What do you think?
Rate this book
Sorta Like a Rock Star
Amber Appleton lives in a bus. Ever since her mom's boyfriend kicked them out, Amber, her mom, and her totally loyal dog, Bobby Big Boy (aka Thrice B) have been camped out in the back of Hello Yellow (the school bus her mom drives). Still, Amber, the self-proclaimed princess of hope and girl of unyielding optimism, refuses to sweat the bad stuff. But when a fatal tragedy threatens Amber's optimism—and her way of life, can Amber continue to be the rock star of hope? With an oddball cast of characters, and a heartwarming, inspiring story, this novel unveils a beautifully beaten-up world of laughs, loyalty, and hard-earned hope.
355 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2010
141 people are currently reading
13496 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Quick
10 books5,180 followersMatthew Quick is the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook—which was made into an Oscar-winning film—and eight other novels, including We Are the Light, a #1 Indie Next Pick and a Book of the Month selection. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, was an LA Times Book Prize finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a #1 bestseller in Brazil, a Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis 2016 (German Youth Literature Prize) nominee, and selected by Nancy Pearl as one of Summer’s Best Books for NPR. The Hollywood Reporter has named him one of Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors. Matthew lives with his wife, the novelist Alicia Bessette, in Beaufort, South Carolina.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,144 reviews
July 25, 2014
I’m almost ashamed how much I loved it because I GET life’s not like this. True? True. Good things don’t always come to good people, I (sorta) outgrew believing in all that karma crap years ago. Whatever, I finished this with a big smile on my face and a tingly feeling of hopefulness. Beating that pessimist back was hard work.
It’s quintessential Quick, trying to think of another author who can pull off a story about poverty “I sleep on a school bus. I’m a freak” , addiction (raging alcoholic for a Mom) and depression and make it so damn upbeat and funny, and I’m drawing a blank here…
Similar to The Silver Linings Playbook this time with a messed up teen girl - again the uber positive attitude “swinging for the fences, believing that things are going to work out, that everything is worth fighting for, and that I am brave and strong enough to change my reality.” Again a bizarre competition - starring role at the Senior Home's “Wednesday Afternoon Battle between Hope and Pessimism.” Brilliant. Her life may be a MESS but at least she knows how to work a room.
Great story and characters; Joan of Old “the brittle broad you love to hate”, Private Jackson a Nam vet addicted to haikus ”hiding in his cocoon of poetry.” Father Chee who doesn’t pretend to know the answers to any of the hard questions. Interesting how she tapped into a mixture of both Christian & Zen principles.
Cons: First half was weird but believable, too bad Quick doesn’t understand the value of restraint. True? True. By the grand finale it’s gotten downright cheesy and so obviously written to play the big screen. Can you blame him? Made a gazillion on the movie rights last time, just unnecessary.
Push comes to shove enjoyed it way too much to get hung up on that so 4 ½ rock stars:)
“I spread hope. I’m a hope spreader. I guess that’s what I do—licentiously—that’s why I’m still circling the big flaming ball in the sky. That’s the sun—sucka!”
It’s quintessential Quick, trying to think of another author who can pull off a story about poverty “I sleep on a school bus. I’m a freak” , addiction (raging alcoholic for a Mom) and depression and make it so damn upbeat and funny, and I’m drawing a blank here…
Similar to The Silver Linings Playbook this time with a messed up teen girl - again the uber positive attitude “swinging for the fences, believing that things are going to work out, that everything is worth fighting for, and that I am brave and strong enough to change my reality.” Again a bizarre competition - starring role at the Senior Home's “Wednesday Afternoon Battle between Hope and Pessimism.” Brilliant. Her life may be a MESS but at least she knows how to work a room.
Great story and characters; Joan of Old “the brittle broad you love to hate”, Private Jackson a Nam vet addicted to haikus ”hiding in his cocoon of poetry.” Father Chee who doesn’t pretend to know the answers to any of the hard questions. Interesting how she tapped into a mixture of both Christian & Zen principles.
Cons: First half was weird but believable, too bad Quick doesn’t understand the value of restraint. True? True. By the grand finale it’s gotten downright cheesy and so obviously written to play the big screen. Can you blame him? Made a gazillion on the movie rights last time, just unnecessary.
Push comes to shove enjoyed it way too much to get hung up on that so 4 ½ rock stars:)
“I spread hope. I’m a hope spreader. I guess that’s what I do—licentiously—that’s why I’m still circling the big flaming ball in the sky. That’s the sun—sucka!”
March 30, 2012
I'm sorry if this review is on the sucky side, I really want it to be good but I'm writing it at the same time as writing a 2000-word research report on quantitative data analysis (kill me, just kill me now) so I can't make any promises. Plus, it's one of those really good books that I tend to waffle about and write things that don't actually mean anything... perhaps it's destined to fail.
Anyway! Let me just say that this book needs readers. About five hundred people have listed this book as "read" on goodreads, and come on guys, this isn't good enough. Sorta Like a Rock Star is one of those beautiful and rare gems of realistic fiction that just gets it in every way. It's funny, it's sad, it's poignant. There's all these amazing characters - some like none I've ever read before in my life - and there's possibly the coolest dog ever.
By the way, this book has somewhere between very little and nothing to do with music. I'm always a little put off by books with creative/musical protagonists, sometimes it's done right like in If I Stay but more often than not, I find I just don't care how well a character plays guitar or writes poetry. There is some pretty use of Haikus here (a style of poem I've never cared for before I read this novel) but mostly, the whole "rock star" thing in the title is about Amber sorting her life out and discovering her inner rock star, the girl who has the ability to make a difference, influence people's lives and fulfill her dreams. I think I may have made that sound so cheesy... but, it's not, trust me.
In fact, parts of this book are horrible. It deals with death and alcoholism in quite a brutally honest way - but I guess that's the way I like it dealt with. There's so so much in this story, it's very rich and full to the brim with interesting questions about life, about faith and about hope. There are many people on my friend's list here who I know would love this story, I just hope this review will encourage some of you to read it.
December 27, 2010
As seen on The Readventurer
Why isn't this book more popular? The only reason I know about it is because one day I was browsing my GR friends' shelves looking for a book written by an author whose name starts with "Q" for a reading challenge. How sad is that? Sorta Like a Rock Star deserves better.
Amber Appleton is a peculiar sort of girl. If you have seen Happy-Go-Lucky, Amber is pretty much a younger version of Poppy, an incorrigible optimist. She is the life of the party, she stands up for the weak, cheers up elderly, saves stray dogs, all with never-ending enthusiasm and positivity. Only, as you can expect, such approach to life is not necessarily healthy. It is too much of a burden to hold up so many people. One day, after a particularly devastating event, Amber can't take it any longer and succumbs to depression. Will she be able to pull through?
In an ocean of conventional YA books with recycled plots and characters, Sorta Like a Rock Star stands out. Amber's story is heartbreaking and inspiring. As for the characters, I do not know which one of them I liked the most - Amber, upbeat, hopeful, improper and pushy; or her best doggy friend Thrice B who never fails to hump his canine lady friend even with fresh stitches in his belly; or maybe Private Jackson, a Vietnam vet who copes with his war memories by writing haikus and drinking green tea. I just can't decide...
Speaking of haikus. Can't say I knew much about this poetry form before reading this book, but haikus here had quite an effect on me, meaning, they made me bawl like a baby.
Why isn't this book more popular? The only reason I know about it is because one day I was browsing my GR friends' shelves looking for a book written by an author whose name starts with "Q" for a reading challenge. How sad is that? Sorta Like a Rock Star deserves better.
Amber Appleton is a peculiar sort of girl. If you have seen Happy-Go-Lucky, Amber is pretty much a younger version of Poppy, an incorrigible optimist. She is the life of the party, she stands up for the weak, cheers up elderly, saves stray dogs, all with never-ending enthusiasm and positivity. Only, as you can expect, such approach to life is not necessarily healthy. It is too much of a burden to hold up so many people. One day, after a particularly devastating event, Amber can't take it any longer and succumbs to depression. Will she be able to pull through?
In an ocean of conventional YA books with recycled plots and characters, Sorta Like a Rock Star stands out. Amber's story is heartbreaking and inspiring. As for the characters, I do not know which one of them I liked the most - Amber, upbeat, hopeful, improper and pushy; or her best doggy friend Thrice B who never fails to hump his canine lady friend even with fresh stitches in his belly; or maybe Private Jackson, a Vietnam vet who copes with his war memories by writing haikus and drinking green tea. I just can't decide...
Speaking of haikus. Can't say I knew much about this poetry form before reading this book, but haikus here had quite an effect on me, meaning, they made me bawl like a baby.
