Tempo Change

By Barbara Hall

Book Overview

It's tough enough defining your identity-imagine if your father was a rock legend. Blanche Kelly's dad is a famous indie rock icon, but not many people at the private school she attends on scholarship... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385736088
• ISBN13: 9780385736084
• Release Date: November 2010
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.1" x 0.6" x 5.2"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Tempo Change is A Must Read

I think anyone, teens and young adults mainly who love music and/or want to be a musician should read Tempo Change. Tempo Change is a must read book. Once you get into the first few chapters, you'll find yourself reading page after page without putting the book down. This is one of my favorite books, I've ever read. This book is about Blanche Kelly her dad left 10 years ago who was a famous musician, left the family to go find himself. Blanche wrote a music column for her school newspaper, but she knew she wanted to be a musician, so she deiced to make a band with a few of the people she knew at her school. I can't tell you the rest, because I would be giving too much away. This book is a great read.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

"There was so much to say......Now I had someone to say it to." Blanche Kelly knows good music. She knows music because of her father, Duncan Kelly. He was a musical genius, in his prime. But most of the people at Laurel Hall Academy (fondly referred to as LaHa by its students) don't know this detail of her life. She tries to keep his influence hidden, but it's always there - the guitar he left with her mother; the music column that she writes for the school newspaper; the snippets of lyrics that Blanche begins to pen. It all culminates with the creation of The Fringers, an all-female rock band, sprung from the mind of Blanche Kelly herself. Blanche does not necessarily want to start a band, but her over-bearing guidance counselor feels that it would be best if Blanche "stretch" herself artistically. So, The Fringers are born, and a journey begins. Blanche learns much about herself as a musician, as a daughter, and as a person. Her journey is surreal, yet surprising and profound. TEMPO CHANGE is an excellent novel. It reminded me a lot of the film Almost Famous. William Miller and Blanche Kelly are very similar characters. Both are thrust into the music industry and must find their way without losing any integrity. Even if you are not familiar with Almost Famous, the book still resonates. If you are passionate about something, anything, read this. Reviewed by: LadyJay

Great voice!

I really liked the main character, Blanche's voice. She's spunky, sarcastic and she speaks her mind. She is what she is and she seems fine with it. She has a unique perspective. One of my favorite things about this book was Blanche's journey to Coachella and meeting her father again. In the form of creating a band called the Fringers from girls she plucked from different parts of her life (her friend, a girl with a wonderful voice in her choir class, and a girl she works with but never really knew). She brings them together and creates what looks a really awesome band. I love the whole scene that they get thrust into and how they bond as a group and become friends and what it helps Blanche learn about herself. My other favorite thing was Blanche's family. Her and her mother trying to cope with her father leaving when she was six, why did he leave, would he ever come back? And also Blanche trying to get used to a new man in her mother's life, one that also might have some insight to offer her. I thought Blanche's reunion with her father was an interesting one, I found it rather honest. About half way through the book there is a strange twist that sort of takes the attention away from Blanche. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. It was interesting but at the same time I think I could have done without it and spent a little bit more time with Blanche just being Blanche. So there's that. Overall I found this book to be pretty unique and enjoyable!

Enchanting Review: Tempo Change

TEMPO CHANGE BARBARA HALL Contemporary YA Delacorte Books ISBN# 978-0385736077 256 Pages $16.99 Hardcover--Available June 9, 2009 Rating: 4.5 Enchantments When Blanche Kelly is forced to join the choir by her high school guidance counselor to fill in the gaps on her college resume, she could never imagine it would lead to a chance to reconnect to her father, a famous indie rock icon who she hasn't seen in years. But the moment she hears Viv open her voice in class, the idea for `The Fringers' is born. All she needs is a few more girls and the band will be complete--well, once she convinces them of the idea anyway. I really enjoyed TEMPO CHANGE. Blanche's relationship with her father is pretty well non-existant, consisting mainly of sporatic e-mails that she neglects to tell her mom about. So when she gets the idea to form a band, it's not only to make her college application look better or win the school talent show, never mind getting a chance to play at the famous Coachella--it might be one way to get her relationship back with her father. I have to say really liked Blanche, I thought she was a fun character and I liked how she actually grew up in her way of thinking over the course of the book, especially with how she thought her mother was `settling' for her new boyfriend, like how could she be happy with a guy who sold guitars when she'd been married to Blanche's father, a music star? I have to say I liked all the characters in the book, one of my favorites being Viv, the girl who could sing but unlike her parents, wasn't a brainiac, instead was an athlete. The subplot later in the story involving Viv seems to come out of nowhere, which was one thing that I found to slightly detract from the story, but it does shake things up and lead the inevitable conclusion of the story. One of my favorite scenes is how Blanche convinces the girls to be in `The Fringers'. I don't want to spoil it, but its pretty unique way that the other three girls can't really say no to, once its been announced. If you're a fan of music-centered YA Fiction, you should definitely pick up TEMPO CHANGE. Barbara Hall is the author of eight novels and has written and produced numerous television shows, including Joan of Arcadia. She lives in Santa Monica, California, with her daughter Lisa Enchanting Reviews June 2009