An ultra-cool read for music fans | The Vinyl Princess

Courtesy of Serendipity Reviews | The Vinyl Princess | Yvonne Prinz

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	• The Vinyl Princess Yvonne Prinz HarperCollins, 2010 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Fun Summer Reading

For anyone who feels the pull of vinyl, this book will reiterate your desire to expand your collection. I spent some time browsing amazon.com's selection of vinyl in between chapters. It's very clear that the author either really knows what she's talking about, or that she did her research well. Music lovers should enjoy this one quite a bit.

But it's not just for vinyl junkies. The story is about a girl who encounters a life-changing summer, and the main character made me care about her. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd like the story. After the first couple of chapters, it was apparent that it wouldn't be some adventure with action all the time. I normally don't like stories that are plot-light and character-heavy, but Allie is such a great character that I was drawn to her life. I finished the book in a couple of days.

I will say that some of the plot that was there drifted a bit instead of being there with a purpose. I would've liked more focus on the blog and the fanzine Allie created, and how it helped change her. At the end she says that her blog has created a new "family" of friends, but I didn't see as much evidence of that throughout the book as I wanted.

The Vinyl Princess kept me interested with great characters and wonderful mentions of music (that made me realize how little I actually know about music!). This is a cool summer read, for sure. As you're picking out books to read by the pool, consider The Vinyl Princess. It's very worth it!

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An ultra-cool read for music fans

Sixteen-year-old Allie has the perfect summer stretching before her. She'll work at Bob & Bob's, a cool independent music store on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. She'll meet her best friend Kit for lunches. And, she'll start a blog to unite vinyl fans worldwide.

But when her mother begins dating and there are a series of robberies in the other shops along Telegraph Avenue, Allie's summer turns into one of upheaval. Her future may be uncertain, but one thing is sure--everything is changing, and she won't be the same girl when she goes back to school in the fall.

Author Yvonne Prinz, who co-founded the world's largest indie music store, has written a novel sure to please readers who share her passion for music. An ultra-cool real world version of the blog Allie created can be found at [...]
-- Reviewed by Michelle Delisle

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Courtesy of Serendipity Reviews

I know it's only about mid-year, but the Vinyl Princess is, hands-down, the best book I've read in 2010. I love everything about it: the characters, the setting, the countless musical references, and most importantly, the subject of vinyl and vinyl culture, and how it needs to be preserved. If we don't, we won't meet people like Allie, our protagonist, who knows everything you could ever want to know about music, looks like, according to her, "the child of Sid Vicious," and considers her thousands of LP's a modest collection- can we really afford to lose awesome people like this?

My favorite thing about this book was the characters. Heavy readers of YA chick-lit will recognize the character archetypes: the sharp, witty protagonist, the lovable (if, at times, ditzy) best friend, the guy who isn't what he seems, and the guy who has been there all along. But they aren't flat stereotypes- Prinz's characters are all painted wonderfully, with their own unique and engaging personalities. And side characters aren't cast aside and treated as plot devices, either, with each one carefully crafted- even the ones that don't do or say much speak volumes about Allie and her world.

I also loved the setting of Prinz's novel, Telegraph Avenue. Full of more hippies, "bridge-and-tunnel shoppers", and other unconventional populace than you've ever laid eyes on, Telegraph Avenue is a great reflection of the book overall: quirky, funny, and full of surprises.

But my very favorite thing about this book is the way music plays such a big part in it. Good music, too: Just flipping through this book, there's references to everyone from Bob Dylan to the Avett Brothers to the Beatles and Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen and the Velvet Underground and... *takes a breath* Well, you get the point. Allie basically has the best taste in music ever. If you're an "audiophile", too, you might see references that remind you of an old favorite, and if you're don't know much about music, this book is practically a field guide to records.

