REVIEW! Five Flavors of Dumb.

Five Flavors of Dumb
Antony John



FROM THE COVER:

The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig.

The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.

The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf?

Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb.

My rating: 4 stars.

MY THOUGHTS:

Creative, fast-paced.  Descriptive in a way that doesn't make Piper's deafness blatantly obvious. 

Piper is a great character all around; she's nice, spunky, mean, flirty. Wholesome. Her brother, Finn, is just as great, although he takes longer to develop. Never really understood the deal with their parents, though.

As for the band, Dumb, I'm a bit torn. I didn't feel anything for any of the members. Except Ed. Ed is that secondary character you wish would star in a much bigger way than he's permitted.

The writing balances description and dialogue very nicely. But I still have a few problems with Five Flavors of Dumb.  Namely, the deaf jokes. At first, I realize they're put in place to serve as an obstacle for Piper to overcome. But then their appearances happen more frequently, and it just seems beyond unnecessary, especially when, every time, Piper shrugs them off. As a reader, I get it: she's grown stronger. I don't need it beaten into my head.

For once, I also had a problem with the length of the novel. I know that seems odd, but I feel as though the story could've ended much sooner than it did. But instead, John made the choice to tie up every loose end. And I mean every. And while I love when everything comes together in the end, Five Flavors of Dumb does it in a way that's just repetitive and drawn out; nothing's added to the story because of it. No extra oomph, no nothing. Just more of the same story.

Don't get me wrong, it's a nice read. It just doesn't stand out to me.