A Wind in Montana by Mitch Davies

This is a young adult novel. It addresses so many issues that teens must deal with. First of all, the setting is Great Falls, Montana. A lot of the novel takes place in school. The hero is Rory. Rory is dealing with young love/lust. He's experimenting sexually and dealing with all the feelings involved in that. He must deal with having a girlfriend, being dumped, attraction to another chick and all that fun stuff. And let's not forget, having a car. But Rory's main issue is: He wants to do what he wants to do, not what everyone else wants him to do. He wants to focus on chemistry. Everybody else wants him to play the tuba or shoot baskeball hoops. 

Rory stands up for himself, but there's a psychotic band instructor at every turn...

Meanwhile, Rory develops a crush on Victoria. Victoria is a very likable chick. She's an oboe player and she's got band camp going on and decisions about college or music schools to make. Rory isn't the only one interested in her either.. There's this German musician who comes into the picture.. could she return the feelings?

Though Rory and Victoria are drawn together during high school  their future desires may tear them apart.. or the adults in their lives.. or the German fellow... or...

I laughed when Rory and his buds went to a whorehouse and I grew angry with the way the adults treated Rory and Victoria sometimes. I also got a kick out of mustard bomb.

I think it's a good story with lots of twists and side stories, but I have two issues bringing it down to a three star rating.. 1. Too much telling, not enough showing. I too often felt on the outside looking in instead of feeling as though I was in the thick of it. 2. Too much details (makes the book unnecessarily long for what it contains) about the kids' everyday lives.. especially when their summer break starts. I don't need to know what time Alyssa's (can't remember the exact spelling and it's an ebook so can't flip back and look.. would take too long.. ) parents do this or that at all hours of the day. Also, Rory's chemistry projects. It's not a subject I have ever enjoyed so I somewhat spaced out in those parts.

I think young adults will relate to it, especially those with musical inclinations, an interest in chemistry and any teenager that is experiencing sexuality for the first time. But I especially recommend it for those who simply want to do what they want to do and are tired of adults telling them what they want do do or should do. Because more than anything, it's about kids finding themselves and making their own decisions.

I got this in ebook format from the author.