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dapplezee's review against another edition
Reading this book was an eerie experience for me, because I recognized the setting from the blurb. I went to this same festival, at the same creepy hotel, about ten years earlier than the author did. No murders, when I was there; but it was definitely a Thing.
In real life, it was the Concord Resort Hotel, fading sibling of Grossingers (you know Grossingers as the inspiration for the hotel resort in "Dirty Dancing"). I remember rehearsing in a giant ballroom under a dim chandelier. One of the boys in the group "picked" a few glass crystals from the chandelier and gave them out to girls. I kept that crystal in my window for years until it fell one day and shattered while I was studying.
In real life, it was the Concord Resort Hotel, fading sibling of Grossingers (you know Grossingers as the inspiration for the hotel resort in "Dirty Dancing"). I remember rehearsing in a giant ballroom under a dim chandelier. One of the boys in the group "picked" a few glass crystals from the chandelier and gave them out to girls. I kept that crystal in my window for years until it fell one day and shattered while I was studying.
teresaalice's review
4.0
This book is a slowly unravelling mystery, filled with interesting characters and earlier times (okay, not that much earlier, most of it is set in 1997). Its worth the read, definitely.
readwithzelda's review
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
laurenb's review
4.0
So...it's sad. I will say I really enjoyed the first half, and was super intrigued. And then it got a little boring, wanting to know things and not being told any extra information. I did like it overall though, but it's not a feel good book
rdlevitt's review
3.0
Chekhov famously said about writing, "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired."
This book had...a LOT of guns. A lot of them fired, but not all. And a lot of the ones that did fire put out one of those flags that said "BANG" rather than an actual bullet.
To borrow from another auteur (Stefon), this book has everything: High school band concerts, gay awakenings, murder-suicide, kidnapping, unrequired love, stage moms, black widow marriages, overt references to The Shining, a deaf corgie...
There's a lot going on in this book, is what I'm saying.
Maybe the author was trying to do a kind of crazy "intersecting of all plots" thing where she imagined it all got tied up in a nice bow at the end, but I really think she started so many plot points it would have been impossible for her to achieve her desired results. Rather than cutting them, they were left in the book and the reader had to puzzle over what was supposed to be a charming detail vs what was actually Important To The Story. When I saw this was a first novel, my reaction was "oh, that makes sense."
Overall, it was cute and the mystery element of it was enough to keep me entertained until the end. It was also clear that the author really enjoyed writing about the student music element of it, which was cute for recovering band geeks (like me). But its shortcomings left me wishing her editors had spent a bit more time sussing out which guns were necessary to hang on the wall, as it were.
This book had...a LOT of guns. A lot of them fired, but not all. And a lot of the ones that did fire put out one of those flags that said "BANG" rather than an actual bullet.
To borrow from another auteur (Stefon), this book has everything: High school band concerts, gay awakenings, murder-suicide, kidnapping, unrequired love, stage moms, black widow marriages, overt references to The Shining, a deaf corgie...
There's a lot going on in this book, is what I'm saying.
Maybe the author was trying to do a kind of crazy "intersecting of all plots" thing where she imagined it all got tied up in a nice bow at the end, but I really think she started so many plot points it would have been impossible for her to achieve her desired results. Rather than cutting them, they were left in the book and the reader had to puzzle over what was supposed to be a charming detail vs what was actually Important To The Story. When I saw this was a first novel, my reaction was "oh, that makes sense."
Overall, it was cute and the mystery element of it was enough to keep me entertained until the end. It was also clear that the author really enjoyed writing about the student music element of it, which was cute for recovering band geeks (like me). But its shortcomings left me wishing her editors had spent a bit more time sussing out which guns were necessary to hang on the wall, as it were.
cami19's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ljutavidra's review
5.0
Najbolja knjiga koju sam pročitala ove godine, hands down. Toliko živopisnih likova, toliko detalja, misterije koje zapravo nisu misterije nego realan život, apsolutno mi se sve svidelo i nadam se da ću se jednom dočepati knjige u fizičkom obliku i čitati je iznova i iznova.
4saradouglas's review
2.0
I was very underwhelmed. It was a mystery that wasn't very mysterious. It took place in an old hotel and they kept bringing up The Shining, but it wasn't at all scary. It takes place in the 90s, but didn't seem like it. (You mention Weezer once and that apparently sets the scene as a 90s novel) I wasn't a big fan of the characters and everything just seemed so pointless and, yeah, underwhelming.
lynnylooloo's review
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
amlibera's review
4.0
Quirky mix of horror and mystery and (not unlike Tuesday Mooney) the feeling that you get when reading a children's book, though this is definitely not for kids. The details of the orchestras and high school musicians are very real but the plot is twisty and odd with a great deal of humor.