My Favorite Band Does Not Exist by Robert T. Jeschonek is YA metafiction that starts with a premise similar to Spintal tap and runs with it in the direction of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The titular band is Youforia, a hoax band created by Idea Deity and his friends. Except now it seems that a real band has taken up the mantel and is reaping in the benefits of the hoax created furvor. Idea decides to track down the rogue band and stop it before things get too out of hand.

Except (and there is always an exception) it's not that simple. Insert the flash/bang effect of traveling between universes from Fringe here. Because that's what Idea has to contend with.

In the parallel story, we get the perspective of Reacher Mirage, the lead singer of Youforia. It's quickly apparent that he's not aware of the hoax nor of Idea Deity. As far as he knows, the story perpetuated by Idea has actually happened.

The thing linking these two worlds together is a meta-fantasy novel, Fireskull's Reverant. It's their Neverending Story. And there's a woman who can see and interact with both halves of the story, Eunice Truant. She is like Yuko of the CLAMP series: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle and xxxHolic. ( )

“Being trapped in a book can be a nightmare – just ask Idea Deity. He’s convinced that he exists only in the pages of a novel written by a malevolent author … and that he will dies in chapter 64. Meanwhile, Reacher Mirage, lead singer of the secret rock band Youforia, can’t figure out who’s posting information about him and his band online that only he should know. It seems to both teens that someone is pulling the strings of their lives… and they’re not too happy about it. With a national magazine preparing to expose Youforia and chapter 64 bearing down like a speeding freight train, time is running out. Will Idea and Reacher be able to join forces and take control of their own destinies before it’s too late?

School of Rock meets Alice In Wonderland in this fast-paced, completely unpredictable novel of alternate realities, time travel, and rock ‘n’ roll. If you band does not exist… do you?"

The description doesn’t lie. It is a fast-paced, action-packed story that volleys back and forth between the two characters, Idea and Reacher. There’s also another book within the story called Fireskull’s Revenant that both the characters are reading. A few chapters in it does occur to you that there’s a parallel between the book you’re reading and the book they’re reading. And eventually Idea and Reacher realize that too.

Jeschonek has come up with a brilliant idea here (no pun intended). I’d like to add that elements of the story also reminded me of a certain Brad Pitt movie that shall remain nameless lest it give away too much about the book. It’s definitely one of the more creative stories I’ve read, and to be perfectly honest it was kind of nice to take a break from reading about angels, dragons or elves. Instead I was introduced to this guy over here, Fireskull, a guy with a perpetually flaming head as you can see, who loves war and torturing his army. Despite that gruesome bit of detail, he was rather entertaining.

Reading this reminded me of authors like Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman* and their propensity for creating bizarre worlds, outlandish characters and ridiculous names. In my opinion, that's high praise. So if you’re in the mood for something different, definitely try this. Though be aware that it may take some concentration to keep up with who’s who and what’s what as the author does scramble realities frequently. Have fun!

~ Bel

* Good Omens being one of my favorite books :-)

www.bibliojunkies.blogspot.com ( )

Plot: Idea Deity is convinced he's a character in a book who will die by chapter 64. Reacher Mirage is the lead singer of a secret band and he isn't ready to take them public yet. Idea can't bear the thought of someone controlling his destiny. Reacher, wondering who's putting the bands secrets online struggles with anger and fears of failure. Yet the two teens are part of a much more sinister plot than either of them realize. They will have to work together, but can they...before it's too late?

Why I picked it up: The title jumped out at me from a list of books our library had recently purchased. The blurb in Amazon's book description intrigued me.

Why I kept reading: I liked the idea behind the book, the three intertwined plot lines, and the way the author brought three alternate universes to life in vivid detail. His use of dialogue and unusual names for his characters also added to the story. All this seemed an ambitious undertaking for a first novel, but the author pulled it off.

Final thoughts: I found the end a bit hard to follow, but I had a lot of work-related things on my mind when I was finishing up the book, so I was distracted and didn't follow along very well. The themes of not knowing your future and wondering just who is in control of your life will resonate with teens and draw them in. This would also be a great book for parents and teens to read together. Events particularly at the end of the story can open up conversations about the family's religious beliefs (though the book doesn't espouse a specific religion).