November 5, 2020
“You may exist in This world—but I exist too. And I will not yield”
Sorta Like A Rockstar is on my mind for months since I discovered it, until I decided to end my misery of repeating the title over and over again in my brain (because the title was really catchy imo) and read this book. And boy, WOW! this book rocked me totally.
The first part kept me smiling and even laughing on how this book is filled of hope, joy, faith and anything that describes a positive life. Amber Appleton is an adorable main character that brings hope to every type of people (and animals) and does her best to make them happy (even her own life is sort of miserable) that I eventually admired her. And it grew in every turn of page.
She has a dog named Bobby Big Boy. She lives in a bus with her alcoholic mother. She has any right to be negative towards life but she wasn't. She was strong, happy and hopeful girl. She believes in God and in JC. She has a diversified friends that made this book more interesting and enjoyable. She does a lot of good things to people that I was kinda jealous of her because she can find time to do something important and valuable. Amber Appleton was really a great lady until the second part.
I was reading the second part, in a bus on my way home, which a terrible event happened to Amber's life. I just leave it like that. She was a mess after she learned what happened and she became a so-annoying character. She pushed people away. She asked a lot of questions about life and faith. She's even in the verge of losing hope or so I thought, but I understand her. I do. And that, made this novel more realistic in any way possible. I can really felt all the emotion this book want me to feel.
As I've mentioned I'm in a bus when I'm reading this part and I'm forcing not to cry or at least tear up because it's embarrassing. I was so affected that I wept, probably because the events triggered a saddening scenario in my heart. True? True.
At the third part I still tear up but it was of joy because I really felt the love and care of people to Amber. The scenes were reasonably heart-warming that you can absolutely feel that you are loved. Really loved. You can feel how beautiful to live a life despite of what terrible and sorrowful things happened to you in the past.
Well yeah, I may not give justice about how perfect this book was but really it was a great, beautiful novel about hope, faith and that life is really not fair and always happy. About living your life, moving on and everything in-between. If you like a book with a lot of diverse characters, haikus, music and singing, old people who do like rap battles, you might want to read it. True? True.
January 14, 2013
Hot on the heels of the excellent “Silver Linings Playbook” I jumped straight into Matthew Quick's next book, “Sorta Like a Rock Star” which is a Young Adult novel aimed at teens and is narrated in the first person by a teenage girl called Amber.
This is a review of the first 10 pages of this novel - is that unfair? Yup! Is that stopping me from writing this review? Nope!
Within the first few pages of this novel I regretted buying it. Matthew Quick is a 40 year-old man trying to mimic the voice of a teen girl, around 15 years old I think. The result? Dialogue like this:
“No lie”
“Yeah it’s the 21st century. I’m a freak”
“I’m a pretty good Catholic; I’m still the big V. Momma Mary and me are, like, five-by-five; I’m a holy teenager of God, sucka!”
“all freaky teenagers keep it real when we can”
“I’m sure there are people who would let us crash at their houses, because the town of Childress is full of good-hearted dudes and dudettes. Word.”
“it’s all good in the hood”.
She also has the annoying habit of ending her paragraphs with either “True? True.” or simply “Truth”.
And that’s all from just the first 10 pages! Does anyone say “word” anymore? Even the hipsters don’t say it ironically anymore!
Maybe I’m wrong to judge a book by its first 10 pages but no way can I continue to read a 350 page book when the narrator sounds this unrealistic and stupid. But maybe I’m wrong again because I don’t know any teenage girls and maybe they all speak like this? But it reads to me like a middle aged man trying really hard to write a kid’s voice and utterly failing - it’s just too naff to seem even semi-genuine!
So here’s a warning to anyone who loved Quick's first novel “Silver Linings Playbook” and is thinking of embarking on his second - its written in a really weird teenage voice that puts you off any attempt at reading the actual story. It’s too awful an impression of how a teen girl sounds to suspend disbelief and lose yourself in the narrative. Think twice, then avoid this YA fare and wait for Quick to write his second grown-up book instead.
True? True.
This is a review of the first 10 pages of this novel - is that unfair? Yup! Is that stopping me from writing this review? Nope!
Within the first few pages of this novel I regretted buying it. Matthew Quick is a 40 year-old man trying to mimic the voice of a teen girl, around 15 years old I think. The result? Dialogue like this:
“No lie”
“Yeah it’s the 21st century. I’m a freak”
“I’m a pretty good Catholic; I’m still the big V. Momma Mary and me are, like, five-by-five; I’m a holy teenager of God, sucka!”
“all freaky teenagers keep it real when we can”
“I’m sure there are people who would let us crash at their houses, because the town of Childress is full of good-hearted dudes and dudettes. Word.”
“it’s all good in the hood”.
She also has the annoying habit of ending her paragraphs with either “True? True.” or simply “Truth”.
And that’s all from just the first 10 pages! Does anyone say “word” anymore? Even the hipsters don’t say it ironically anymore!
Maybe I’m wrong to judge a book by its first 10 pages but no way can I continue to read a 350 page book when the narrator sounds this unrealistic and stupid. But maybe I’m wrong again because I don’t know any teenage girls and maybe they all speak like this? But it reads to me like a middle aged man trying really hard to write a kid’s voice and utterly failing - it’s just too naff to seem even semi-genuine!
So here’s a warning to anyone who loved Quick's first novel “Silver Linings Playbook” and is thinking of embarking on his second - its written in a really weird teenage voice that puts you off any attempt at reading the actual story. It’s too awful an impression of how a teen girl sounds to suspend disbelief and lose yourself in the narrative. Think twice, then avoid this YA fare and wait for Quick to write his second grown-up book instead.
True? True.
April 8, 2013
Am I truly the only one on goodreads who was completely put off by this saccharine emotionally manipulative Pollyanna story with a heroine so very desperate to be quirkily likeable?
Amber Appleton is supposed to be 17, but she reads like one of those 10-13-year-old heroines who (sniffle) have been through SO MUCH (sob) and yet somehow manage to maintain their relentless optimism despite all the failures of the adults in their lives to care for them. The kind of optimism that would certainly be nauseating in an adult but is oh-so-cute-and-inspiring and perhaps even believable in a young, naive child. That was Matthew Quick's first mistake. If he had written Amber as a 10-13-year-old, it might have worked a little better. But the same way Pollyanna wouldn't have worked with a 25-year-old heroine, Amber really didn't sell as a 17-year-old. To make matters worse, Amber used this bizarre hodgepodge slang which really didn't help convince me of her authentic 17-ness. Word. True? True. Annoying verbal tics, popping up periodically and disrupting the narrative for no good reason.
Anyway, Amber is homeless and lives on the school bus her mother drives. Her mother is an alcoholic whose efforts to find a home for herself and her daughter consist of driving a school bus four hours a day and looking for a boyfriend to take her and her daughter in. Because it's worked out so well in the past, as you can imagine and as Amber tells you. But that's okay, because Amber loves her mother anyway even though she recognizes that she's a terrible Mom.
But there's a whole long list of people Amber loves. Amber is taken in by the too-good-to-be-true Donna, a successful lawyer, loving mother, beautiful woman, saint, feminist role model, etc., etc. Amber eats and showers at Donna's and Donna doesn't raise an eyebrow; she simply buys Amber make-up and treats her like a daughter while Amber occasionally pays token lip service to this hurting her pride. Because of course, Amber is proud and not a moocher despite her situation. Donna's son, Ricky, is an autistic teen in Amber's class and one of Amber's clique, a group of self-proclaimed "freaks." Two of the "freaks" have disabilities but otherwise none of them, including Amber, is particularly freaky. Of course not, because you're supposed to like them.
Amber's hobbies include visiting a nursing home, where the ailing old folks organize a weekly battle between Amber's optimism and one cranky old lady's pessimism and nihilism. Now this was where the book truly jumped the shark. I've worked in nursing homes. The thought of the residents banding together and organizing this weekly debate is pretty improbable, but what was even more over the top was Amber's nemesis's evil and unmitigated determination to defeat Amber in their verbal battles. "I'll make you cry yet!" the old lady practically cackles, trying desperately to crush Amber's optimism. It was like a good vs. evil Disney movie, and not a very good one. But let's face it, the whole book was like a Disney movie.
If you don't yet get the fact that Matthew Quick is just dying for you to LOVE AMBER, Amber also regularly leads a bunch of insecure Korean churchgoing women in singing the Supremes (isn't that adorable?), fights bravely to make sure her underdog teacher still has a job, successfully convinces a troubled, eccentric, and very unfriendly Vietnam vet to form a friendship with her (which ends up being good for both of them, of course), and adopts a stray dog even though she doesn't have enough to eat herself.
