So I ordered these three novels on Amazon. The first two ("We're with the Band" by Adrianne Ambrose and "Living the Dream" by Christa Roberts) both came out on May 12, 2011 (although the book descrption places LtD second). The third ("In Each Other's Shoes" by Adrianne Ambrose) came out on September 1, 2011.

I got the package last night and have read the first two chapters of "We're with the Band" so far.

Here are my initial thoughts:

The books are physically larger than the Riverdale High novels. They're also around 30 pages longer. There are 24 lines per page (versus 30 lines per page in Riverdale High), but there are no full-page illustrations (unlike in Riverdale High, where they're included as part of the numbering) as, as mentioned, have a higher page count, so these novels are roughly 200 lines longer. "We're with the Band" has 10 chapters and an epilogue, which is a lower chapter count than Riverdale High, so the chapters are a bit longer here.

As mentioned, there are no original illustrations. The sole artwork is on the cover, which is partially reproduced in black-and-white on two unnumbered pages at the beginning of the book. Also, each chapter number has a black-and-white character pic next to it (the characters chosen seem to be random). All of the artwork looks to be done by Dan Parent, and I don't know if they're original to these books or not. The pages feel to be of a lesser quality, like $1 King James Bible paper.

Now for the story itself.

The plot is that, after an Archies concert at Pop's, Betty and Veronica get upset when Reggie says Betty and Veronica aren't really part of the band, because "pretty girls" that bang on the tambourine and play the keyboard are the "frosting" on top of the "cake" of Archie, Reggie, and Jughead. Archie doesn't stand up for the girls, so Veronica declares she and Betty are going to form an all-girl band. Even though Betty is initially hesitant, because she likes being in The Archies, Veronica convinces her easily enough. The auditions don't go well, since seemingly every girl is Riverdale is a master of a weird instrument. They eventually get Nancy as a bass guitarist and some new girl (Tina, I think her name is) as a drummer. That's as far as I've gotten so far.

The novels differ from Riverdale High in that they're written in the third person. That means there's not as much getting into a character's head, and they don't feel like entries in Betty's diary.

The writing seems competent enough, but there's a serious disconnect when the author has them sing "Jingle Jangle" and "Sugar Sugar" and actually writes out the lyrics. Also, "Sugar Sugar" is said to be the favorite song of all of the band members and possibly every kid in Riverdale. I seriously cannot believe that teens (they're said to be seventeen) in 2011 would get excited over this song - or that Betty would be playing the tambourine (although she does mention that she sometimes plays guitar in the band).

When Veronica says they should rename the band, I was expecting her to call Archie on how egotistical that it is to name the band after himself, but she (unfortunately) doesn't go that far. Instead, she said The Archies is exclusive of females, because females wouldn't be called Archie. Sheesh.

A lot of secondary characters are name-dropped, and some "appear" (though they have no lines). Kevin, Cheryl, and Nancy are exceptions (yes, Kevin mentions he's gay).

Ah, Cheryl. She's in two-and-a-half pages of chapter 2 (so far). Her hair is described as "auburn". She and Betty are cordial enough with each other. It's Veronica that seems to have a bigger problem with Cheryl. Oddly, Betty describes Veronica's parents as being "as rich as rock stars" but Cheryl's parents as having "a little money". What? I thought Cheryl's parents were way richer than Veronica's. When Cheryl reveals that she sings instead of plays an instrument and asks who their lead singer is, Betty and Veronica simultaneously declare herself to be the lead singer and then look at each other. Hehe. Veronica then says they both are. When Betty says there's no place for Cheryl in the band if she lacks other musical talent (ever hear of backing singers, Betty?), it's more matter-of-fact than mean-spirited. Oh, and there's a moment early on that could be considered gay on Betty's part from the way that it's worded, but it could also be that Betty just feels the need to make herself more presentable in Cheryl's presence.

There's a cute moment on the day of the auditions where Betty describes all of the places where she posted notices and then asks Veronica where she posted, and Veronica says "Craigslist" without further comment.

Oh, yeah, there are quite a few undisguised real-world references: Craigslist, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", and the original "Star Trek" series come to mind so far (Betty schools Veronica on the instrument that was used in the theme music; she's such a geek).

So, yeah, I'm enjoying it so far. It's way better than Riverdale High's "It's First Love, Jughead Jones" and "Is That Arabella?" (the latter of which I'm around halfway through). Of course, the latter, especially, set the bar so low.

Anyone else read these books yet?