Book Review: Glad I Did It by Cynthia Weil

Title- Glad I Did It

Author- Cynthia Weil

Release Date- January 27th, 2015

Amazon- http://goo.gl/FCgfCN

Book Summery:

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and songwriting legend Cynthia Weil’s extraordinary YA debut opens the secretive doors of the Brill Building-the hit factory that changed history. Part Mad Men, part Grace of my Heart, part murder mystery, I’m Glad I Did is a coming-of-age story at an unforgettable cultural tipping point: the summer of 1963.

JJ Greene, a gifted 16-year-old songwriter, defies her lawyer parents by secretly applying for a job in the famed Brill Building-the epicenter of songwriting for a new genre called rock-n-roll. But their warnings about the evils of the music industry prove far darker than she imagined when she finds herself at the heart of a cover-up that involves hidden identity, theft, and possibly murder.

My Review:

I’m Glad I Did It was such a nice, clean young adult story; I thought it was extremely age appropriate. I was originally draw to the cover of this book and only skimmed the book summery. This made me a little surprised when I stumbled upon the mystery element, which I really enjoyed reading. I just found it a little unrealistic that two recently high school graduates would be able to investigate a murder without getting in trouble. Also, it bothered me that it never seemed like JJ was actually working, she seemed to be caught up in Luke and a murder case.

While reading this story I kept forgetting it didn’t take place during the 2000s, I kept asking myself, “Why does she have to get all her phone calls at the office? She doesn’t have a cell phone?”. I think it’s great that the author stayed true to the time period of the 1960s; she had demos cut on records and addressed race differences in a very tasteful way. There was a wide range of issues that were talked about that might allow a wide range of children to relate to, even though it took place in a different time period.

I would recommend this book to the older children I know and tutor with hesitation.