All the Wrong Chords

I loved 'All the Wrong Chords' by Deriso Christine Hurley not just because it's about music, love and loss of the loved ones, but mostly because the characters involved in the book were normal, sensitive people who make mistakes like all of us. It was really easy to get engrossed in the book, I loved the way dealing with death was portrayed - in a really reasonable yet sensitive way. I found both main characters (Scarlett and Zach) amazing by spreading sense of humor and positive vibes.

I kind of requested this one on a whim, not sure what to expect. The premise sounds great and it's totally something I'm into, but I was a little worried about it being pulled off. I get super picky with my heartache-to-love stories.

Scarlett is a great character. She's young and ambitious and maybe a little naive about things. She falls hard for Declan, the lead singer of the Beastings even though there are warning signs all around her. It's been six months since her brother died of a drug overdose and it's also been that long since she's really "felt" anything but sadness.

Declan is a jerk, honestly. He's irresponsible and rude. And he's a huge player. You get about halfway through the book before Scarlett finally realizes it. It's not hard for you, as a reader, to see it but it takes Scarlett a little while.

What you do notice, is Zach. Sweet, kind of sad, Zach who helps Scarlett learn music, listens to her talk about her brother, and invites her to join the band in the first place.

You'll love Zach. *swoon*

This is a great little story about overcoming grief and finding your way again. It's also good to see a strong female character take charge and ignore the boy who treats her like crap. I really enjoyed this one and I hope that a little editing will go a long way. Some of the transitions were abrupt and there were some spelling issues, but all in all a good read.

All the wrong chords is a sweet book about young love, family, and music. While reading you feel the families strong ties and struggles. Well written.

I can't help it. When I think of this book I instantly see John Travolta and Olivia Newton John strutting around in the final scene of the movie 'Grease' singing, "You're the one that I want . . ." AND it's not even relevant. And the movie doesn't even have the same storyline. The only thing that they have in common is that they are both stories told through music, and I totally love that about this book. So, I'm sticking with my Grease imagery and that's that.

Set about six months after the MC's brother died due to a drug overdose brought some pangs of familiarity to me. They were tough to read. But at the same time, I really appreciated that the author took the time to show the grieving process and allowed readers to experience the sensation that life can still be happy despite losing someone so close to you. High five, Ms Deriso. I also liked that the family relationships were so awesomely portrayed. Seriously, it made me want to call my parents and schedule a cookie baking marathon or something. While its storming outside. And there's a fire burning in the fireplace. And Elvis is crooning in the background. Its totally going to happen.

The only thing this book was lacking was a bit of maturity from the MC, but I can't fault the book or the writing for this. It was entirely appropriate thinking for a 17-18 year old girl. Which I no longer am. So aside from that, I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of YA who like music, bands, and love stories, but who also want a quick and light summer read.

I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley.

Scarlett may play the right chords when on guitar, but not so much in real life. She struggles with her brother's death, falls for the bad boy (who by the way, I hated).

Can she put everything in perspective before she 's all tuned out?

A beautiful story about loss, music, finding love and a lot of drama, this book is unputdownable. I had to bring my phone with me to the bathroom so I can continue reading. I like how the lyrics of the songs are written by the author herself having originality.

Our main character, Scarlett, is your average teenage girl which is great because she's relatable. Scarlett spends the summer at her grandpa's and I think it's so cute when grandparents spend time with their grandchildren. Then there' Zach, he's like the perfect son, friend, and lover. Zach's family is full of love, like love is in the air kind of thing, that it reminds me of Jenny Han novels. And then, there's Declan. He's hot but a jerk. I wanted to get to know more about him though.

I would recommend this for those going through a heartbreak whether those who have lost their loved ones through death or a break up.

If you like books by Jenny Han and Jay Asher, I think you'll enjoy All the Wrong Chords by Christine Hurley Deriso.

I liked this book. It was a short easy read, and kept my interest. I did feel at times the main character got a little winy but still she was ok. Our main character is dealing with the death of her older brother. She's spending the summer with her grandfather. She meets new people and plays some music. There wasn't really anything with the story that really stood out to me but I would recommend as a very easy to read contemporary.

A YA with a protagonist who acts her age. The plot is mostly realistic and pretty sweet, though there is some darkness here too, tackled believably.

All the Wrong Chords tells the story of Scarlett Stiles. Scarlett's lost her brother due to a drug overdose. She wants to feel better and move on, so she spends the summer with her grandfather. She's lifeguarding at the pool but also playing in a new band. She used to play in her brother's band so playing in this new band is kind of hard, but also something she really wants. Besides lifeguarding and playing in the band, she's also falling for a guy...