Well, I think we all know where this is headed. Sure enough, tragedy strikes and Amber's relentless optimism takes a serious blow. Will she recover?
I'm amazed at how many people seem to have loved this on goodreads. To me, it was a retread of every bad Disney movie I've ever seen. I admit that my standards for audio tend to be lower, but I still have standards.
Amber Appleton is supposed to be 17, but she reads like one of those 10-13-year-old heroines who (sniffle) have been through SO MUCH (sob) and yet somehow manage to maintain their relentless optimism despite all the failures of the adults in their lives to care for them. The kind of optimism that would certainly be nauseating in an adult but is oh-so-cute-and-inspiring and perhaps even believable in a young, naive child. That was Matthew Quick's first mistake. If he had written Amber as a 10-13-year-old, it might have worked a little better. But the same way Pollyanna wouldn't have worked with a 25-year-old heroine, Amber really didn't sell as a 17-year-old. To make matters worse, Amber used this bizarre hodgepodge slang which really didn't help convince me of her authentic 17-ness. Word. True? True. Annoying verbal tics, popping up periodically and disrupting the narrative for no good reason.
Anyway, Amber is homeless and lives on the school bus her mother drives. Her mother is an alcoholic whose efforts to find a home for herself and her daughter consist of driving a school bus four hours a day and looking for a boyfriend to take her and her daughter in. Because it's worked out so well in the past, as you can imagine and as Amber tells you. But that's okay, because Amber loves her mother anyway even though she recognizes that she's a terrible Mom.
But there's a whole long list of people Amber loves. Amber is taken in by the too-good-to-be-true Donna, a successful lawyer, loving mother, beautiful woman, saint, feminist role model, etc., etc. Amber eats and showers at Donna's and Donna doesn't raise an eyebrow; she simply buys Amber make-up and treats her like a daughter while Amber occasionally pays token lip service to this hurting her pride. Because of course, Amber is proud and not a moocher despite her situation. Donna's son, Ricky, is an autistic teen in Amber's class and one of Amber's clique, a group of self-proclaimed "freaks." Two of the "freaks" have disabilities but otherwise none of them, including Amber, is particularly freaky. Of course not, because you're supposed to like them.
Amber's hobbies include visiting a nursing home, where the ailing old folks organize a weekly battle between Amber's optimism and one cranky old lady's pessimism and nihilism. Now this was where the book truly jumped the shark. I've worked in nursing homes. The thought of the residents banding together and organizing this weekly debate is pretty improbable, but what was even more over the top was Amber's nemesis's evil and unmitigated determination to defeat Amber in their verbal battles. "I'll make you cry yet!" the old lady practically cackles, trying desperately to crush Amber's optimism. It was like a good vs. evil Disney movie, and not a very good one. But let's face it, the whole book was like a Disney movie.
If you don't yet get the fact that Matthew Quick is just dying for you to LOVE AMBER, Amber also regularly leads a bunch of insecure Korean churchgoing women in singing the Supremes (isn't that adorable?), fights bravely to make sure her underdog teacher still has a job, successfully convinces a troubled, eccentric, and very unfriendly Vietnam vet to form a friendship with her (which ends up being good for both of them, of course), and adopts a stray dog even though she doesn't have enough to eat herself.
Well, I think we all know where this is headed. Sure enough, tragedy strikes and Amber's relentless optimism takes a serious blow. Will she recover?
I'm amazed at how many people seem to have loved this on goodreads. To me, it was a retread of every bad Disney movie I've ever seen. I admit that my standards for audio tend to be lower, but I still have standards.
September 21, 2011
Irrepressible hope and relentless optimism are amazing and impressive...and you know what else? Extremely annoying. Yes, dear readers, I was one of those people giving Amber Appleton the side-eye for the entire first half of the book.
Sure, I empathized with her horrible situation and admired the spunk in her survival skills but I still resisted the crap out of her charm. I found her hugging obsession creepy. Her “JC” name dropping made me itch. Her slang felt unnaturally shoehorned into her otherwise SAT-word laden inner dialogue. Her group of “special” school friends felt just too precious to be real. And for goodness sake, did she have to give everything five word nicknames just to use the acronym for it?! Amber would do something promising and then follow it up with something that made me cringe.
Yet I stuck around for a couple reasons, the main one being Amber is not portrayed as trying to be perfect. She gets offended and swears and lashes out. Amidst all the “up with people!” moments there were also glimpses of a teenager I could recognize--an angry, unappreciated, emotional adolescent that I found extremely easy to root for. I think my opinion of Amber permanently turned around after her interactions with the Korean Divas for Christ, Private Jackson and even Joanie of Old (see what I mean about nicknames?). For all of her inappropriate methods and pushiness, Amber has such a good heart. Even though at times her world must seem so small, Amber never sees it that way. Her hope makes it endless. Amber not only recognizes the loneliness around her, she is genuinely interested in these people’s lives. She sees what makes them who they are and without making a big deal about it, celebrates it every day. She will shine her floodlight of hope on anyone who gives her the chance.
She really, truly is sorta like a rock star.
And then Amber’s already extremely shitty life gets horribly worse and Amber's belief system is shaken to the core. I realized that I too had been just one more person underestimating Amber’s value and how much I’d grown to depend on her enthusiasm and optimism.
Yes, there is a definite cheesiness factor here between the After School Specialness of the Five and the nature of the ending, but dammit if I didn't soak it all up like a freaking hopeful sponge. You won this one, Amber Appleton.
Also, the haikus--the last two in particular--were, as Amber would say, some good hooey.
Sure, I empathized with her horrible situation and admired the spunk in her survival skills but I still resisted the crap out of her charm. I found her hugging obsession creepy. Her “JC” name dropping made me itch. Her slang felt unnaturally shoehorned into her otherwise SAT-word laden inner dialogue. Her group of “special” school friends felt just too precious to be real. And for goodness sake, did she have to give everything five word nicknames just to use the acronym for it?! Amber would do something promising and then follow it up with something that made me cringe.
Yet I stuck around for a couple reasons, the main one being Amber is not portrayed as trying to be perfect. She gets offended and swears and lashes out. Amidst all the “up with people!” moments there were also glimpses of a teenager I could recognize--an angry, unappreciated, emotional adolescent that I found extremely easy to root for. I think my opinion of Amber permanently turned around after her interactions with the Korean Divas for Christ, Private Jackson and even Joanie of Old (see what I mean about nicknames?). For all of her inappropriate methods and pushiness, Amber has such a good heart. Even though at times her world must seem so small, Amber never sees it that way. Her hope makes it endless. Amber not only recognizes the loneliness around her, she is genuinely interested in these people’s lives. She sees what makes them who they are and without making a big deal about it, celebrates it every day. She will shine her floodlight of hope on anyone who gives her the chance.
She really, truly is sorta like a rock star.
And then Amber’s already extremely shitty life gets horribly worse and Amber's belief system is shaken to the core. I realized that I too had been just one more person underestimating Amber’s value and how much I’d grown to depend on her enthusiasm and optimism.
Yes, there is a definite cheesiness factor here between the After School Specialness of the Five and the nature of the ending, but dammit if I didn't soak it all up like a freaking hopeful sponge. You won this one, Amber Appleton.
Also, the haikus--the last two in particular--were, as Amber would say, some good hooey.
November 27, 2021
Another great story from Matthew (Silver Linings Playbook) who demonstrates that hope is what's possible and necessary in life. Amber Appleton is a teen who in spite of her mother's choices inspires everyone she interacts with regardless of age, sex or mindset. A member of a group of dysfunctional high school friends, her wit, passion and energy is contagious. Of the five members, Ricky, an autistic math wiz is her sidekick, his mother Donna, an attorney who supports Amber in ways unimaginable. Guided by Father Chee, priest at a Korean Catholic church and an introverted Vietnam veteran, her circle is unique, supportive and diverse. Having to live in a school bus would hamper most, but Amber and her dog, Bobby Big Boy, are filled with joy, hope and expectation. Inspired, heart warming and paced to perfection, this is a terrific story worth reading. As a film buff and writer, I deeply disappointed in the Netflix adaptation so my recommendation is to read rather than view.
July 24, 2010
I love Amber Appleton, no sorta about it. True.
