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beautifulpaxielreads's review
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
One song surprised me in a really good way.
I was going along with the flow, thinking this would be your standard "high-school-band-enters-a-competition-and-is-under-pressure-to-meet-a-deadline" story, which to be fair, is what it is on the surface. But then it surprised me by introducing elements that made it more complex and interesting . There were crossed wires and resulting hurt feelings. There was deception. Ego. There were discoveries that first impressions can be wrong, or at least misguided. And on a more humourous note, I learned that one should not put used sanitary products in places where curious dogs could sniff them out.🤣
There were some things I didn't quite gel with. The descriptions of music and music-making in this context felt too non-specific and not explained for non-musicians. And towards the end there wereA LOT of plot twists in a short space of time . Which isn't great, narratively speaking.
But overall I had a good time reading this.
I was going along with the flow, thinking this would be your standard "high-school-band-enters-a-competition-and-is-under-pressure-to-meet-a-deadline" story, which to be fair, is what it is on the surface. But then it surprised me by introducing elements that made it more complex and interesting . There were crossed wires and resulting hurt feelings. There was deception. Ego. There were discoveries that first impressions can be wrong, or at least misguided. And on a more humourous note,
There were some things I didn't quite gel with. The descriptions of music and music-making in this context felt too non-specific and not explained for non-musicians. And towards the end there were
But overall I had a good time reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Eating disorder
Discussion of mental illness, in particular, anxiety (including an on-page panic attack, and disordered eating) and depression (including a person going cold turkey on their antidepressant medications). Also, someone gets their period, and there are unwanted/mistaken kisses given (off-page).nishana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
one song follows four high school kids as work together they try to create the song that will win them the triple j unearthed high competition.
i picked this book up on a whim and i was pleasantly surprised. this book takes place over a few days in one house, which worked very well for the story. generally, when ya books take place over a short period of time, it ends up with what we know as "insta love" and overall generally unrealistic character development. this book, however, was perfect in its execution related to time. the confined sense of time and place made the story feel more intimate and less distracted. additionally, the characters already have established bonds prior to the beginning of the story, and the book simply expands on these and adds conflict.
i really enjoyed seeing the process of how these characters developed a song. all the conflict and later resolution that occurred all felt very natural given the context of the story. this made for a very engaging read.
there were, however, some things that i believe held this book back from reaching its full potential:
- the singular pov: the addition of an extra four povs from the other characters/band members could have benefited the story. for a story that felt like it was supposed to be about this entire group, it felt too focused on eva's perspective. this becomes especially apparent with the ending, which focuses on a conclusion for eva and neglects the others.
- similarly, whilst most of the story felt very focused on the relationships, this feels neglected right at the end, as most of eva's relationships are left unresolved. i understand the intention of an open-ending, but this instead feels like these bonds were just... forgotten.
- this one more is personal preference, but the constant references to the covid lockdowns felt like they could have been avoided.
that being said, this was a very fast and enjoyable read from an australian author! i highly look forward to reading a.j. betts future works
i picked this book up on a whim and i was pleasantly surprised. this book takes place over a few days in one house, which worked very well for the story. generally, when ya books take place over a short period of time, it ends up with what we know as "insta love" and overall generally unrealistic character development. this book, however, was perfect in its execution related to time. the confined sense of time and place made the story feel more intimate and less distracted. additionally, the characters already have established bonds prior to the beginning of the story, and the book simply expands on these and adds conflict.
i really enjoyed seeing the process of how these characters developed a song. all the conflict and later resolution that occurred all felt very natural given the context of the story. this made for a very engaging read.
there were, however, some things that i believe held this book back from reaching its full potential:
- the singular pov: the addition of an extra four povs from the other characters/band members could have benefited the story. for a story that felt like it was supposed to be about this entire group, it felt too focused on eva's perspective. this becomes especially apparent with the ending, which focuses on a conclusion for eva and neglects the others.
- similarly, whilst most of the story felt very focused on the relationships, this feels neglected right at the end, as most of eva's relationships are left unresolved. i understand the intention of an open-ending, but this instead feels like these bonds were just... forgotten.
- this one more is personal preference, but the constant references to the covid lockdowns felt like they could have been avoided.
that being said, this was a very fast and enjoyable read from an australian author! i highly look forward to reading a.j. betts future works
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders