The Vinyl Princess Review

Title: The Vinyl Princess
Author: Yvonne Prinz
Release Date: December 2009

Summary from Amazon:
Summer is here, and 16-year-old Allie, a self-professed music geek, is exactly where she wants to be: working full-time at Berkeley’s ultra-cool Bob and Bob Records. There, Allie can spend her days bantering with the street people, talking the talk with the staff, shepherding the uncool bridge-and-tunnel shoppers, all the while blissfully surrounded by music, music, music. It’s the perfect setup for her to develop her secret identity as The Vinyl Princess, author of both a brand-new zine and blog. From the safety of her favourite place on earth, Allie is poised to have it all: love, music and blogging.
Her mother, though, is actually the one getting the dates, and business at Allie’s beloved record store is becoming dangerously slow—not to mention that there have been a string of robberies in the neighbourhood. At least her blog seems to be gaining interest, one vinyl junkie at a time….

Outlined Review:
Character Development: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Hookability: 7/10
Ending: 9/10
Voice: 9/10
Recommendation: 8/10
Total Score: 52
Grade: A

Age Appropriate Rating:
Cussing: 3/10
Drugs, alcohol, etc.: 2/10
Sexual Content: 1/10
Violence/Disturbing Images: 3/10

Written Review:

I couldn’t help but love The Vinyl Princess. Though the whole novel was great, one of its strongest points were the characters. They each had such a definite personality whether they were major or not. Allie was very strong, witty, and passionate. Her clever voice narrated the whole book and the way she described a scene unfolding or a new unusual character that walked in to the store is what really pushed this novel over the top. You could tell that the author was a vinyl princess in her own way too and owning her own indie record store probably helped to develop those eccentric characters that shopped at the store.

Even though I am in no ways a music buff, I could really relate to Allie. Just like she has a passion for old records, I have a passion for books; just as she finds her “community” of other vinyl lovers through her fanzine and blog, in a sense I find my community of those who love YA novels through my blog. Her passion is what all of us can relate to in one way or another. Well that and the fact that she’s a teen girl facing most (if not much much more) of the same dilemmas we all face.

Like I said before, I am not a person who knows music at all. The mention of albums and artists went right over my head and I didn’t fully understand all the references until I shamelessly googled them. But none of that stopped me from enjoying this novel. Enough other stuff happened which kept the story moving at a very realistic pace. And even though it all happened over the course of one summer the whole book flowed flawlessly.

Romance was never the main theme of this novel but I wasn’t expecting it to be so that wasn’t a disappointment at all. The amounts of romance it did have were very well done though. The novel mainly toyed with the idea of finding the “perfect love” and all of the trouble that goes with it. Allie’s relationship with her mom was so cool because her mom was going through all of the dating stuff (again) at the same time as Allie and Kit making them relate a bit more to each other and even making Allie have the upper hand a few times because of her so called boy knowledge. It was funny to see their backwards roles that they played in a not-so-typical mother-daughter relationship.

The Vinyl Princess got me hooked from the very fist page with its sharp voice and intriguing characters. Though I really enjoyed it I know that people with a strong passion for music, especially for older classics, would enjoy this all the more because they would understand all the references to albums that I didn’t fully get. The ending had all the aspects you would want also. It tied up any loose strings and gave a great conclusion to Allie’s story while also making the reader want to spend more time with her and the rest of the characters.

Overall this is a realistic and humorous novel with true heart and great passion for music. The witty tone, incredible characters, and strong prose get you hooked from the beginning and keep you wanting more. Though those in love with music as much if not more than Allie would enjoy this the most, I recommend it to anyone wanting to get into the mind of a passionate teen with a fresh voice and plenty of adventures to share.

O and check out her blog and even sign up to recieve a fanzine and a button (I have one, It's awesome) at http://www.thevinylprincess.com/

Thanks so much

Jill