MANOJ Raja Raja থেকে 35040 Piacenza D'adige PD, Italy
2.5, solid. It's contemporary, but I think that even rabid 16-year-olds would see through how ridiculous a lot of this is. But the idea itself is pretty unique...at least so far!
Amazing book, I really enjoyed it from start to finish.
I'm giving this book 5 stars because I enjoyed it whole-heartedly from beginning to end. It's not an incredible story, nor is the writing divine. However, I devoured it in about 5 days, laughed out loud to the point of embarrassment on public transit, and then proceeded to try to convince everyone I know to pick up a copy. It's a wonderful light read, ideal for summer afternoons at the beach when you're too sun-drunk to really focus, or winter evenings curled up in a cozy chair with an old crocheted throw blanket. Highly recommended to anyone who grew up on the west coast of Canada, anyone who has ever enjoyed summers by the sea, anyone who has ever wanted to throw caution to the wind and leave the city behind, anyone who listens to CBC Radio with national pride and devotion, or anyone who just enjoys laughing till it hurts.
This was a little gem of a book. I was drawn to it by the summary and the musical references in it and really enjoyed how the author wove the music into the story. Calle is a high school freshman that has been uprooted by her mother 12 times in her life, having to change cities and schools whenever her mother breaks up with a husband/boyfriend. Calle thinks it is because her mom is a bit flighty and needs a change of scenery after a difficult breakup. The story begins in a new city where Calle starts high school and is finally making friends and forging relationships. As the story unfolds, Calle begins to discover bits about her past, including the location of her father who she has never met. As her relationship with her friends and local boy heartthrob Sam strengthen Calle learns the true reason for her mother's inability to stay in one place. The question is, will her mother pick up and leave again or will Calle finally have a place to call home. The music in this book is represented through entries in Calle's song journal. She keeps a journal where she writes down songs and the memories of her life that are stirred up by the songs she hears. I am thinking most teens reading this will not know a lot of the referenced songs . . . many are from my teen/college years, but overall I really liked the concept . . . and Calle has some good taste :) The writing was strong here . . . characters, especially Calle, were well developed. I liked watching her grow and mature throughout the story and finally finding the strength to stand up to her mother. My only issue with the book was the typos - I found several throughout. Overall, a big thumb's up and a really nice book for middle grade readers.