About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherRoaring Brook Press

ISBN-101596432063

ISBN-139781596432062

eBay Product ID (ePID)56974795

Product Key Features

Original LanguageFrench

Book TitleGarage Band

Number of Pages128 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicHumor / Comic Strips & Cartoons, General, Comics & Graphic Novels / General

Publication Year2007

IllustratorYes, Gipi

GenreJuvenile Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Juvenile Nonfiction

AuthorSpectrum Staff

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.4 in

Item Weight10.9 Oz

Item Length8 in

Item Width6.5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceYoung Adult Audience

LCCN2006-018345

Dewey Edition22

ReviewsIn this Italian import, four dispossessed friends try to make a go of their band. Narrator Guiliano has a slightly dysfunctional home life (his father loves his prized hunting dogs more than his son), but also has a supportive girlfriend. Alex has a missing dad, an overprotective mother and an obsession with Hitler; Stefano, meanwhile, is obsessed with death and success; and, the final member of the band, Alberto, adores his father. Highly stylized art will either attract or repel readers; most of the boys appear slightly demonic, but the watercolor washes and awkwardly rendered bodies effectively convey their confused, directionless adolescence and paint a portrait of a decaying city and beautiful countryside at odds. A foray into crime causes the boys to lose their practice garage but ultimately teaches a lesson and makes their friendship stronger. The father-son subtexts never come fully to life, but between the art and what is unsaid, much tension is conveyed. Unlikely to have wide appeal, but perfect for flannel-wearing, guitar-playing guys who think there aren't any books for them., Garage Band, by the acclaimed author/illustrator Gipi, addresses the constant teenage tug-of-war between having fun, following your dreams, and learning to behave like an adult. Narrator Giuliano's dad agrees to let him and three friends use a garage for band practice. When the band runs into an equipment problem and tries to solve it by taking a shortcut, the boys learn that it's just as bad to abandon responsibility for the sake of dreams as the other way around. Composed of lovely sketched-and-painted pages in muted colors, the book is not only a lesson and an inspiration, but a real work of art., In a wash of melancholy watercolors and with a sense of inescapable anxiety in the line work, Italian writer-artist Gipi tells the story of four very different boys who want to make music. As they meet in the garage that nervous Giuliano's father has let them use, clashes occur, all finely rendered in simple sweeps of story and dialogue. When troublemaker Stefano gets them an honest-to-goodness opportunity with a record label, the group attempts an ill-advised theft of musical equipment, driving the story to a tense but ultimately hopeful end. Somber throughout, with powerful use of well-placed silent panels, the art is both unusual and evocative. The characters, often less than admirable as individuals, come together believably to display loyalty to one another and real joy in their music. With a strong indie sensibility, this book is a good choice for readers interested in edgy art and human drama., Italian writer-artist Gipi excels at portraying adolescent isolation and anxiety in this translated graphic novel about four teens in a band. In five sections, each loosely based around a song the band hopes to record, the boys encounter the usual obstacles for garage bands: they have a practice space that is uncertain at best, their equipment is old and malfunctioning, and their one insider connection has told them they have no chance. In addition, the teens themselves are awkward bandmates, and frequent personality clashes, portrayed effectively through both dialogue and well-paced silent panels, threaten their success almost as much as outside forces. The characters are unevenly explored, with irascible lead singer Stefano and Hitler-obsessed drummer Alex emerging as the memorable protagonists over the much quieter Giuliano and Alberto. However, the point here isn't so much the individual characters, the success of the band, or even the life-threatening drama around a stolen amp: Gipi has evoked the perfect sense of potential and despair that accompanies any indie band that could go somewhere but likely will not. The angular yet delicate watercolor illustrations, reminiscent of Robert Andrew Parker's work, add to this atmosphere, hinting at a weatherbeaten small town wherein dreams languish more often than they are fulfilled. Countering the somber tone, however, are the four protagonists whose youth and still viable optimism are especially clear in the confident, joyful body language in the scenes where everything comes together and they are able to just play their music. Supplemental material shows early sketches of the four boys, and illustrates the gradual individualization of each character. Although the languid pacing and eloquent silences may not carry universal appeal, thoughtful readers and wannabe musicians will revel in this deceptively simple but ultimately profound graphic novel., Gr 8 Up--Guiliano's father lends the boy and his friends the use of a garage for band practice, on the condition that they stay out of trouble. Each teen has a difficult family situation--his parents are variously sick, missing, or emotionally absent--and uses the band to find a degree of freedom, both in the abandonment of performance, and in the cathartic process of songwriting. When an amplifier necessary for a demo recording is irreparable, Alex suggests liberating equipment from a church basement, and the four protagonists find themselves having to decide how much this band really means to them. The art is marvelously atmospheric, with finely chosen watercolors accentuating the loose, cartoony inks. Almost every page has a silent or an establishing panel that gives the sequences a sense of space and place and allows readers to find the emotional subtlety behind the rendered characters. This is