Overall, in The Vinyl Princess, we find a funny, true voice that needs to be heard, one speaking out for indie record store culture and for the preservation of vinyl in general. Not only that, but it teaches our generation, living in the age of digital downloading, to love vinyl again. There book shows the beauty of the physical involvement in putting on a record, examining it breathlessly for scratches, and enjoying it like the girl on the cover: the waves of nostalgia, the familiarity of the crackling on a well-worn record. And there's something for everyone in this book: romance, music, fashion, drama, and a little bit of crime mystery, too. Read this book in your attic on an old bean bag chair with a stack of carefully selected records, and enjoy.

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A Fun Summer Read

I have to admit that I had tried to read The Vinyl Princess several times before giving up because of the lackluster beginning, but recently I pushed myself through it, and as it turns out it just gets better and better from that point. A great discovery, no?

The Vinyl Princess tells the story of Allie, a girl who considers herself to be the official Vinyl Princess. It's summertime and Allie's looking forward to a relaxing summer filled with music, hanging out with her best friend, thinking of her crush, and working at her Bob and Bob Records, her favorite music store. Though, as it turns out not everything is working out in her way. Bob and Bob Records is doing badly this year, there has been a string of robberies around the area which has left her worried, her mom has started dating again, her best friend is going through a bad breakup, and Allie just meet a really annoying guy at the record store. Leaving her to wonder will things get better?

Allie's just your ordinary teen girl. She has her problems, her interests, and her quirks, which made her even more relatable in my opinion. I especially loved the fact that she was a fellow blogger, though for music instead of books. Her friends, as well as her regular consumers at the Bob and Bob records, were funny as well as quirky and unique.

While the plot of this tended to always be a bit predictable, it still was musical goodness that I truly enjoyed. I loved seeing how Allie found out who she really was in this novel and how a record store runs. Plus, Yvonne's writing proved to move smoothly and quickly, though I do admit there were some slow parts to it.

In all, The Vinyl Princess is a coming of age tale I really enjoyed, one that I highly suggest to all you music lovers out there. In addition, Yvonne Prinz is defiantly an author I will continue to read more by.

Grade: B+

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A book for music lovers...

Allie has a summer job at Bob & Bob Records in Berkeley, California. As a music junkie that loves vinyl records, this job is made for her. She also starts a blog called The Vinyl Princess, which seems to be getting more popular each day and she expresses true love for her favorite vinyls. Allie also spends time with her fashionable best friend, Kit, as they wander down Telegraph Avenue. At the record story, Allie finds these guys that may be her chance to fall in love with, like the hot and mysterious Joel and annoying, but record-obsessing Zach. Also, robberies are plaguing Telegraph Avenue and it has everyone on high alert.
Allie was exactly like the girl that I was a few years ago. She is in love with music and amazing vinyls. I loved that she had so much knowledge about music. I could also relate to her extreme love of music and all the work that she puts into her blog. Her friend Kit was also awesome, she wore so many types of vintage clothes, which I also love. Joel and Zach were great characters and I liked how Allie learned that first impressions aren't always right. Bob was such a great character, too. I loved how he threatened to sell the store all of the time and he added humor to this book. This plot was amazing. This book had great subplots and a fantastic main plot. Not many writers have characters keep blogs, when more and more people are starting blogs. I also loved the mystery that the robberies brought to this book. The fact that Allie wasn't close to her mom brought an interesting dynamic to the story. Prinz is a great writer and knows how to create an interesting and fantastic story. I recommend this book to anyone that loves music, you will enjoy it.

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Summer is here, and 16-year-old Allie, a self-professed music geek, is exactly where she wants to be: working full-time at Berkeley?s ultra-cool Bob and Bob Records. There, Allie can spend her days bantering with the street people, talking the talk with the staff, shepherding the uncool bridge-and-tunnel shoppers, all the while blissfully surrounded by music, music, music. It?s the perfect setup for her to develop her secret identity as The Vinyl Princess, author of both a brand-new zine and blog. From the safety of her favourite place on earth, Allie is poised to have it all: love, music and blogging.
Her mother, though, is actually the one getting the dates, and business at Allie?s beloved record store is becoming dangerously slow?not to mention that there have been a string of robberies in the neighbourhood. At least her blog seems to be gaining interest, one vinyl junkie at a time?.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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