A book called Sorta Like a Rock Star and it’s about a girl living on a bus with her mother? Wasn’t exactly at the top of my TBR pile, but I’m easily swayed by consistently good reviews. So I got to meet Amber. She has a conversational relationship with God (no need to worry, it’s not religious) and digs lighting up people’s faces, but she’s not saccharine or superior. She’s not looking to collect karmic points or gain accolades. She’s okay manipulating figures of authority or getting violent with bullies to make things happen. She couldn’t be described as poised, eloquent, or even entirely appropriate, but she’s made of goodness. Amber walks through life with her rescued dog at her side, taking care of her fellow Freaks (“my boys” in her words), making sure her drunken mother eats, picking up and taking on causes along the way. Because she’s going to help you out whether you want her to or not, and in unorthodox ways that you might not welcome.
Then she suffers one too many devastations and starts to wonder if it’s all worth it. Is life just a series of meaningless events and Nietzsche quotes? My heart broke right along with hers when she suffers some dark days. Immediately after finishing, I was worried that the end seemed too improbable. But, really, why wouldn’t it have happened that way? People can’t help loving Amber.
Seriously, how have I not been hearing more about this book?
A book called Sorta Like a Rock Star and it’s about a girl living on a bus with her mother? Wasn’t exactly at the top of my TBR pile, but I’m easily swayed by consistently good reviews. So I got to meet Amber. She has a conversational relationship with God (no need to worry, it’s not religious) and digs lighting up people’s faces, but she’s not saccharine or superior. She’s not looking to collect karmic points or gain accolades. She’s okay manipulating figures of authority or getting violent with bullies to make things happen. She couldn’t be described as poised, eloquent, or even entirely appropriate, but she’s made of goodness. Amber walks through life with her rescued dog at her side, taking care of her fellow Freaks (“my boys” in her words), making sure her drunken mother eats, picking up and taking on causes along the way. Because she’s going to help you out whether you want her to or not, and in unorthodox ways that you might not welcome.
Then she suffers one too many devastations and starts to wonder if it’s all worth it. Is life just a series of meaningless events and Nietzsche quotes? My heart broke right along with hers when she suffers some dark days. Immediately after finishing, I was worried that the end seemed too improbable. But, really, why wouldn’t it have happened that way? People can’t help loving Amber.
Seriously, how have I not been hearing more about this book?
December 4, 2017
2.5ish stars.
I have extremely mixed feelings about this book...
On the one hand, it is somehow simultaneously extremely emotional and yet feel-good; it is well plotted; it made me both think and feel; it has a good message; and once I got to about half way through, I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened.
On the other hand, it wasn’t until halfway through that I felt any desire to keep reading, as almost nothing happens in the first half. I didn’t find any of the characters particularly realistic, relate-able or believable. And most importantly, it was so, incredibly annoying to read. I HATE how Amber talks. Practically every second sentence ends in either ‘Truth.’ or ‘True? True.’ She refers to her dog as ‘B-Thrice’. And here is just a small sampler of a few lines you will find all within the very first few pages of the book: “I’m a child of god, sucka!”, “he’s a sexy mutt”, “it kicks apple bottom”, “he is a frickin gentlemen”, “flaming ball in the sky (that’s the sun, sucka!)”, “mi madre is hitting the man pipe again because she sorta loses her frickin mind”, “these dudes will do bad hooey, at least according to such cool cats as Herman Melville”, “ain’t so ha-ha”, “that’s public knowledge as far as I’m concerned. True? True.”, etc.
It’s honestly much worse than that, that’s just a few I’ve picked out from quickly skimming the first few pages again. It would be fine if this type of ‘speaking’ was just occasionally scattered throughout, but literally 100% of the book is written in this way and it is frankly infuriating. I also find Amber rather annoying in other ways, aside from her awful way of talking/narrating. What’s with her constant creepy attempts to hug her (male) teacher whenever they’re alone together, even though he’s repeatedly told her he is not comfortable with that, and it could get him fired? Not to mention turning up at his house at night and insulting his wife. Not cool.
Still searching for a book from this author that will grip me like Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock did.
I have extremely mixed feelings about this book...
On the one hand, it is somehow simultaneously extremely emotional and yet feel-good; it is well plotted; it made me both think and feel; it has a good message; and once I got to about half way through, I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened.
On the other hand, it wasn’t until halfway through that I felt any desire to keep reading, as almost nothing happens in the first half. I didn’t find any of the characters particularly realistic, relate-able or believable. And most importantly, it was so, incredibly annoying to read. I HATE how Amber talks. Practically every second sentence ends in either ‘Truth.’ or ‘True? True.’ She refers to her dog as ‘B-Thrice’. And here is just a small sampler of a few lines you will find all within the very first few pages of the book: “I’m a child of god, sucka!”, “he’s a sexy mutt”, “it kicks apple bottom”, “he is a frickin gentlemen”, “flaming ball in the sky (that’s the sun, sucka!)”, “mi madre is hitting the man pipe again because she sorta loses her frickin mind”, “these dudes will do bad hooey, at least according to such cool cats as Herman Melville”, “ain’t so ha-ha”, “that’s public knowledge as far as I’m concerned. True? True.”, etc.
It’s honestly much worse than that, that’s just a few I’ve picked out from quickly skimming the first few pages again. It would be fine if this type of ‘speaking’ was just occasionally scattered throughout, but literally 100% of the book is written in this way and it is frankly infuriating. I also find Amber rather annoying in other ways, aside from her awful way of talking/narrating. What’s with her constant creepy attempts to hug her (male) teacher whenever they’re alone together, even though he’s repeatedly told her he is not comfortable with that, and it could get him fired? Not to mention turning up at his house at night and insulting his wife. Not cool.
Still searching for a book from this author that will grip me like Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock did.
May 30, 2012
Amber Appleton is currently homeless, sleeping on the school bus her mother drives part-time, and trying to keep her life and her self together. She does the best she can with what she's got and makes the best out of her situation. She volunteers at the old folks home, she teaches english to Korean ladies at her church and she takes care of an autistic classmate in return for meals and shower privileges at his house. But Amber is barely holding it together, keeping herself and her pup, Bobby Big Boy fed, while watching her mother decline in health due to alcoholism. Then one night the unthinkable happens and Amber is left shattered and alone. What happens to her and how she survives and recovers is an amazing and moving story.
I stayed up late into the night, crying quietly so as not to wake my sleeping husband. I recommended this one to my daughter, I hope she reads it. It is definitely going down as one of my favorites!
I stayed up late into the night, crying quietly so as not to wake my sleeping husband. I recommended this one to my daughter, I hope she reads it. It is definitely going down as one of my favorites!
Want to read
August 29, 2020Giveaway Win!
May 30, 2010
Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick is an awesome and inspiring read. I finished this book in a few short hours as Amber Appleton did such a great job captivating my attention with her unique and refreshing narrative. To be honest, I was a little skeptical of Quick’s ability to pull off penning a female character’s voice, but that just shows you what I know. The narrative and character development he achieved with this book was absolute perfection and had me applauding his efforts the whole way through.
Many people might be put off by the religious overtones in this book as Amber, Princess of Hope, carries on constant convos with JC, but I often find myself having those same dialogues in my head, so I was able to associate with Amber quite seamlessly. She truly is an inspiring character as I read her struggles of living in the back of a school bus with her mom and little pup Bobby Big Boy, aka BBB, aka B Thrice, aka Triple B. Amber’s hopeful nature is contagious and despite her down-and-out situation of being homeless, she digs deep to find ways to try and make other peoples’ lives just a little bit better as she volunteers as an English teacher at the Korean Divas For Christ organization, befriends the misfits of Childress High school also known as Franks Freak Force Federation, and spends time at a convalescent home with forgotten elders. When tragedy strikes her life and she becomes the victim of a cruel and unjust crime, Amber’s light of hope is temporary distinguished, and the people of Childress pull together to rescue their Princess of Hope.
I enjoyed this book for so many reasons, and I’ll be sure to keep my eye out for more novels by Matthew Quick. His character Amber Appleton and the rest of the cast made me an instant fan. Great read!!
Many people might be put off by the religious overtones in this book as Amber, Princess of Hope, carries on constant convos with JC, but I often find myself having those same dialogues in my head, so I was able to associate with Amber quite seamlessly. She truly is an inspiring character as I read her struggles of living in the back of a school bus with her mom and little pup Bobby Big Boy, aka BBB, aka B Thrice, aka Triple B. Amber’s hopeful nature is contagious and despite her down-and-out situation of being homeless, she digs deep to find ways to try and make other peoples’ lives just a little bit better as she volunteers as an English teacher at the Korean Divas For Christ organization, befriends the misfits of Childress High school also known as Franks Freak Force Federation, and spends time at a convalescent home with forgotten elders. When tragedy strikes her life and she becomes the victim of a cruel and unjust crime, Amber’s light of hope is temporary distinguished, and the people of Childress pull together to rescue their Princess of Hope.
