Five Flavors of Dumb

by

Antony John

cover art: Kristin Smith^[1]

Realistic fiction

Subjects you'll come across in this book:

High school senior Piper Vaughan becomes the manager of her classmates' semi-talented rock band, Dumb.  Between the in-fighting, a possible romance, and knowing that her parents have raided her college fund in order to help her sister, Piper must get the band a paying gig if she wants to remain manager.  She's up against people's assumptions about her capability because she is deaf.

• "In this witty yet thoughtful behind-the-music account of Dumb's journey to semi-stardom...John creates a series of humorous surprises while demonstrating how Piper's deafness, which is integral to the story and never feels like a gimmick, affects her life and those of her parents and brother...^[2]

• "Written with a reverence for popular music-particularly the work of Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain--and a respect for its ambitious teen characters."^[3]

Of note: 

• 338 pages, published in 2010
• Won the 2011 Schneider Family Teen Book Award for embodying "an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences."