Drums, Girls + Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick is a book about an eighth grader named Steven. Steven is very musically talented, passionate, and self-critical, also his little brother has cancer. Yes, cancer, Jeffery, a little boy in kindergarden is diagnosed with cancer, and this whole book is about how his family is learning to deal with it. Steven’s parents Mr and Mrs. Alper are doing the best they can to make everything alright. At Carter Lake Middle, which is where Steven goes to school he has to deal with his best friend Annette, his crush Renee, the school guidance counselor, and a nosey english teacher.

In the beginning of the book Steven is angry about his brother’s illness, but who wouldn’t be. The middle of the book is about Steven trying to come to terms with everything. Mrs. Galley, the school guidance counselor helped him a lot with realizing he had to stop focusing on what was wrong in his life that he couldn’t fix. Instead she encouraged him to think about what he could change. The climax of the book was perfect it summed up everything that happened and gave Steven the happy moment that everyone needed, but I won’t spoil it.

This is a realistic fiction book and is perfect for young adult readers. I personally thought this book was great! I liked this book because I can relate to it on a personal level, and I think a lot of readers could. If you can’t relate to the book you still see the amazing story of how Steven and his family cope with Jeffrey’s illness, the financial, mental, and physical struggles the family got through. It is amazing how everyone goes above and beyond to help them. I love how the author wrote about a sad subject but was still able to make the book fun and happy. I would recommend this to anyone who likes reading a book with a happy ending.