e-ARC, 416 pages
Release Date: March 6, 2018Published by: HarperTeen
Read from: N/AStand-aloneSource: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from the Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)For fans of: Contemporary, Music, Tough Issues, YASusannah Hayes has never been in the spotlight, but she dreams of following her father, a former rock star, onto the stage. As senior year begins, she’s more interested in composing impressive chord progressions than college essays, certain that if she writes the perfect song, her father might finally look up from the past long enough to see her. But when he dies unexpectedly her dreams—and her reality—shatter.
While Susannah struggles with grief, her mother uproots them to a new city. There, Susannah realizes she can reinvent herself however she wants: a confident singer-songwriter, member of a hip band, embraced by an effortlessly cool best friend. But Susannah is not the only one keeping secrets, and soon, harsh revelations threaten to unravel her life once again.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Judging by the book cover and the synopsis I just KNEW I would like this one. However, when I got down to reading it, I just didn’t feel drawn to it like other books. I thought maybe it was because I was waiting on another book from the library and maybe after reading that one I could go back… But it ended up being a bit deeper than that.
Susannah loves her parents and the memories of who they once where. Her father was part of a band and used a song to win her mother over. This causes music to become a huge part of her life as she grows older. But then the unexpected happens and her father passes away and Susannah has to start all over again.
Ok, so the main reason I didn’t care for this story was because the characters just didn’t seem believable to me. For instance, there is a point when she said “then something I had never thought of crossed my mind. I could find them on the internet.” I have an issue with this because even those teens (and kids) who don’t own a computer or smart phone or whatever know how to use Google. I just don’t see someone nowadays that doesn’t and hasn’t heard about it from someone else. Now, I am judging this off what I see at work at the library, but it just didn’t seem to be believable to me.
The more I got into the book, the more I felt like it was dragging along. It was 416 pages, and for most of the part that I read, nothing happened. I was bored by 12%. There was no way I could keep going like that the rest of the book.
Needless to say, I just couldn’t finish this one. Maybe it might appeal to others, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I’m not saying it’s bad, but its just not for me.
DNF @ 23%