I enjoyed this book for so many reasons, and I’ll be sure to keep my eye out for more novels by Matthew Quick. His character Amber Appleton and the rest of the cast made me an instant fan. Great read!!
February 28, 2013
This book had the most annoying narrator I've read in a long time. Every few sentences, she stops to say "True? True." I mean, what? Kids use slang, but that doesn't even make sense. We're reading your story, we assume you are telling the truth or if not, you'll let us know. Also, she kept throwing out stuff like "word!" or "sucka!" which just sounds stupid. The rest of her narration seems like she is intelligent and reads a lot, so these interjections just undermine all that. The story has an interesting setup - the narrator is living on the school bus that her mom drives because her mom's latest crappy boyfriend threw them out - but the other parts of the story just don't seem believable to me. It's like the author made a list of Heartwarming Things Quirky Kids Might Do and checked them off.
December 13, 2011
It begins with a young woman whose perpetually upbeat manner had me squinting, wondering at what her damage was. Proclaimed Princess of Hope, she’d surrounded herself with people to hold up. Yet it was these various people who had me pausing, they seemed almost too sweet. The five she hung out with were odd ball misfits with no place but with each other. The old folks home and her verbal wars with Joan of old as well as the Singing Korean Divas and a haiku writing war vet… all touched me, but just a bit leery because they were just a little to too sweet to be true.
Amber, with her wicked sense of humor had me laughing and this despite her tendency to give others two or three worded nicknames. But most of all, I wondered if she was to too good to be true. She wasn’t. Because all that was balanced out when she acted inappropriate, then acted out and said what was on her mind (even to someone’s discomfort.)
So if at first her almost too-positive self had me wondering, what happened later had me bawling. Here’s something that’s not too much of much a secret: I love heartache. And heartache, Amber’s story did provide. It’s because of what happens that she loses faith in herself, in others… in faith itself. It’s this aspect of the story that had me because as usual, she came across as more real, more likely. Her initial reaction of just sitting, just breathing and later shaking had me, but her eventual reactions on the expectations put on her all made her just a little more possible.
The first part had me wondering, the second and third parts had me bawling, but the last part just left me smiling (I admit to this fact reluctantly because the ending was just a tad too precious, WGwg style):
She might have come across like Pollyanna at first, but if that last bit proves anything it's that she's also capable of so much more.
Amber, with her wicked sense of humor had me laughing and this despite her tendency to give others two or three worded nicknames. But most of all, I wondered if she was to too good to be true. She wasn’t. Because all that was balanced out when she acted inappropriate, then acted out and said what was on her mind (even to someone’s discomfort.)
So if at first her almost too-positive self had me wondering, what happened later had me bawling. Here’s something that’s not too much of much a secret: I love heartache. And heartache, Amber’s story did provide. It’s because of what happens that she loses faith in herself, in others… in faith itself. It’s this aspect of the story that had me because as usual, she came across as more real, more likely. Her initial reaction of just sitting, just breathing and later shaking had me, but her eventual reactions on the expectations put on her all made her just a little more possible.
The first part had me wondering, the second and third parts had me bawling, but the last part just left me smiling (I admit to this fact reluctantly because the ending was just a tad too precious, WGwg style):
You may exist in
This world- but I exist too
And I will not yield...
She might have come across like Pollyanna at first, but if that last bit proves anything it's that she's also capable of so much more.
April 8, 2018
3.7 Out Of 5 "tragically hip" Stars
At first, Amber Appleton annoyed me quite a bit. She is tragically hip, saying words like True and Word constantly. Maybe, in 2015 when this was published, she might come off as less annoying, but somehow I doubt it. I was poised to give this something like a 2-2 and 12 Stars, and then somewhere along the way, she started to get to me. Somehow, she burrowed her way under my skin. I even shed a tear or two. Seriously. Of course, I could just be feeling sorry for myself, I just had surgery, after all, and I can't do much right now.
Ultimately, the message or the tone of this book came through to me, despite all the religious references (for the most part they were referenced in a non-preachy way). Granted, it's has a sappy "ABC After School Special" feel to it, but for the right audience…
At first, Amber Appleton annoyed me quite a bit. She is tragically hip, saying words like True and Word constantly. Maybe, in 2015 when this was published, she might come off as less annoying, but somehow I doubt it. I was poised to give this something like a 2-2 and 12 Stars, and then somewhere along the way, she started to get to me. Somehow, she burrowed her way under my skin. I even shed a tear or two. Seriously. Of course, I could just be feeling sorry for myself, I just had surgery, after all, and I can't do much right now.
Ultimately, the message or the tone of this book came through to me, despite all the religious references (for the most part they were referenced in a non-preachy way). Granted, it's has a sappy "ABC After School Special" feel to it, but for the right audience…
๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏
~MY RATING~
☆3.7☆STARS - GRADE=B
๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏
~~~~~~~~~~~~๏~~~~~~~~~~~~
~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~
~~~~~~~~~~~~๏~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plot~ 3.8/5
Main Characters~ 3.5/5
Secondary Characters~ 4/5
The Feels~ 3.8/5
Pacing~ 4/5
Addictiveness~ 3/5
Theme or Tone~ 4/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 3/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 4/5
Originality~ 4/5
Ending~ 4.3/5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~๏~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Cover~ It's Okay
Narration~ ☆4☆ She's definitely perky…but she didn't pull those "Word" and "True's" off to well.
Setting~ IDK
Source~ Audiobook (Library)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~๏~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 16, 2018
Była to słodko-gorzka historia o życiu, którą absolutnie pokochałem. Przypomina o prostych rzeczach o których często zapominamy.. bardzo wartościowa książka! ☺️ Zdecydownaie polecam! 4,5/5 gwiazdek.
September 30, 2012
You know what? I'm giving this book 5 stars anyway. It's just that good.
Amber Appleton is one of the most peculiar YA narrators I've ever come across. She is an extreme optimist, no matter what direction life takes her. When the story opens, life has taken her mother and her to live on the school bus her mom drives after being kicked out of her mom's ex-boyfriend Oliver's apartment. However, Amber soon suffers a tragedy so great that now even she can't see a bright side.
I was afraid of giving this book an immediate 5 star rating because I tend to do that with books I love, and then later have to drop them down to 4.5 stars. This book was well written, great characters, real emotions, engaging, impossible to put down, is a stand-out in the crowded genre of contemporary YA, and is a book that I still think about and will probably return to read it again in the future.
Shortly after I started this book I briefly participated in a discussion about how a lot of voices in contemporary fiction tend to sound the same, and it seems like the author is more focused on making the voice of the narrator sound like the right gender instead of trying to make them stand out and linger with us. Well, Matthew Quick clearly has a gift, because Amber Appleton has probably the most unique voice I've ever read in realistic YA.
Not only does he almost effortlessly create a realistic voice of a teenage girl, he also makes her a distinct voice, that if you randomly read a paragraph in her voice, I'd be able to know who is narrating the piece. I am simply far too inadequate to properly describe it to you, so I will simply say: you have to read it to understand. Trust me, after one page you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
One of the strongest elements in the novel is Amber's depression. Now, before I jump into that I'll need to explain the format of the book.
So, if a chapter ends on an odd-numbered page (1, 3, 5, 7, 177, 277, etc.) then the next page is blank and the page after that is when the next chapter begins.
Amber's depression is actually only about 20% of the novel. It doesn't really surface until you're about halfway in, although that's not to say it takes forever to get interesting. In about 70 pages and many one-paged chapters, Quick was able to do what Melina Marchetta couldn't quite do for me in 243 pages. And since a lot of these one-paged chapters ended on the right/odd-numbered page, about half of those pages were blank. So, 35 pages.
That's talent if I ever saw it.
I adored the side characters! Franks, Robbie, Tyler, Bobby Big Boy (Amber's dog), Private Jackson, the KDFC, Joan of Old, DONNA (who is possibly the coolest fictional mom character ever)!
Amber herself is one of the most loveable characters in the world, and I just wanted to give her a big ol' hug by the end. She is a very religious person, however I wouldn't say she's so religious that the whole book is one big preaching session.
There isn't really anything surprising about this book though. I knew however this isn't meant to be a surprising book.
It just is what it is, and what it is is awesome. Awesome that you must read.
This is an underappreciated, underhyped book if there ever was one.
So, what I'm basically trying to say is:
READ IT!
Amber Appleton is one of the most peculiar YA narrators I've ever come across. She is an extreme optimist, no matter what direction life takes her. When the story opens, life has taken her mother and her to live on the school bus her mom drives after being kicked out of her mom's ex-boyfriend Oliver's apartment. However, Amber soon suffers a tragedy so great that now even she can't see a bright side.
