I received an advance review copy from Candlewick Press through Netgalley; all opinions are my own and honest.

2.5 stars

I need to think on this one for a while — it deals with heavy topics sensitively, but I felt like they could have been more nuanced, and the development felt choppy.

Claire reminds me of my teenage self (withdrawn and more than a little judgmental, self-motivated and borderline self-absorbed, a bit of a music snob) which should be a plus but made it hard to sympathize with her. Not that female characters have to be likable or perfect to earn sympathy, of course; it's just that I had trouble appreciating much about her besides her devotion to music and her perseverance.

The writing itself didn't really work for me: too much figurative language to describe even the mundane scenes and emotions. Admittedly it's difficult to portray something as abstract and evocative as music without any creative descriptors, but very little of it resonated with me.

FRTC.

content warnings:

Spoiler

underage sex, on-page rape, explicit but non-graphic sexual content, terminally ill parents (cancer), loss of loved ones, grief, racist and microaggressive remarks (challenged), slut-shaming

rep:

Spoiler

Filipino-American MC, Filipina major character (mother), Vietnamese-American secondary character (best friend), diverse minor characters

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CONVERSION: 7.4 / 15 = 2.5 stars

Prose: 4 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 3 / 10
Emotional Impact: 5 / 10
Development / Flow: 4 / 10
Setting: 6 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 2 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: N/A
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: N/A