The book "I Saw Them Standing There" begins slowly, but things pick up after the author, a young Beatles fan, meets the band at the Warwick Hotel. We are 1/3 into the book when we find the author standing in front of her beloved band with a bag of Beatles' rubbish she had collected, which starts to drip onto the floor. From there, the story becomes more interesting. 

Debbie Gendler is not your average high school student. She has great courage and persuades her mother to travel with her to London. She even writes a letter to a London publication claiming to be the editor of her high school newspaper, Drumbeats, and expresses her interest in a career in journalism. Gendler's experience as a Beatles fan differed from mine as a 4th grader in a small midwestern town. She had a lot more hutzpah than any high schooler I knew then. This kind of hutzpah gave her some exciting memories to write about. She takes us on a wild ride through her fan club activities, including a trip to Liverpool to meet with the families of the famous group. 

The book is a mix of a lifelong memoir and a scrapbook, but Gendler also includes quite a bit about music, family trivia, and history. Gendler's interest has spanned her life, including a 1980s fan club, a class at UCLA, and personal relationships with the four Beatles and several of their family members. She brings us through the later lives and music of the Beatles members, as well as the legal issues they faced through the years. 

Gendler's early interest in the Beatles became a lifetime of interesting experiences. She takes us through her experiences and down several related bunny trails that sometimes seem a bit unnecessary. It was a fun ride, living vicariously through her storytelling.

Thank you to Edelweiss, Debbie Gentler and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.