All the Wrong Chords is such an enjoyable and easy contemporary. I love reading contemporaries when I'm in a reading slump because they're so good and not that difficult to read. All the Wrong Chords was such a nice story about loss, music and love. It was so beautiful, but also sometimes heartbreaking. In my life I also experienced loss and the 2 things that make me feel better are
music and the love of my boyfriend, friends and family. It was also cool that there was a gay character in the book. I love that authors are creating characters that are not all straight!

I really recommend All the Wrong Chords to those who need a light and enjoyable read about loss, music and love!

This one was almost a little too perfect for me....I wish the Varun/Liam storyline had been a bit less rushed.
Overall, a good story and fun read.

This is a really sweet story about teens dealing with grief, and pain, and still living life. While you may at times want to smack the main character, she does eventually get it together. You'll like all the characters.

I really like this book. It is sweet, sad and about music and family.
Scarlett really loves her brother and losing him was understandably hard on her. Staying with her grandfather for the summer is supposed to be good for both of them. On an outing with her grandfather soon after arriving, she meets Zach who invites her to play with his band. I loved Zach, his family and Scarlett’s grandfather. I was not a fan of Declan. Scarlett was a difficult character to like at times. She is very back and forth on one particular decision throughout a chunk of the book, which I found super annoying, but aside from her poor decision skills she was a teen trying to work her way through grief.

Loved it ! This was my first read by this author and definitely didn't disappoint either. This was also my favorite YA novel of this year and one I've read in a while. I felt so much for Scarlett I can't imagine loosing a sibling like that, especially to drugs. I'm glad she learnt the guitar something her brother enjoyed.

It was a great read, I learnt that after loss you can move on and find a passion in something.

I must admit I only randomly requested this book, but I am happy that I went through with it. Despite having a lot of the book focusing on the topic ’grief’, I really thought it was a cute book in many ways.

I am a sucker for books where there’s a close bond between the family and the main character. It just makes it more enjoyable. Therefore, it was really easy for me to enjoy Scarlett’s bond with her super cute (and funny) grandpa whom she spends the summer with, her sister Sara, her parents (you only see it a little, but you can definitely feel her love towards them), and her brother, Liam. Scarlett’s bond with Liam was really touching and you could really feel how protective she was of keeping the good memories of him alive. The flashbacks of Liam teaching Scarlett to play on guitar were my favorites.

Another thing I truly enjoyed was the whole band thing. I love books where art and music is included in the plot – so I really liked all the lyrics and descriptions of the band performing and feeling that kind of joy being on stage. All the bandmates friendship with Scarlett (well except Declan) was funny and really refreshing because it was healthy because they treated her equally. There was a balance between lots of funny banter between them and more serious subjects, such as Zach’s mother’s condition. You could really feel the love between the bandmates (again except Declan) and it was really refreshing to see how much they cared for Zach.

However, there are two things that I did not like in the book. First of all, I am strongly against the ableist words that are used throughout the book. That could easily have been avoided. And the other thing I never really understood was Declan’s dyslexia. I can see where Deriso was heading with this, trying to make readers sympathize with Declan more – but I just feel like it was only used as a sympathy factor and to excuse some of his shitty behavior to his bandmates and nothing more. I would have liked if there had been more focus on it.

Overall this book was really cute and an easy read. Even though the book deals with a lot of grief, I liked how it also focused on moving on – it’s okay to be sad over something in your life but it’s also okay to continue your life and not let the sadness consume you.

What a sweet story! Scarlett's story touches on so many issues: addiction, death, betrayal, love and learning to move forward. I love the reference of the cardinal through out the story. I have my own cardinal. Even though she is dealing with all of these life events, she keeps going. Very well written story.

I really enjoyed this book - in fact I read it in one sitting.

This story is set 6 months after Scarlett's brother Liam dies from a drug overdose. So she decides to move in with her Grandpa for the summer for a change of pace. She ends up joining a local band, and meeting a hot guy....

I thought Scarlett dealt with her grief in a believable way. Liam is not far from her thoughts for most of the book. In fact, I teared up a couple of times when the subject of losing a loved one came up.

I did feel like slapping some sense into Scarlett a few times, when she goes all ga-ga over a hot boy.. But, she is only 18 - and I'm pretty sure when I was her age, I would have done the same thing. I think there are some good lessons to be learned in this book - like listening to your gut feelings... If something doesn't feel right, then its probably not right.

Overall I really enjoyed this book - and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves stories about music, dealing with loss, and finding love.