I was afraid of giving this book an immediate 5 star rating because I tend to do that with books I love, and then later have to drop them down to 4.5 stars. This book was well written, great characters, real emotions, engaging, impossible to put down, is a stand-out in the crowded genre of contemporary YA, and is a book that I still think about and will probably return to read it again in the future.
Shortly after I started this book I briefly participated in a discussion about how a lot of voices in contemporary fiction tend to sound the same, and it seems like the author is more focused on making the voice of the narrator sound like the right gender instead of trying to make them stand out and linger with us. Well, Matthew Quick clearly has a gift, because Amber Appleton has probably the most unique voice I've ever read in realistic YA.
Not only does he almost effortlessly create a realistic voice of a teenage girl, he also makes her a distinct voice, that if you randomly read a paragraph in her voice, I'd be able to know who is narrating the piece. I am simply far too inadequate to properly describe it to you, so I will simply say: you have to read it to understand. Trust me, after one page you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
One of the strongest elements in the novel is Amber's depression. Now, before I jump into that I'll need to explain the format of the book.
So, if a chapter ends on an odd-numbered page (1, 3, 5, 7, 177, 277, etc.) then the next page is blank and the page after that is when the next chapter begins.
Amber's depression is actually only about 20% of the novel. It doesn't really surface until you're about halfway in, although that's not to say it takes forever to get interesting. In about 70 pages and many one-paged chapters, Quick was able to do what Melina Marchetta couldn't quite do for me in 243 pages. And since a lot of these one-paged chapters ended on the right/odd-numbered page, about half of those pages were blank. So, 35 pages.
That's talent if I ever saw it.
I adored the side characters! Franks, Robbie, Tyler, Bobby Big Boy (Amber's dog), Private Jackson, the KDFC, Joan of Old, DONNA (who is possibly the coolest fictional mom character ever)!
Amber herself is one of the most loveable characters in the world, and I just wanted to give her a big ol' hug by the end. She is a very religious person, however I wouldn't say she's so religious that the whole book is one big preaching session.
There isn't really anything surprising about this book though. I knew however this isn't meant to be a surprising book.
It just is what it is, and what it is is awesome. Awesome that you must read.
This is an underappreciated, underhyped book if there ever was one.
So, what I'm basically trying to say is:
READ IT!
February 4, 2013
Original post from One More Page
I've been wanting to get a copy of Matthew Quick's Sorta Like A Rock Star for the longest time, because I thought it was one of those band books -- sorta kinda like Antony John's Five Flavors of Dumb -- and I enjoy those books a lot. But no one ever gave it to me for Christmas or my birthday, so after two years of it being in my wish list, I decided to splurge on it shortly after Christmas.
As it turns out, though, Sorta Like A Rock Star is far from being a band book. We meet Amber Appleton, so-called "Princess of Hope". Amber lives in a bus with her mom and her dog, Bobby Big Boy (aka 3B, Thrice B, BBB) ever since her mom's latest boyfriend kicked them out. Despite all this, Amber still has a positive outlook in life and she does her best to help other people who need her: her own group of outcasts in school, their adviser for the Marketing Club, some Korean women in a Catholic church where she serves and even a retired veteran who she befriends. She's such a ray of light to other people that when something truly terrible happens to her, Amber teeters on the edge of darkness -- and there doesn't seem to be any answers to her questions in the face of this tragedy.
I didn't really warm up to Sorta Like A Rock Star when I first read it, because I sort of couldn't get into Amber's way of speaking and her über-optimism. I'm a pretty positive person, but Amber just takes it waaaaay above what I normally know. But somehow, I started feeling for her, especially since I had a view of how much of a struggle it was for her at "home".
And then that terrible thing happened. And my heart just went out for her. I found myself sniffling in the middle of the night, and I suddenly couldn't put it down. My heart went out for Amber, and interestingly, to Father Chee, who sat with her through her ordeal. Her questions were painful, and it also hurts me every time her priest friend finally answers, "I don't know." Sigh.
Then...well, I won't say what happens next because it's better to be read and experienced first hand, but when I finished the book, I was filled with hope, too. Like Amber had reached out from the pages and touched my heart, telling me that things can never be too worse not to be hopeful. I can't really remember what I was going through when I was reading this, but I remember my heart full of good vibes and warmth when I was done reading, and there were warm, happy tears streaming down my face. Especially when I read this particular haiku:
Sorta Like A Rock Star is not your ordinary contemporary YA novel. If you read it and feel turned off at the start of the book, then I urge you to read on -- the saccharine sweetness and positivity will bear fruit later, I promise. This is the kind of book that you'll want to read if you're feeling down and when you're done, you'll want to be what Amber was to everyone, too: a hope-spreader. :)
I've been wanting to get a copy of Matthew Quick's Sorta Like A Rock Star for the longest time, because I thought it was one of those band books -- sorta kinda like Antony John's Five Flavors of Dumb -- and I enjoy those books a lot. But no one ever gave it to me for Christmas or my birthday, so after two years of it being in my wish list, I decided to splurge on it shortly after Christmas.
As it turns out, though, Sorta Like A Rock Star is far from being a band book. We meet Amber Appleton, so-called "Princess of Hope". Amber lives in a bus with her mom and her dog, Bobby Big Boy (aka 3B, Thrice B, BBB) ever since her mom's latest boyfriend kicked them out. Despite all this, Amber still has a positive outlook in life and she does her best to help other people who need her: her own group of outcasts in school, their adviser for the Marketing Club, some Korean women in a Catholic church where she serves and even a retired veteran who she befriends. She's such a ray of light to other people that when something truly terrible happens to her, Amber teeters on the edge of darkness -- and there doesn't seem to be any answers to her questions in the face of this tragedy.
I didn't really warm up to Sorta Like A Rock Star when I first read it, because I sort of couldn't get into Amber's way of speaking and her über-optimism. I'm a pretty positive person, but Amber just takes it waaaaay above what I normally know. But somehow, I started feeling for her, especially since I had a view of how much of a struggle it was for her at "home".
And then that terrible thing happened. And my heart just went out for her. I found myself sniffling in the middle of the night, and I suddenly couldn't put it down. My heart went out for Amber, and interestingly, to Father Chee, who sat with her through her ordeal. Her questions were painful, and it also hurts me every time her priest friend finally answers, "I don't know." Sigh.
Then...well, I won't say what happens next because it's better to be read and experienced first hand, but when I finished the book, I was filled with hope, too. Like Amber had reached out from the pages and touched my heart, telling me that things can never be too worse not to be hopeful. I can't really remember what I was going through when I was reading this, but I remember my heart full of good vibes and warmth when I was done reading, and there were warm, happy tears streaming down my face. Especially when I read this particular haiku:
You may exist in
This world- but I exist too
And I will not yield...
Sorta Like A Rock Star is not your ordinary contemporary YA novel. If you read it and feel turned off at the start of the book, then I urge you to read on -- the saccharine sweetness and positivity will bear fruit later, I promise. This is the kind of book that you'll want to read if you're feeling down and when you're done, you'll want to be what Amber was to everyone, too: a hope-spreader. :)
January 27, 2013
The writing for this book is abysmal, as though the writer tried to mesh together all the types of slang youth have used over the past 70 years (from cool cat to sucka to "True? True.") After the first 20 pages, I gave up and started skimming.
The main character is super religious and refers regularly to JC and even after tragedy strikes her life remains (to me) an unsymapathetic narrator. Why? Because she's unrealistic. She doesn't sound like a teenager. She's doesn't have much depth. She's a self-described "freak" but we never get any evidence of this through her actions other than hanging out with five other "misfits." I wanted to read Amber Appleton the letter to "Anna" from one issue of Slug and Lettuce (particularly after she woke up with slugs on her face in one section I skimmed)--I wish I remembered which number (but it came out in 2008).
For someone who claims to be such a freak, she seems to conform to mainstream society pretty well. She hints at super patriotism, she proudly states that she's still a virgin (not that there's anything wrong with this), and there are bizarre gender normative statements about what the roles of men and women are.
The main character is super religious and refers regularly to JC and even after tragedy strikes her life remains (to me) an unsymapathetic narrator. Why? Because she's unrealistic. She doesn't sound like a teenager. She's doesn't have much depth. She's a self-described "freak" but we never get any evidence of this through her actions other than hanging out with five other "misfits." I wanted to read Amber Appleton the letter to "Anna" from one issue of Slug and Lettuce (particularly after she woke up with slugs on her face in one section I skimmed)--I wish I remembered which number (but it came out in 2008).
