Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie Literary Analysis

Siblings – the most annoying things in the world. They’re horrible, wonderful beings, and you would sacrifice anything for them in the end. In Jordan Sonnenblick’s novel Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie, Steven Alper, the main character, learns exactly how wonderful, and horrible, it can be to have a younger brother. Steven is your typical 8th grader – he’s continuously vexed by his younger brother Jeffrey, he has a crush on a girl who doesn’t acknowledge his existence, and he plays the drums in the All-City Jazz Band. While Steven struggles through life, his world halts when his five-year-old brother is diagnosed with leukemia, As Steven and his family strive to overcome Jeffrey’s cancer diagnosis, the Alper family learns the true meaning of sacrifice.

“I guess a good starting point would be the longest journal I’ve ever written in English class. This was back in September, when I was pretty sure about life. The topic was ‘The most annoying thing in the world,’” (pg. 1). In the very exposition of Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie, Steven reflects back to his “Truly Annoying Things” journal entry. He explains his sacrifices for Jeffrey as the older sibling, even prior to Jeffrey’s leukemia diagnosis. Steven has to give up much of his parent’s attention once Jeffrey was born. “How would you like to be King of the Planet for eight glorious years, and then suddenly get demoted to Vice-King?” (pg. 4). As the role of the older brother, Steven also deals with needing to sacrifice his possessions. For example, Steven owns a pair of Regal Tip 5A’s with nylon tips signed by his drum idol, Carter Beauford. Evidently, Steven is attached to his prized pair of drumsticks, but he is forced to sacrifice them when Jeffrey plays with Steven’s epical stick...

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... was a success, earning over twenty thousand dollars. Steven is at 8th grade graduation, a beautiful girl to his left, and another to his right. Jeffrey’s leukemia is improving, proving that the Alpers’ sacrifices were all worth it. During the conclusion of the story, Steven’s development as a person is apparent. He goes from being “pretty sure about life” (pg. 1) to “I guess maybe my biggest achievement was learning that there’s more to life than taking the big drum solo,” (pg. 270). At the beginning of the year, Jeffrey was under Steven’s list of “Truly Annoying Things.” By 8th grade graduation, Steven has learned to greatly appreciate his brother, even to say “Jeffrey, I love you.” Over the course of the entire year, the Alpers exemplified how sacrificing important aspects of their life can help in overcoming hardships.

Works Cited

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie