Scar Girl
Binding: Hardcover
Age 14+
General Fiction
A page-turning, unflinchingly painful and partially redemptive sequel to Scar Boys that shows the devastating personal cost of fame.
Chey, Harry, and Richie tell their own stories about the ups and downs of being successful rock musicians. As the band grows in fame, the friends grow more distant, and misunderstandings and emotional meltdowns begin to tear them apart. Chey has a miscarriage but can't tell Johnny she was even pregnant, turning to alcohol instead as a way to cope; Harry wants to leave the band; and Johnny slips into a depression. The band's refusal to be honest with each other leads to dire consequences, and the book ends with Johnny's suicide. Ultimately music saves the remaining three, but all carry the scars of the shattering events.
Creators
Len Vlahos dropped out of NYU film school to go on tour with the punk-pop band the Woofing Cookies. His experience playing guitar and traveling with a bunch of teenage friends in a dysfunctional van formed the backdrop of The Scar Boys, his debut novel. By day, Len and his wife Kristen Gilligan, are the co-owners of Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, CO. They have two sons, one cat, and a very happy life.
Reviews
This hilarious, big-hearted, and ultimately heartbreaking novel explores the ways that music can save us, and even, sometimes, the ways it can’t. Required reading for all of us who are scarred—inwardly or outwardly—so, in other words, everyone.
Through an interview format, the members of the Scar Boys recall from their own perspectives the events that take place leading up to the release of their first album in 1988. The recollection begins where The Scar Boys (2014) left off; the band has completed its first packet tour, and frontman Johnny McKenna has been in a terrible accident in which he lost his leg. Immediately, readers will notice the ominous absence of Johnny’s voice; he is discussed only in the third person. As the title indicates, the narrative largely centers on bass player Cheyenne Bell. A painful loss, which she suffers in secret, sends her crashing down a dark spiral, unraveling her relationship with Johnny and spilling over into the band dynamic along the way. Even though it is apparent from the onset that tragedy is inevitable, when it strikes, readers will feel as blindsided as the band. Vlahos, a finalist for the Morris Award with The Scar Boys, has succeeded in creating a sequel every bit as compelling and emotionally charged as its predecessor. The pulsating energy formed by creating music is what bonds the band together. This current will pull readers in in hopes that each one of the Scar Boys will find his or her way to resilience through the darkest of times. Like its predecessor, this novel will leave readers aching for an encore.
Kirkus Reviews
The sequel to The Scar Boys, Scar Girl is extremely well written. Readers will connect with the characters even if they have not experienced the same issues and situations. Cheyenne is going through an extremely rough time since Johnny, her boyfriend, just got into a car accident and lost his leg, and she finds out something that could potentially change her life forever. People who love reading about music, love, and problems that exist everyday in our generation will absolutely love this book. Readers will absolutely not be able to put it down.
VOYA