*5 Stars*

ARC kindly received in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting read, and interesting characters. Makes you wondering if you really know your family and friends as well as you think you do.

This book is spot on! I can't wait to get it for my high school library! First of all, the characters had depth and believability. I understood their motives, which were well supported by the plot and background information. The main character, Scarlett, could be any teen who is drawn to the bad boy in spite of the overt and covert clues around her to stay far away from him. The storyline was well thought out and provided enough twists and surprises to maintain interest (hint, I speculated on the biggest surprise and was rewarded when I turned out to be correct.) The treatment of drug addiction and its stigma was well handled with sensitivity and a philosophy to not blame the victim. I highly recommend this title for all YA collections.

Thank you for giving me a chance to read this.

I was able to connect with the characters pretty well. I admit that I was unsure who Scarlett was going to be with -- Declan or Zach, but I was pleasantly surprised with how she handled the situations.

The plot twist with her best friend was one that I was not expecting though. I suppose I should have, really, but I didn't.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I recommend it to others.

As I finish this book, I'm swamped with bittersweet feelings. The death of a brother is hard, but when it's your beloved big brother, who was your hero and your mentor, it's a hard loss to bear. An eighteen year old girl moves into her grandfathers house for the summer before starting college. Supposedly, it was to act as her grandpa's designated driver, as her mother felt he was too old to drive. And yet, the real reason is that she was having problems coming to terms with her brother's death, six months ago. She needed to get away from places that reminded her of Liam, as she processed her loss. The first weekend of her summer vacation, she and her grandpa were invited to see a band where the grandson of his friend and tennis partner plays. And again, she has reminders of Liam, because Liam had a band and she was invited to participate in the band and she would go to gigs with Liam on weekends. And yet, she felt him near when she played, so she accepted auditioning to be a part of this new band, the Beastlings.

This is a book that teens will surely relate to easily. It is an engaging tapestry of a young girl’s summer of discovery and love. The book is well-paced and intense at times as Ms. Deriso weaves the threads of confusion and enlightenment.
The story is told by Scarlet who is spending the summer with her grandfather after the sudden death of her older brother. The intention is for her to keep him company and from driving. Both of them miss her brother deeply.
Scarlet meets Zach through her grandfather’s friend and, fabulously for Scarlet, he is in a local band. She has not touched her guitar since her brother died and she is hesitant to do so because of all the memories attached to playing and singing with him. She does finally pick it up and finds the joy still attached.
In the band is the dreamy player Declan who catches Scarlet’s eye immediately. The confusing relationship with Declan, the friendship with Zach, and the roller-coaster Scarlet is on join together to make a very enjoyable, do not put down story.

Thank you so much to Flux via netgalley for sending me an ARC copy of All the wrong Chords by Christine Hurley Deriso. All the wrong chords will be released on December 12, 2017.

The cover drew me in with its bright cover and guitar stings running down the middle. Being a musician i am drawn to anything dealing with music.

Scarletts life is pretty screwed up, her brother died of an overdose and he rparents shipped her off the her grandfathers house for the summer. Scarlett and her sister,Sara are staying with their 85-year-old grandfather for the summer, what could go wrong. He treats them like little kids and they treat him like an incapable old man. They are rarely on the same page, especially when it comes to driving. But thats to be expected considering Scarlett almost ran over a guy.

Zach, the guy Scarlett almost ran over with her car and aspiring guitarist, he has a band with his friends and they play local bars and restaurants. Zach has been nothing but nice to Scarlett even after the accident.
Declan, the gorgeous lead singer and Scarletts obsession.

Their family is very real and raw, which I really appreciate. If you watch the middle or speechless you know what kind of families they have. Real situations, real arguments and real drama. I didnt just feel like I was reading a story I felt invested in their life. It's refreshing to see writers make the characters not perfect/have faults.

There is the obvious love triangle but I enjoyed both boys dynamics and their personalities/interaction with Scarlett.

The story was predictable but it was a quick, enjoyable read. The writing flowed nicely and the book has some hard topics but the author wrote it well.

Wonderful coming of age story about death and moving on. I enjoyed this book so much, I resonated with the character because of the music. I also have a love for music so it was fun to read
Received a free arc for an honest review from net galley

I wasn't too sure on the book at first, but after a while I was drawn in, not wanting to stop reading, desperate to find out what happens next. I'd love to read a sequel to the book and see where Scarlett goes next and how she finds college and how her relationships go.
I liked how strong the characters were, they each had very different qualities that stood out. It showed that no matter how a person may act, you never know what's going on behind a closed door and how they are really feeling.