Find the confidence to rock out to your own beat in Drum Roll, Please.

Melly only joined the school band because her best friend, Olivia, begged her to. But to her surprise, quiet Melly loves playing the drums. It’s the only time she doesn’t feel like a mouse.

Now, she and Olivia are about to spend the next two weeks at Camp Rockaway, jamming under the stars in the Michigan woods.

But this summer brings big changes for Melly: her parents split up, her best friend ditches her, and Melly finds herself falling for a girl at camp named Adeline. To top it off, Melly’s not sure she has what it takes to be a real rock ‘n’ roll drummer. Will she be able to make music from all the noise in her heart?

I received a physical ARC of Drum Roll, Please from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been enjoying a lot of upper middle grade over the last few months. Drum Roll, Please was no exception. Drum Roll, Please is a stunningly real story that had my eyes welling up with tears at points, laughing out loud at others, and feeling like a part of the Camp Rockaway camp the whole time.

You guys might remember that I was a band kid in high school. This camp is exactly the kind of thing that many, many of my classmates would have gone to as a teenager. Camp Rockaway seems like a lot of fun. It was the perfect place for Melly to come out of her shell and find a truer version of herself.

I loved how organic Melly’s growth was – how her emotions burst out of her at the worst of times, how she pushed aside her own feelings to make sure that Olivia was okay most of the time, and how it blew up in her face. Seeing Melly get a crush on someone in her band was oh so appropriate, and beautifully written.

Shauna, Toni, David and Caleb were delightful background characters that brought the camp to life. It felt so real to me, and I loved it. Drum Roll, Please dealt with its minor characters’ drama well, having it be a part of their lives and having it mostly be okay.

I really enjoyed this book, if you couldn’t tell. I highly recommend it. You can pick up a copy on Amazon or Indiebound!

Disclaimer: All links to Indiebound and Amazon are affiliate links. If you buy through those links, I will make a small amount of money off of the sale.