an interestingly quiet and spacious work for a book that is ostensibly about making lots of noise in a small space. It is also quite moving, and quietly funny, although some may find the jokes about Nazism in bad taste. A charming and understated work, with careful craftsmanship that belies its scratchy figures and cartoon faces., The characters in Italian writer/illustrator Gipi's beautifully painted graphic novel may not be all that likeable, but their struggle to make sense of adolescence through music comes through masterfully. Four friends have dreams of becoming rock stars: obnoxious and jaded Stefano, Nazi-obsessed Alex, long-suffering and worried Alberto and skinny, self-conscious Giuliano, whose father offers the boys use of the garage for practice and recording, on the condition that they stay out of trouble. Stefano's father gets the boys a contact with a record label executive, but before they can finish their demo, an amplifier blows, leading the foursome to commit theft. Stefano must decide whether or not to betray his friends in order to get a job with the record executive; it's particularly powerful scene that echoes Christ's temptation (the two stand over an empty swimming pool rather than on a mountaintop). The visual style is jagged and rough, colors stray willfully outside the lines; the whole aesthetic suggest the uneasy tension that defines young adulthood., A book painted with artistic images, Garage Band sports a realistic theme relatable to many teens--the pursuit of a dream. Yet while the choices that the characters are forced to make are realistic, the plot seems somewhat dark and unresolved. Readers similar to the characters in the book will find this graphic novel appealing. Other readers might feel disturbed or unable to relate, the most unsettling feature being one of the character's pro-Nazi sentiments., Review in February 19th 2007 issue of Publisher's WeeklyThe characters in Italian writer/illustrator Gipi's beautifully painted graphic novel may not be all that likeable, but their struggle to make sense of adolescence through music comes through masterfully. Four friends have dreams of becoming rock stars: obnoxious and jaded Stefano, Nazi-obsessed Alex, long-suffering and worried Alberto and skinny, self-conscious Giuliano, whose father offers the boys use of the garage for practice and recording, on the condition that they stay out of trouble. Stefano's father gets the boys a contact with a record label executive, but before they can finish their demo, an amplifier blows, leading the foursome to commit theft. Stefano must decide whether or not to betray his friends in order to get a job with the record executive; it's particularly powerful scene that echoes Christ's temptation (the two stand over an empty swimming pool rather than on a mountaintop). The visual style is jagged and rough, colors stray willfully outside the lines; the whole aesthetic suggest the uneasy tension that defines young adulthood. Review in March 15th issue of BooklistIn a wash of melancholy watercolors and with a sense of inescapable anxiety in the line work, Italian writer-artist Gipi tells the story of four very different boys who want to make music. As they meet in the garage that nervous Giuliano's father has let them use, clashes occur, all finely rendered in simple sweeps of story and dialogue. When troublemaker Stefano gets them an honest-to-goodness opportunity with a record label, the group attempts an ill-advised theft of musical equipment, driving the story to a tense but ultimately hopeful end. Somber throughout, with powerful use of well-placed silent panels, the art is both unusual and evocative. The characters, often less than admirable as individuals, come together believably to display loyalty to one another and real joy in their music. With a strong indie sensibility, this book is a good choice for readers interested in edgy art and human drama. Review in April 1st issue of KirkusIn this Italian import, four dispossessed friends try to make a go of their band. Narrator Guiliano has a slightly dysfunctional home life (his father loves his prized hunting dogs more than his son), but also has a supportive girlfriend. Alex has a missing dad, an overprotective mother and an obsession with Hitler; Stefano, meanwhile, is obsessed with death and success; and, the final member of the band, Alberto, adores his father. Highly stylized art will either attract or repel readers; most of the boys appear slightly demonic, but the watercolor washes and awkwardly rendered bodies effectively convey their confused, directionless adolescence and paint a portrait of a decaying city and beautiful countryside at odds. A foray into crime causes the boys to lose their practice garage but ultimately teaches a lesson and makes their friendship stronger. The father-son subtexts never come fully to life, but between the art and what is unsaid, much tension is conveyed. Unlikely to have wide appeal, but perfect for flannel-wearing, guitar-playing guys who think there aren't any books for them. Review in May 2007 issue of School Library JournalGr 8 Up--Guiliano's father lends the boy and his friends the use of a garage for band practice, on the condition that they stay out of trouble. Each teen has a difficult family situation--his parents are variously sick, missing, or emotionally absent--and uses the band to find a degree of freedom, both in the abandonment of performance, and in the cathartic process of songwriting. When an amplifier

Grade FromEleventh Grade

Grade ToCollege Freshman

Dewey Decimal741.5/945

SynopsisWhen Giuliano's father loans him the family garage, he and three of his friends form a band. Playing their battered secondhand instruments, the four teenagers find something they love to do, and they find in their friendship and music a refuge from difficult and turbulent home lives. But when their only amp blows a fuse, a desperate search for some new equipment lands them in more trouble than they ever saw coming. Written and painted in stunning watercolors by the renowned Italian artist Gipi, GARAGE BAND is an introspective meditation on teenage life.

LC Classification NumberPN6767.G56L6313 2007