Thirteen-year-old Tig Ripley has plenty of good reasons for starting an all-girl rock band. Never mind she doesn't play an instrument--she'll figure that out. Fronting a band is sure to propel her out of the background and into the spotlight at her middle school. So after a few weeks' worth of drumming lessons under her belt, she starts assembling her band. With her cousin Kyra agreeing to play bass, soon Tig has her piano-playing friend Olivia down for the keyboard. And then she convinces tough girl Robbie Chan to sign on as lead guitarist. With a cool name--Pandora's Box--all the band needs now is a killer lead singer. How hard can that be? But when Kyra invites obnoxious diva Haley Thornton to join the band, Tig realizes snagging a lead singer--the right lead singer--is not going to be easy. Everyone says the drummer is the heartbeat of a band--does Tig have what it takes to lead Pandora's Box? Gr 4–6—This novel chronicles Tig Ripley's quest to start an all-girl rock band named Pandora's Box. The 13-year-old protagonist does not play an instrument, and she's been brought up with Southern good manners. In spite of these obstacles, Tig wants to be the band's drummer and leader. The narrative is slow to start as Rue establishes the band members' recruitment and skill set, but once the band forms, the book's pace picks up and readers are drawn into a story that has plenty of girl drama and social angst but very little actual rebellion. The message of finding individuality in middle school is a positive one, and Tig is a flawed but likable narrator. VERDICT For fans who are ready to graduate from Megan McDonald's "Judy Moody" and Charise Mericle Harper's "Just Grace" but aren't quite ready for YA fiction.—Sarah Wilsman, Bainbridge Library, Chagrin Falls, OH Tig Ripley: Rock n Roll Rebel is about a girl named Tig who decides to start a rock band with her friends. She starts taking drum lessons and also asks her cousin Kyra to play the bass, gets their friend Olivia to join them on the keyboard, and gets their friend Robbie to play the guitar. Kyra also invites Hayley to be the lead singer, and then everything goes haywire. Haley turns out to be a bad singer and is way too bossy and doesn t think about the rest of the band. After new auditions for a new lead singer, they eventually get the band back together again with Claire, who just moved from the U.K. At the end, the band gets an amazing chance to make an advertisement with her uncle s company! This was an awesome book, and I really loved reading it because I am very into music. When I started reading it I was so intrigued that I couldn t put it down. I hope you will feel the same way! The book totally made me want to start my own band, and I think that lots of girls ten and up would love reading this book as well! - Hannah, age 9 --Kids Bookbuzz When Antigone Tig Ripley s frenemy Will makes the ridiculous pronouncement that girls are too snarky and jealous to be in a band together ( Girl bands are gimmicks. They don t work. ), she considers the gauntlet thrown down. With the help of her grandfather a former 1960s rocker Tig takes up the drums and invites a few other middle-school girls to join her band, Pandora s Box. The girls abilities vary widely, and their personalities are even more diverse, which means that making music as a band requires lots of practicing and working through challenges, heckling, and disappointments. Rue examines the benefits of hard work, the delight of pursuing your dreams, and the real meaning of friendship in this uniquely quirky story that will draw in even the most reluctant (and least musical) of readers. This effervescent novel captures the essence of both middle school the bullies, the struggles, the temptations and music. Rue has struck the perfect chord for middle school readers everywhere in this series starter. --Booklist Ginger Rue is the author of Brand-New Emily and Jump. She’s a former advice columnist for a teen magazine, and her work has appeared in Seventeen, Teen Vogue, Girls’ Life, Family Circle, and other publications. She is currently a contributing editor for Guideposts. Ginger lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with her husband, two daughters, and stepson.