The Band Never Dances

by J.D. Landis

Working through the anguish of her beloved brother's suicide and trying to forge an identity of her own, sixteen-year-old Judy goes on tour as drummer for the hot new rock band Wedding Night and forms love-hate relationships with two handsome musicians.

Genres: Young Adult

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published February 1, 1993

About the author

James David Landis

Reviews

[lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was 12 or 13, and it really stuck with me. I played the drums as from 12-18, and this was the first time I'd seen a female drummer represented, and the story isn't typical. Judy deals with trauma, she's figuring herself out, there's no defining romance, she's given room to grow.

I found a copy of this in the lobby of my building tonight, and I came upstairs, sat down, and read it straight through. I haven't seen in over ten years, and it still holds up.

[moviebunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a looooooooong time ago, and it's stuck with me. A very unique story--After her brother's death, a girl trying to figure things out--carrying in him with her--literally--she's a drummer in a band and keeps his ashes in her drum. It was a story that really pulled at me, with a haunting quality.

[Mollie]

I loved this book as a teenager, but it has now been twice that I have spent an inordinate amount of time on the internet trying to remember the name of it. Yesterday, at last a Google search of "girl with the band young adult girl drummer" finally landed me on someone asking on Goodreads about a book with this same plot. Weirdly, "teenage girl drummer young adult 1990s brother dies" did not.

Anyway, I am recording this here so I can remember the name the next time I am trying to remember it.

I'm reluctant to reread it, as I would be so sad if it doesn't hold up.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books, one I've read twice now and can see returning to again and again in the future. Our heroine, Judy Valentine, isn't your typical teenager in love with music. She's a drummer - someone who has felt connected to rhythm and drumming since birth - and she dreams only of having her own band some day. She finishes high school early and immediately sets out to accomplish her dream, meeting the mysterious Strobe and together putting together an unlikely assemblage of musicians known as "Wedding Night". As success starts to come to the band, Judy must learn to get out from behind her drumkit and into the limelight, come to terms with her brother's suicide years before, and follow her heart toward love.

This is a young adult novel and at times things are a bit fantastical and difficult to believe. Yet there's also a solid appreciation and understanding of music and the music industry here as a backdrop for the story, and plenty of references to popular musicians of the 1980s (which *I* enjoyed, but might now make the book somewhat dated to young readers today.) As a female drummer myself (albeit just as a hobby for me), I really enjoyed Judy's perspective and could relate to her love for the drums, and for music. The characters throughout this novel are all unique and interesting, especially her fellow bandmates Strobe, Mark the Music, Irwin and Maddox.

[hielias · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book because it is based on this girl who lost her brother and he gave her first drum and she feels lost without him and she cant find her self and need help so she leaves home and just takes her drums and tries to find a band so she can find her self and she meets this guy who died and was reborn to live a better life then they find a band and they make a band and blow up. also meets this other singer who tries to take them down and tries to sleep with the drummer but she hates him and doesnt like him. she also keep her brothers ashes in her drumes.

[Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick read, engaging, though doesn't really satisfy the way "Looks aren't everything" and "lying in bed" do.

If he was doing Ellen Conford with "Looks Aren't Everything" he's doing Francesca Lia Block here.

[Mairi Kilaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven't read this since Jr High but I remember being fully entranced. Recently tried to check it out at our library, but they no longer carry it. Some other young girl must have been entranced enough steal it.

[Joyce Bertram]

A coming-of-age-story, which is nothing special. Still it was hard to put down once I started reading. Ending was a bit of a disappointment though...

[Jennifer]

A book I read as a teen! It really stuck with me.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one when I was young. Good Young adult book.