For someone who claims to be such a freak, she seems to conform to mainstream society pretty well. She hints at super patriotism, she proudly states that she's still a virgin (not that there's anything wrong with this), and there are bizarre gender normative statements about what the roles of men and women are.
July 11, 2016
Eu tava muito empolgado pra ler esse livro, pq Thereza, do Thereza Reads, disse que era o melhor do Matthew que ela já leu, e porque eu tinha gostado muito de Perdão, Leonard Peacock (também ganhoh 4 estrelas). Daí comecei o livro e a personagem é MUITO religiosa e aí achei que não fosse gostar tanto assim da história. Depois aconteceram coisas bizarras na metade e eu comecei a gostar demais de novo. E no final, por mais emocionante que seja, tem umas coisas meio filme da sessão da tarde com Morgan Freeman que me deixaram meio "ok lindo talvez eu chore mas nao é real".
Enfim. 4 estrelas apenas por esse lado Sessão da Tarde da coisa, mas a escrita do Matthew e a temática do livro, são muito interessantes. Inclusive, acho que essa pegada religiosa, mesmo pra quem não é, como eu, pode ser encarada de uma forma mais crítica e paradoxal.
Enfim. 4 estrelas apenas por esse lado Sessão da Tarde da coisa, mas a escrita do Matthew e a temática do livro, são muito interessantes. Inclusive, acho que essa pegada religiosa, mesmo pra quem não é, como eu, pode ser encarada de uma forma mais crítica e paradoxal.
June 13, 2016
One of the oddest books I've ever read. True? True.
I cannot believe - blows my mind - that I just read that book.
Amber Appleton is the most cheerful, chipper, perkiest human being on the face of this earth. The first few chapters were unbearable. I thought I'd been tricked into reading PollyAnna - The Modern Years. But then it all made sense. And I cried and cried and cried and cried. For at least the last 30% of the book I sobbed and loved it.
I don't want to tell you anything. Bc the less you know the better. Hang in there when Amber is so cheerful you want to scream. Enjoy the haikus. Respect the Nietzsche (bc who doesn't?). You have the sweetest, kindest, saddest and most hope-filled ride ahead of you. And it's wonderful.
Ps - this book can easily be read in one sitting and had some of the most meaningful characters I've ever met.
I cannot believe - blows my mind - that I just read that book.
Amber Appleton is the most cheerful, chipper, perkiest human being on the face of this earth. The first few chapters were unbearable. I thought I'd been tricked into reading PollyAnna - The Modern Years. But then it all made sense. And I cried and cried and cried and cried. For at least the last 30% of the book I sobbed and loved it.
I don't want to tell you anything. Bc the less you know the better. Hang in there when Amber is so cheerful you want to scream. Enjoy the haikus. Respect the Nietzsche (bc who doesn't?). You have the sweetest, kindest, saddest and most hope-filled ride ahead of you. And it's wonderful.
Ps - this book can easily be read in one sitting and had some of the most meaningful characters I've ever met.
November 3, 2015
I read this one a few weeks ago but wasn't sure just how to explain the awesomeness it was.
There are so many reasons as to why I connected so much with this book and with its main character. Amber is awesome, unique and extremely admirable. She's just a good-hearted person, who always has a positive outlook on life even when life hasn't been all that easy for her. Her entire life has been just her and her mom, struggling to find a place to live, going from one mother boyfriend's house to another. Her mom might not win the mother-of-the-year award anytime soon, not only because of her horrible choice in men, but also her drinking habits, and inability to feed and put a roof over Amber's head. After her latest boyfriend kicks them out, Amber, her dog and her mother are forced to move into the only place they can think of, the school bus her mother works in.
But in spite of all of this, the word that fully characterizes Amber is hope. Even when things are bad, being stuck in such precarious living arrangements to say the least, and her mother on the verge of losing it, Amber never gives up hope. She's that person always looking for the glass half full, not only staying positive herself, but also inspiring this same attitude on others: such as a war veteran she shares haiku with, an elderly home she volunteers at, a group of Korean women she teaches English to, an many more people.
All this until one tragic event drastically turns Amber's life upside down, and makes her question not only everything she believes in, but also her way of life.
Amber is religious, catholic to be exact, she prays and has daily conversations with Jesus. BUT this is by no means a religious book. It never gets preachy at all; on the contrary, one of my favorite things about this book is that it embraces the fact that as human beings we don’t have all the answers.
After tragedy hits Amber's life she falls into a state of depression and the only person she can stand to be around is her priest Father Chen. What I love about their dynamic is that Father Chen never tries to teach her lessons, he never relies on cliches such as "god put you through this because he knows you are strong enough" or "this is god's plan for you" etc, etc. Instead, the way he replies to Amber’s questions and confusion is by simply saying, "I don't know"
I loved this detail because of how honest it is. We tend to believe that we have the answers to everything, that we can make sense and rationalize the world we live in, that religion hands people the answers to humanity. But what it all comes down to, and what this book conveys, is that we simply don’t know. It takes a great deal of humility to accept the fact that we don’t have all the answers, nor will we ever get them. We don’t know why bad things happen to good people, we don’t understand why there’s so much injustice and unfairness, we can’t make sense of how painful, sad, and tragic life can be. The fact that the priest was acknowledging that he simply, as all human beings, doesn’t know was so realistic, honest, and true.
This is a book about faith, not just religious faith, but faith in life, in the goodness of it. Like she writes in her final haiku: “you exist in this world – but I exist too. And I will not yield”. It’s about having faith that good will overcome evil, and that behind so much pain and suffering and human brutality, there is also hope and love and kindness. This is what Amber comes to realize through her journey of ups and really low downs. After she gets better and starts making progress she is able to see how she has inspired others and how all the good she put into the world wasn’t for nothing…it all came back to her. What this book shows so well is that life is a reflection of what we are, and what you give you get in return. Amber inspired others to have faith, to have hope, to look at the glass half full, at the beauty of life beneath its darkness...and it was what she inspired in others that in the end inspired her in return, and finally saved her.
This is just an amazing story that is extremely underrated and that I think more people should read.
There are so many reasons as to why I connected so much with this book and with its main character. Amber is awesome, unique and extremely admirable. She's just a good-hearted person, who always has a positive outlook on life even when life hasn't been all that easy for her. Her entire life has been just her and her mom, struggling to find a place to live, going from one mother boyfriend's house to another. Her mom might not win the mother-of-the-year award anytime soon, not only because of her horrible choice in men, but also her drinking habits, and inability to feed and put a roof over Amber's head. After her latest boyfriend kicks them out, Amber, her dog and her mother are forced to move into the only place they can think of, the school bus her mother works in.
But in spite of all of this, the word that fully characterizes Amber is hope. Even when things are bad, being stuck in such precarious living arrangements to say the least, and her mother on the verge of losing it, Amber never gives up hope. She's that person always looking for the glass half full, not only staying positive herself, but also inspiring this same attitude on others: such as a war veteran she shares haiku with, an elderly home she volunteers at, a group of Korean women she teaches English to, an many more people.
All this until one tragic event drastically turns Amber's life upside down, and makes her question not only everything she believes in, but also her way of life.
Amber is religious, catholic to be exact, she prays and has daily conversations with Jesus. BUT this is by no means a religious book. It never gets preachy at all; on the contrary, one of my favorite things about this book is that it embraces the fact that as human beings we don’t have all the answers.
After tragedy hits Amber's life she falls into a state of depression and the only person she can stand to be around is her priest Father Chen. What I love about their dynamic is that Father Chen never tries to teach her lessons, he never relies on cliches such as "god put you through this because he knows you are strong enough" or "this is god's plan for you" etc, etc. Instead, the way he replies to Amber’s questions and confusion is by simply saying, "I don't know"
I loved this detail because of how honest it is. We tend to believe that we have the answers to everything, that we can make sense and rationalize the world we live in, that religion hands people the answers to humanity. But what it all comes down to, and what this book conveys, is that we simply don’t know. It takes a great deal of humility to accept the fact that we don’t have all the answers, nor will we ever get them. We don’t know why bad things happen to good people, we don’t understand why there’s so much injustice and unfairness, we can’t make sense of how painful, sad, and tragic life can be. The fact that the priest was acknowledging that he simply, as all human beings, doesn’t know was so realistic, honest, and true.
This is a book about faith, not just religious faith, but faith in life, in the goodness of it. Like she writes in her final haiku: “you exist in this world – but I exist too. And I will not yield”. It’s about having faith that good will overcome evil, and that behind so much pain and suffering and human brutality, there is also hope and love and kindness. This is what Amber comes to realize through her journey of ups and really low downs. After she gets better and starts making progress she is able to see how she has inspired others and how all the good she put into the world wasn’t for nothing…it all came back to her. What this book shows so well is that life is a reflection of what we are, and what you give you get in return. Amber inspired others to have faith, to have hope, to look at the glass half full, at the beauty of life beneath its darkness...and it was what she inspired in others that in the end inspired her in return, and finally saved her.
