A review by wardenred
Blowin' My Mind Like a Summer Breeze by Benjamin Roesch

emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love music more than anything, but sometimes I feel like a character in a fairy tale who doesn’t realize she was born in a prison until she tries to go outside for the first time and the guards stop her at the door.

I stumbled upon this book pretty much accidentally, and I'm happy to report that it was a happy accident! This is pretty much everything I want to see in YA: a heartfelt story of coming of age, self-discovery, and finding a direction in the world. I loved the strong 1990s vibe and all the mentions of books and music, especially that listening to Nirvana scene near the beginning. It really transported me to the time when I was roughly the characters' age, listening to those very same songs and being absolutely damn haunted by the chorus of Lithium.

Rainey is a wonderfully compelling and complex characters with so many tangles in her life. I loved seeing her relationship with her family develop over the course of the book, and I empathized with her feeling stuck between the past her parents were determined to hold on to and trying to figure out what kind of future she wanted to have. Most of all, I loved seeing her developing relationship with music—because the way it's portrayed here, it truly is a relationship of its own. I love reading stories that focus on young artists and the way they figure out what their art means for them, and this novel truly delivered.


Expand filter menu Content Warnings