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hayleybeale's review against another edition
4.0
This strange and rather lovely book looks and feels like it’s a fantasy, but is actually a poignant story about families especially fathers, friendship, growing up and growing old, and the subjectivity of memory. See my full review here.
izumisano's review against another edition
3.0
Sometimes it is nice to get away from angsty female teenagers and read a middle grade novel where the future of the world isn't dependent on her chosing the right boyfriend.
I would call this a classic boy adventure novel. A group of boys who don't really like each other, but forced together out of necessity to find Nicolas's grandfather's family heirlooms. They each have different reasons for why they need the money and learn to bond along the way.
I appreciated what Baker tried to do with the musical notation through the narrative, but in all honestly I had to ignore it. It made reading too convoluted and distracting. The math notations were easier because they were in the text and not layered on top of it. I couldn't get into reading if I had to go back and read the volume notes and replay the scene in my head. Logically you already knew if something was piano or fortissimo from word contexts. But it was a nice decoration nonetheless. It just didn't work for me.
I would call this a classic boy adventure novel. A group of boys who don't really like each other, but forced together out of necessity to find Nicolas's grandfather's family heirlooms. They each have different reasons for why they need the money and learn to bond along the way.
I appreciated what Baker tried to do with the musical notation through the narrative, but in all honestly I had to ignore it. It made reading too convoluted and distracting. The math notations were easier because they were in the text and not layered on top of it. I couldn't get into reading if I had to go back and read the volume notes and replay the scene in my head. Logically you already knew if something was piano or fortissimo from word contexts. But it was a nice decoration nonetheless. It just didn't work for me.
mallorykjorgensen's review against another edition
3.0
I am not sure that I understood the music references above some of the sentences. It made sense in certain parts, but not in others. Twice I had to double check that I wasn't reading an ARC copy.
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
The blurbs stating which book this is like miss one: Hans Brinker, if only for the family needing some hidden treasure to save them and a mysterious clue that leads them there. Nicholas' hunt, not just for the treasure (and a way to save his tree-brother) but for friends and a reunited family, will draw readers in. I'm not so sure about the musical notation, which seemed overused (and, in many cases veered outside notation into mere adjectives). Perhaps a little more math, a little less music, would have worked?
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.
endlesstbr's review against another edition
2.0
I thought this would be a neat reading experience featuring math and musical elements, but the adventures throughout the plot were unbelievable and I had a hard time empathizing with the main character.
the_fabric_of_words's review against another edition
5.0
We're a family of violin players, and we found this an interesting attempt to incorporate musicality into text, as well as address how a young boy deals with death and his grandfather's memory loss.
juliesplotsandpages's review against another edition
3.0
It was cute, but it wasn't my style. The idea behind it and the opening chapter were great! Unfortunately, the story from there took a while to develop. The uses of music and math were clever, but ultimately distracted from the story somewhat. Not as good as I hoped it would be, but I appreciated it. I also read an ARC, so I don't know if anything changed in the final printing.
libscote's review against another edition
2.0
I was fine with the plot of this story: boy is afraid of house being sold and moving, which would mean leaving behind his brother, so he goes on a quest to find the heirlooms his grandfather talks about. Of course, his grandfather has dementia, so if the heirlooms even exist, it's questionable if he'll remember where they are. I would have rated this book so much higher if I hadn't been annoyed by the quirky parts. The author uses musical notation to describe the volume of many sentences in this book, which I found quite distracting and not helpful. The author also would occasionally write words as if they were being squared by another word, which I could have handled on it's own but combined with the musical notations, was too much for me.
zaqlovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Before you go reading reviews. Please give a second thought about it. I suggest you read the book before you read the reviews. For starters, everyone has their own opinion on books. I saw so many low ratings on this that I just wanted to not read it anymore. I did anyways and I have no regrets at all. This counts for any book you read. most of the time, you are more drawn to the lowest ratings of the book. You got take into that what you might like someone else might not or vice versa.
Despite , the fact that this is my first review, please keep in mind. That these are my own opinions and you probably won’t like the book the same way I do.
For a middle grade book, I believe this was written very good. This Is not a young adult, so don’t go into it with a mind like it is. I personally prefer middle grade books over young adult.
First, In my own opinion it was paced very good. If the pace was any faster, I believe you wouldn’t see the character development. From Nicholas , Zeke and Jordan. Each with their own set of personalities and characters development throughout the story. Which I personally like seeing in a story.
Second, the little words underneath said or yelled did not bother me. As matter of fact, I believed it added character to the story as a whole. Plus, is also connected with the main character and what they love to do. Also , they are very subtle and very easy to know what each word means. ( or you could just ignore them as the story goes)
Third, if there is one thing that caught my attention was how the story ended.It didn’t end like other middle grade books which is a big plus for me .
Last, I liked how realistic the characters were in the book. There’s no arrogance from the main character. The side characters were treated like they had a purpose in the story unlike other books I’ve read .And how it took time for all of them to get along with each other.
So, in the future I might try other books by this author. Which is good for me because I’m usually picky reader.
I suggest if you like adventure, true and honest character development, humor, and the such a wonderful journey that this book brings. Then why not try it out for yourself. If not, no bad feelings!
Despite , the fact that this is my first review, please keep in mind. That these are my own opinions and you probably won’t like the book the same way I do.
For a middle grade book, I believe this was written very good. This Is not a young adult, so don’t go into it with a mind like it is. I personally prefer middle grade books over young adult.
First, In my own opinion it was paced very good. If the pace was any faster, I believe you wouldn’t see the character development. From Nicholas , Zeke and Jordan. Each with their own set of personalities and characters development throughout the story. Which I personally like seeing in a story.
Second, the little words underneath said or yelled did not bother me. As matter of fact, I believed it added character to the story as a whole. Plus, is also connected with the main character and what they love to do. Also , they are very subtle and very easy to know what each word means. ( or you could just ignore them as the story goes)
Third, if there is one thing that caught my attention was how the story ended.It didn’t end like other middle grade books which is a big plus for me .
Last, I liked how realistic the characters were in the book. There’s no arrogance from the main character. The side characters were treated like they had a purpose in the story unlike other books I’ve read .And how it took time for all of them to get along with each other.
So, in the future I might try other books by this author. Which is good for me because I’m usually picky reader.
I suggest if you like adventure, true and honest character development, humor, and the such a wonderful journey that this book brings. Then why not try it out for yourself. If not, no bad feelings!
mathstalio's review against another edition
5.0
This was FUN and suspenseful and mathy and musicy and cute and I thoroughly enjoyed it regardless of it being middle grade.