This is just an amazing story that is extremely underrated and that I think more people should read.
November 6, 2012
Amber Appleton is the Princess of Hope, despite being homeless, not having enough money for food, having no father and generally a sucky life. But she knows that J.C. (Jesus Christ) is watching out from her and the eternally upbeat girl knows that as long as she's gotta Buddy Big Boy (her dog), her friends and her mom, things are alright.
I can see readers struggling with Amber Appleton in Sorta Like A Rock Star. She seems simply too odd and too happy to be realistic. However, for me, she feels like someone who could've been my bestie back in high school. My friends were a quirky group of girls with our own style, our own slang, who spent most of our times hanging out at Christian rock shows. (It was a good way to spend high school). So Amber would've fit right in with us.
Amber's hope takes a hit when she experiences a personal tragedy. She finds herself feeling hopeless, depressed and wondering why J.C. let's things happen and blaming herself. She's hurting in a way that feels unfixable. This book follows a group of friends, a school and a whole community that rally around Amber. Even when she's angry and lashing out, they want to give her what she gave so many people: hope.
This book hits on a lot of life experiences. It goes from funny, to sad without ever losing it's voice. It's hard to imagine that the spunky and fun start of the book could possibly weather a tragedy with it's humor and voice in tact. But it does and that impressed me. This book is definitely worth reading (or listening to, the narrator is superb). Hopefully it surprises you as much as it surprised me.
I can see readers struggling with Amber Appleton in Sorta Like A Rock Star. She seems simply too odd and too happy to be realistic. However, for me, she feels like someone who could've been my bestie back in high school. My friends were a quirky group of girls with our own style, our own slang, who spent most of our times hanging out at Christian rock shows. (It was a good way to spend high school). So Amber would've fit right in with us.
Amber's hope takes a hit when she experiences a personal tragedy. She finds herself feeling hopeless, depressed and wondering why J.C. let's things happen and blaming herself. She's hurting in a way that feels unfixable. This book follows a group of friends, a school and a whole community that rally around Amber. Even when she's angry and lashing out, they want to give her what she gave so many people: hope.
This book hits on a lot of life experiences. It goes from funny, to sad without ever losing it's voice. It's hard to imagine that the spunky and fun start of the book could possibly weather a tragedy with it's humor and voice in tact. But it does and that impressed me. This book is definitely worth reading (or listening to, the narrator is superb). Hopefully it surprises you as much as it surprised me.
November 30, 2021
All the stars!
I love Matthew Quick's writing. His characters are not exactly realistic, but they are genuine, and make me feel. His characters are like a mish mash of seven real people with quirks, using mostly the odd parts, and then Quick adds these fascinating ways they speak. Inner dialogue, secret slang, old slang, made up phrases that just make sense, you name it. I LOVE the people he makes.
This is technically one of his YA books, but it doesn't matter. This book is about people. And despair. And hope. And love. I'm not going to recap the plot, because that is almost beside the point, especially since it's so unrealistic, but much like The Good Luck of Right Now,The Silver Linings Playbook and Every Exquisite Thing,this book made me want to be a better person. A better friend. A better citizen. A better mom. Just... better. And not because it made me feel I wasn't good enough, but because Quick has a knack of making the reader feel that everyone is good: yet there is always room for improvement. Always.
I love Matthew Quick's writing. His characters are not exactly realistic, but they are genuine, and make me feel. His characters are like a mish mash of seven real people with quirks, using mostly the odd parts, and then Quick adds these fascinating ways they speak. Inner dialogue, secret slang, old slang, made up phrases that just make sense, you name it. I LOVE the people he makes.
This is technically one of his YA books, but it doesn't matter. This book is about people. And despair. And hope. And love. I'm not going to recap the plot, because that is almost beside the point, especially since it's so unrealistic, but much like The Good Luck of Right Now,The Silver Linings Playbook and Every Exquisite Thing,this book made me want to be a better person. A better friend. A better citizen. A better mom. Just... better. And not because it made me feel I wasn't good enough, but because Quick has a knack of making the reader feel that everyone is good: yet there is always room for improvement. Always.
September 12, 2016
Amber, her mother and her pup Bobby Big Boy have been living in Hello Yello (a school bus Amber’s mother drives part-time) for months after being kicked out of the latest in a series of her mom’s boyfriend’s apartments. Amber is an eternal optimist – splitting her time between her school friends (the Franks Freak Force Federation), teaching English to the Korean Divas for Christ at the local Korean Catholic Church and battling wits with Joan of Old at the Methodist Retirement Home. All that changes, though, when Amber experiences a horrific tragedy.
A week ago I finally got off the list of “one of the only people in America who had not yet read The Silver Linings Playbook”. The library happened to queue Sorta Like a Rock Star up on the same day. I really enjoyed Silver Linings and, like always, had a naggy little voice in the back of my brain saying “you know, that other one is REALLY gonna suck”. Oh little naggy voice, how wrong you were. Sorta Like a Rock Star was actually so much better. The only downside? Reading it through my lunch hour and ugly crying all the make-up off my face for the remainder of the day. Thank you, Matthew Quick, for the reminder that all we can do is keep circling that big flaming ball in the sky (that’s the sun – sucka!).
A week ago I finally got off the list of “one of the only people in America who had not yet read The Silver Linings Playbook”. The library happened to queue Sorta Like a Rock Star up on the same day. I really enjoyed Silver Linings and, like always, had a naggy little voice in the back of my brain saying “you know, that other one is REALLY gonna suck”. Oh little naggy voice, how wrong you were. Sorta Like a Rock Star was actually so much better. The only downside? Reading it through my lunch hour and ugly crying all the make-up off my face for the remainder of the day. Thank you, Matthew Quick, for the reminder that all we can do is keep circling that big flaming ball in the sky (that’s the sun – sucka!).
May 8, 2011
Main character is so unique and awesome. The cynic in me says people like her do not exist, but I really hope they do.
Read
March 3, 2016♥ Thank you so much Light Pup (Chelsea) for the birthday gift ♥
(or is it me? I never know. Let's say both)
(or is it me? I never know. Let's say both)
August 5, 2023
Lovely and sweet but my heart ached at times for Amber. This book is very realistic in theme as well as dialogue.
Amber likes to think of herself as the “princess of hope” and that sold me on this tale. I also like to think of myself in that manner and I have discovered that optimism can annoy the heck out people. I think most people enjoy feeling a bit angry but I hate being any amount of angry.
Amber sleeps on the school bus her mom drives but she spends her days drifting around between friends and school. Her mom is doing her best but feeding the two of them is difficult and finding a place to move into is impossible. So they continue life this way. Amber does the best she can to do well in the odd life style.
There are some particularly difficult themes here of death and alcoholism but there are uplifting and humorous parts that make it very realistic. I love her volunteer work at the nursing home where she gets to use all her skills at being hopeful to enrich the lives of the residents.
Young adults will enjoy this book. I am not close to being young but I enjoyed the emotions it pulled from me and the memories of being Amber’s age.
Amber likes to think of herself as the “princess of hope” and that sold me on this tale. I also like to think of myself in that manner and I have discovered that optimism can annoy the heck out people. I think most people enjoy feeling a bit angry but I hate being any amount of angry.
Amber sleeps on the school bus her mom drives but she spends her days drifting around between friends and school. Her mom is doing her best but feeding the two of them is difficult and finding a place to move into is impossible. So they continue life this way. Amber does the best she can to do well in the odd life style.
There are some particularly difficult themes here of death and alcoholism but there are uplifting and humorous parts that make it very realistic. I love her volunteer work at the nursing home where she gets to use all her skills at being hopeful to enrich the lives of the residents.
Young adults will enjoy this book. I am not close to being young but I enjoyed the emotions it pulled from me and the memories of being Amber’s age.
February 7, 2022
Ta książka to wyciskacz łez😭 Nie wiem kiedy ostatni raz płakałam tyle na książce a w sumie to od jakiejś 100 strony cały czas miałam łzy w oczach. Łzy smutku, wzruszenia i szczęścia💗 Porusza ważne tematy społeczne i uświadamia nam, że każdy zasługuje na kogoś bliskiego. Trafia do książek, które uwielbiam🤙🏼 KONIECZNIE MUSICIE PRZECZYTAĆ !! Ta książka oddaje 🛐🛐🛐
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,144 reviews