I do hope Mr. Jeschonek has more novels in the works. ( )

The author of ‘My Favorite Band Does Not Exist’ set himself a very complex task: weaving three different, but very related, plot lines together. One reality has Idea Deity (the names are all Very Symbolic, symbolic to the point of beating you over the head with them) running from his parent’s hired tutors/goons and writing about a nonexistent band, Youforia, on his web site. This band that no one has ever heard has already attracted hordes of fans. Idea suffers from a syndrome where he thinks he is a character in a book and the author is pulling his strings. The next reality has Reacher Mirage and his band, Youforia, irate because the band’s location and other secrets are being leaked on the internet. Oh, this reality has a green sky. That’s the giveaway to let us know it’s not regular earth. The third reality is actually a (crappy) fantasy novel called ‘Fireskull’s Revenant’, that both Idea and Reacher are reading. The sky there is orange. And it’s not just a novel, it turns out. Tying these three together are women who are, literally, two faced, having faces on the backs of their heads and wearing clothing that is different outfits from the front on the back. Confused yet? Yeah. Me, too.

These realities are leaking into each other. Idea thinks that there are poseurs calling themselves by his creations name; Reacher thinks there is a spy in his group. Idea decides to get to the bottom of the mystery, and go to where Youforia is set to play their first public venue. The closer they get together, the more ‘leakage’ occurs. Only the two faced women know what is going on- and they aren’t telling any earlier than they have to. But it turns out that a lot rides on Idea and Reacher learning and growing.

While this sounds like an adventure/fantasy story, I think it’s more of a fable or allegory. Jeschonek has tried to make coming of age into a fantastical adventure, and, sadly, over complicated it. I think the story of Idea/Reacher would have been better without the addition of ‘Fireskull’s Revenant’- to me, most of those parts were just filler. ( )

Idea Deity made up a band called Youforia and made a fake website for them. But, as is wont with the internet, it explodes with popularity with a cult following. He is also a runaway from overbearing type A parents--and the malevolent author that he believes pulls the strings of his life. A chance meeting with Eunice Truant, a girl with a tattooed face on the back of her head, starts his escape.

Reacher Mirage is the lead singer and creator of a secret band called Youforia. He is waiting for the magic feeling when he plays to know they are ready to go public. But someone created a website detailing their unreleased bios, song lyrics, tour updates, and even location to the online masses. They get so popular that and music magazine put a bounty on their heads for their first interview. He and his girlfriend, Eurydice--another girl with a tattooed face on the back of her head, must stay ahead of their pursuers.

Deity is out to find the band impersonating his creation and those cashing in on his work. Reacher is out to find the person leaking his band's secrets. Both find a journey that changes their lives and everything they ever believed.

Jeschonek weaves these two main story lines in with a third--a book that both characters are reading: Fireskull's Revenant. It features Fireskull, a tyrannical king with a head engulfed in flames and leathery wings, trying to overthrow his greatest enemy and rival king, Johnny Without--whose body cannot keep a single form for more than a few seconds. Throw in some epic battle scenes and prophecies, and it's a crazy medieval fantasy smack dab in the middle of this modern urban fantasy story. At some points the switch is a little jarring, but all story lines kept my attention very well. And the payoff is in how all three come together in the end.

Overall, I kind of loved it. Srsly. This book has some of the weird stuff my brain defaults into thinking about when doing mindless stuff at work: bands, teh silly internets, excessive fandom, duality, multiple universes, what happens when universes meet, being in books, original ideas not being original, AND (most importantly) PERCEPTION. Green is not green to everybody--ramifications from that are soul churning. The further I got in the book, the more my eyes and brain wanted to devour it. The ridiculous names (along with those already mentioned, include Loving and Vengeful Deity, Wicked Livenbladder, and Spill Ringamajig) gave this book a bit of a comical charm that in some other books has felt overly pushed and off-putting. Many of the difficult ideas have been simplified enough and put in such a way to reach the young adult readers, but not lose their integrity--even when a couple of parallelisms were stated, instead of trusting all the readers to get it themselves.

And, I just found out he has written some of the sanctioned Doctor Who books.
Must.Resist.Until.Xmas. ( )