Teenage Garage Sale Post by Antony John & Giveaway (Thou Shalt Not Road Trip Blog Tour)

Today we have Antony John here for a guest post and a giveaway! This post is part of The Teen Book Scene's blog tour for Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John. You can find out all about the tour here. Make sure to visit all the other stops if you'd like to know more about Thou Shalt Not Road Trip!


Teenage Garage Sale Post

This guest post is a Teenage Garage Sale post! A Teenage Garage Sale post is basically just a post on what kind of things we’d find if Antony were to have a garage sale of items from his teenage years.

One (1) barely used but seriously dinged-up double bass, because he thought that any self-respecting musician needed to play at least one string instrument. Then he realized how much easier it was to transport his flute, and so didn’t play the double bass much. By man, did he bash that thing up getting it in and out of the car! ($100, but you have to ship it yourself.) 

A complete collection of Tintin books from the 1970s. Dog-eaten, and with pages missing, but with all culturally insensitive, racist, and sexist storylines intact. ($10, to cover postage.)

One (1) Aiwa Walkman, c. 1984 with three (yes, three) fluorescent green graphic equalizer sliders. The front is missing, and the circuitry is so messed up that it doubles as a pocket warmer, but it travels well. Indeed, it’s so sketchy looking that it caused the previous owner to be pulled into a private screening room at three (yes, three) consecutive airports. (Free to anyone who wants to spend an hour being searched by TSA officials.)

One (1) Saracen mountain bike. Exceptionally well-made, possibly indestructible, but weighs more than a Mini Cooper, and therefore isn’t necessarily perfect for cycling up, well . . . mountains. Which is ironic. ($50, but buyer must be strong enough to cycle it away. Check with your physician before purchasing this item.)

One (1) Slazenger tennis racquet. Barely used, and with almost perfect string tension, on account of the fact that the previous owner couldn’t hit the ball any faster than five miles per hour. However, like the mountain bike (above), it dates from the 1970s, and is therefore made of cast iron. ($5, which will seem like a bargain when it becomes an antique. Wait . . . it already is?)

One (1) really fancy stereo system, which he bought because (a) he was a music snob, and (b) didn’t have anything (or anyone) else to spend his money on. The components are so well made that they’re still in perfect working condition, much to his parents’ chagrin, as they’d really like to get the damn thing out of the house. I mean, sheesh, the kid hasn’t even lived in England for two decades! ($250, because it sounds soooo good. I think.)

One (1) full army combat outfit (including boots) from the time he joined his school’s cadet force in an attempt to prove that he wasn’t just a music-loving, touchy-feely wuss. The fact that he lasted exactly one hour perhaps underlines the fact that this particular mission was unsuccessful. Luckily, the school took the gear back, as he hadn’t even had time to build up a sweat. (Oops, I guess that item isn’t for sale, after all. Sorry. Better luck next time, aspiring cadets!)

Thanks for having me along today, Hannah. And a big hi to your readers!

Thanks for the great guest post, Antony!


Make sure to check out the rest of the tour stops, and keep your eye out for Thou Shalt Not Road Trip, which will be released on April 12th. You can visit Antony on his website and on Facebook.

Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John
(Amazon | Goodreads)

When sixteen-year-old Luke's book, Hallelujah, becomes a national best seller, his publisher sends him on a cross-country tour with his unpredictable older brother, Matt, as chauffeur. But when Matt offers to drive Luke's ex-crush, Fran, across the country too, things get a little crazy. Luke thinks he's enlightened, but he really needs to loosen up if he's going to discover what it truly means to have faith, and do what it takes to get the girl he loves.

Giveaway

Antony was so generous to offer a signed ARC of Thou Shalt Not Road Trip for a giveaway! I haven't read this book yet, but if it's anything like Five Flavors of Dumb (my review), you're not going to want to miss it!


Rules:
- US and Canada only!
- This giveaway is open for one week, until Friday, April 13th at midnight. The winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be chosen.
- We are not responsible for items lost or damaged in shipping.


Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Title: Five Flavors of Dumb
Author: Antony John
Publisher: Dial
Release date: November 11th 2010
Pages: 352
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Bought
Find out more: Amazon ; Goodreads

Goodreads description:

The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig.
The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.
The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf?
Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb.

First sentence:

For the record, I wasn't around the day they decided to become Dumb.

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I love the idea for this book - a deaf girl managing a rock band? That's crazy and original and just so much fun.

When I first started reading I was a little disappointed that Piper can hear a little bit and can read lips really well - not because I'm evil and want Piper to struggle even more with her deafness, just because I thought it would have been really interesting to see how the author manages to have Piper communicate with people outside her family since they wouldn't be able to talk or sign. But I ended up enjoying reading about Piper's deafness the way it is - I love how her deafness plays an important role in the story, but isn't what it's really about - it's just a part of who Piper is. I ended up liking how she could usually understand people, and the situations where she pretends not to understand someone and has Finn or Ed sign random things to her are hilarious.

I love Piper - she's so easy to relate to. She has the everyday struggles of being a teenager, but she also has to deal with being deaf and managing a rock band. I really enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the book. The secondary characters are amazing. I loved reading about Piper's relationship with her parents and how that changed over the course of the novel, and I loved reading about her and her brother, Finn, who is so sweet. But most of all I loved reading about the bandmates - they're all so different and unique. Ed and Piper are adorable together; their relationship is so realistic, and I love how their romance is always there but never the main focus. I also love how Piper's relationship with Tash and Kallie grew over time.

The plot is amazing, fast-paced and so much fun. I loved reading about the band, and didn't want the book to end - I wanted to stay with Piper and the rest of the characters forever and see what happens to Dumb in the future.

The music aspect is great, too. Even if you're not that into rock (like me), it's still easy to connect to the music in Five Flavors of Dumb, since it's more about the feeling of it all than the actual music. I can't explain it, it just makes you want to scream and shout and get up and dance and laugh out loud - the whole novel just conveys an awesome feeling, which is probably what I loved most about Five Flavors of Dumb.

Five Flavors of Dumb is such an awesome book - it's so much fun, but it has a sweet message, too. It's one of my favorites of the year, and I definitely recommend it!