Screaming Divas

Title: Screaming Divas
Author:  Suzanna Kamata
Genre:  Teens and YA
Publisher:  Merit Press
Publish Date:  May 18th, 2014
Pages:  Hardcover:  208
ISBN:  9781440572791
Obtained:  Free review copy from Netgalley
Synopsis: Screaming Divas takes four talented girls through the dizzy, dangerous world of rock music, where their friendship breaks up and makes up amid the temptations and triumphs of love, rivalry, success, and rejection. They couldn't be more different from each other, but all of them are talented musicians. Trudy, Cassie, Harumi, and Esther form Screaming Divas, a rock band that unites the girls in sisterhood, even as their relationships, differences, and desires threaten to tear them apart. A measure of early success is about to change their lives. But what comes next? Is the tradeoff for the dream worth the price the girls will have to pay, and what might happen to them as a result?


Admittedly I'm not a huge rock fan. But after reading this book I'll admit I was inspired to listen to some female musicians like Joan Jett for awhile. Seemed appropriate after reading a book about a female rock band.
“Screaming Divas” follows four girls from different backgrounds as they come together to form a rock band.  Some of them come from darker backgrounds (such as Trudy) then others. And of course with the introduction of rock into their lives, comes the sex and drugs.
Though the sex and drugs show up time to time in the book I prefer to focus on the rock portion. Not because the sex and drugs part of the books are bad. Rather I feel more for the characters when it comes to their music.
I might be misunderstanding what the author is trying to convey but I feel that part of the book is about venting out. That maybe it's about girls venting their anger out through the art of rock and roll and connecting with each other through it. Though it is not without it's dangers or tragedies.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it. But still I feel if you want a book that is essentially a love letter to women in rock and roll as well as a cautionary tale, give this book a read.

RATING: 8 out of 10