant Secret, Hockey Night in Kenya, and the perennial dystopian favorite, The Rule of Three.
Weaknesses: Decisions to keep or cut music programs are not made on a building-by-building basis, as least in Ohio. It's always a district wide decision to insure equitable access (or equitable denial), but maybe things are different in Canada.
What I really think: The cover of this is great, and will appeal to readers who like a light romance or a band related story like Grosso's I Am Drums, Dionne's Notes From an Accidental Band Geek, and Herbach's Gabe Johnson Takes Over, aka Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders.

[vlntpt · Rating 5 out of 5]

to be honest, i only picked up this book because it had a trumpet on the cover.

i was not disappointed when this book (well at least the first half) was about concert band. i also really liked how they didn’t fall into the instrument gender stereotypes as many books seem to do. the portrayal of band, especially the attitude towards trombones, was very accurate.

the second half or so took a turn, but by then i was too invested to stop reading. to be honest i kind of guessed the plot twist from the moment liv was introduced, but it didn’t detract from the experience at all. i was right there with the characters as they grappled with the sudden revelations in their life, even if the trumpet content did decrease:(

as a person, but mostly as a trumpet player, i liked this book a lot and would recommend to other trumpet players.

🎺🎺🎺

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Club by Eric Walters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This novel, inspired by an actual occurrence, is a sweet story. Suggested for ages 8-12.

At band auditions at the beginning of Grade 8 a young trumpet player, Jax, meets Liv who also plays trumpet. The music teacher/band director asks them to work together playing some duets for an upcoming assembly. As they rehearse together they become fast friends and discover they share more than just their love of music.

I devoured this in an afternoon and recommend especially to junior high aged children.

[Glenna Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Jaxson begins a new school year, a new trumpet player, Liv, joins the school band and gives his some welcome competition. Everyone remarks on how similar they appear, almost like brother and sister, but that can't be...or can it? Both Jaxson and Liv have donor fathers. When they and their single mothers begin to explore their possible relationship through DNA testing and further complications arise, Jaxson and Liv are both forced to confront the definition of family. This book was enjoyable, but I felt that the eighth grade characters had voices that sounded much too adult for their ages.

[Ren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is strong, as Walters always is, but I think there's something... Missing here. A draft that possibly had more information on some plot points, or at least closure on a few. The main storyline is very well done, and I loved both Jaxson and Liv, but I'm unsure where the music competition and the purpose of the music program being almost shut down came into play, both felt out of left field and neither really came up after their introductions as anything other than half mentions. I think the book would've been stronger both without their mention at all, and without Liv moving schools. That said, this is still very interesting. I'm not up on the laws and culture of donor parents, but this seems as though it was handled sensitively and had a lot of research put into it. A good book, with a few small stumbles, but nothing that takes away from the main storyline itself.

Reread this year, didn't enjoy it as much as I did before. A lot of moving parts that go by way too fast.