Encore to an Empty Room

February 15, 2015
Summer and the band she manages, Dangerheart, are still searching for the lost songs of Eli White in this sequel to Exile (2014). The world now knows that Dangerheart's lead singer Caleb (also Summer's boyfriend) is the son of the late, talented but troubled rocker Eli White. Prior to his death, Eli hid three songs for Caleb to find one day, and so far the group has found one. Though the band is in-sync musically, escalating personal tensions threaten to rip them apart, as individual members struggle with family problems, alcohol abuse, relationship drama and mounting resentment toward one another. The pressure increases when record-deal options begin to appear. Summer feels pulled apart as well, wanting to continue managing the band after high school but also beginning to think that pursuing college as her parents want might not be such a bad idea. When new information arises about the lost songs, the bandmates find themselves in a race to uncover the others before the record executives at Candy Shell steal them. This mission takes Dangerheart on a cross-country tour and an adventure that might just turn out to be a wild ghost chase. Emerson's talents for creating cool characters, writing effortless dialogue and maintaining a quick pace continue to shine. A solid follow-up to Exile that will leave readers clamoring for the final installment. (Fiction. 14-17)

March 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-At the end of Exile (HarperCollins, 2014), Dangerheart became the hot new band once it was revealed that lead singer Caleb is the son of famous artist Eli White-and that Eli has left clues to find his lost songs. In this sequel, the band follows the clues to find Eli's songs, all while Caleb is trying to emerge from his father's shadow. Dangerheart's manager, Catherine Summer Carlson, continues to narrate in this entry. Readers feel connected to the issues that the protagonist faces, and the story line flows easily through her wit and intellect. The narratives presents both sides of the teen's life: as Summer, she navigates rock concerts, friends, dating Caleb, and the big mystery surrounding Caleb and Eli, while as Catherine, she copes with family, homework, and possibly law school. Which path will she choose? Teens will identify with the feeling of being caught between two worlds and will recognize the difficulty of following one's passions. VERDICT For fans of mysteries and rock and roll, this installment of Emerson's music-themed series hits all the right notes.-Caitlin Wilson, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2015
Grades 8-12 High-school senior Summer Carlson manages the band Dangerheart at her Southern California arts magnet school. With the band becoming an overnight sensation, and her relationship with boyfriend (and Dangerheart's lead singer) Cal intensifying in excellent ways, Summer is torn between applying to Stanford and heading straight into the world of music management. This sequel to Exile (2014) continues the drama at breakneck speed. Cal fears the positive press is not for his own work but because his father is a famous dead rock legend. Cal's half sister Val seems bent on self-destruction, seducing the band's drummer and falling back into substance abuse. Meanwhile, the band is still searching for two missing songs from Cal's dad's last album, which involves cross-country road trips and mysterious communications. Emerson's created a page-turner of a sequel that will rivet music-minded teens despite sometimes predictable plotlines. With a concluding third volume in the works, fans will be poised and ready to see how the loose ends come together.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2015
The second installment in the trilogy finds band manager Summer juggling college applications, industry politics, and her quest to help boyfriend Caleb find musical messages left behind by his famous father. Emerson sustains a whirlwind pace throughout the novel and the mystery element is compelling, but his characters' dimensionality takes a backseat to his insider's view of the music business.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)