I Am Drums

In Grosso's debut novel, twelve-year-old Sam Morris dreams of being a drummer, but she faces some daunting obstacles: she doesn't have a drum set, her parents aren't all that supportive, she can't afford lessons, the school music program is being cut, and she isn't very good. But she perseveres by improvising: a dictionary becomes her bass drum, a Calvin and Hobbes book is her snare, the Sunday Chicago Tribune her crash cymbal, etc. Eventually she gets up the nerve -- and raises the funds -- to convince prickly drum teacher Pete Taylor to take her on. Seeing promise, he becomes her mentor, teaching her to play and giving her an education in music in the process. Unbeknownst to Sam's parents, who are having problems of their own, Sam turns out to be something of a prodigy, and when Pete arranges for a recital, Sam's life is about to be rocked. Though it's questionable that an older man would give a sixth-grade girl lessons in his basement without prior contact with her parents, Grosso, a schoolteacher himself, offers an otherwise pitch-perfect depiction of a preteen with the fierce determination to follow her passion. An appealing, goodhearted story for all young people yearning to march to the beat of their own drums. dean schneider

Twelve-year-old Sam Morris dreams of being a drummer, but she faces some daunting obstacles. She perseveres by improvising and eventually convinces prickly drum teacher Pete Taylor to take her on. He becomes her mentor, and Sam turns out to be something of a prodigy. An appealing, goodhearted story for young people yearning to march to the beat of their own drums.