As an Asian punker, Stella Wing has nothing but disdain for the girl group Fantalicious, until she needs a top notch singer for her band, and the only person who will fit the bill is a former member of Fantalicious, a “cutsie” girl group that gets its press from wearing shorts outfits and shaking their “booties.”

Tamara’s voice fits into Stella’s band, but Tamara’s past experiences and negative feelings about her weight cause her and Stella to clash over the direction the band should be taking. Stella really gets upset when she sees that other members of the band are agreeing with Tamara and not siding with her.

This is a very good story about a fringe culture that sings hard, dark, emotionally charged songs, but are really trying to find out where they fit in and wondering if everyone has “Frail Days.” It is an Orca Limelight Book, meaning it has high interest for teens, but the vocabulary used is not challenging.

It will appeal to young musicians, if you can get them to pick it up.  The cover is not clear enough to let the prospective reader know that it is about musicians and bands.  However, I still recommend its purchase for middle school or high school libraries.