A review by paulineerika
All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I was so excited for this book when I first heard of it and even more excited after a friend recommended the audiobook to me, because of the music featured in the audiobook. When Spotify Premium began offering free audiobooks, I jumped at the chance to listen.

Unfortunately, a few things keep me from rating it higher:

  • I hate the miscommunication trope and this particular miscommunication that separated Quito and Emmett for so long didn't justify the length of that separation. 
  • The flashbacks took up too much of the book. I liked them in the beginning, but it dragged on too long and took too much away from the present-day story.
  • I couldn't really buy that Quito was 38. He came off as a lot younger.
  • Quito himself was problematic in so many ways. He was incredibly self-absorbed, insecure and anxious to the point where it felt like he constantly needed to have his hand held and be told things were okay (which, as someone with anxiety and depression, I totally understand, but his seemed to go overboard and actually start affecting his relationships with others by making them all about him), judgmental of everyone (including poor Celeste, which was not cool), and oblivious to so much.
    When Milton confided in him, it seemed pretty obvious where that part of the story was going, but Quito stubbornly stuck to traditional gender roles and had to be educated by Ujima, which feels like putting a lot of emotional labor on someone else.
  • I hated the death. It didn't feel necessary to me, especially for a book that was supposed to be about joy.
  • Also, as a smaller note, I wanted to hear more music in the audiobook. 

All that being said, this book has so much heart and love, which is its absolute strength. Even if I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to, I know it will mean so much to other people and I love that about it. 
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