Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Songs That Sound Like Blood by Jared Thomas

1 review

emily_mh's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I ended up really enjoying this read! I expected it to be a new adult romance, but it was actually more of a slice-of-life contemporary, which I preferred. The book is very much a coming-of-age story, essentially following Roxy during her first year of uni. The story really captures the first year experience: striking out on your own, finding a new place to call home, figuring out who you are and what you want, and more. I loved the uni setting and the descriptions of what Roxy was doing in the Department of Aboriginal Music, and also her interactions with her fellow students, teachers, and mentors. 

As aforementioned, the plot is styled like a slice-of-life, with many of the subplots coming together at the end. This gave the book a chance to explore multiple themes, mostly around Roxy’s indigenous and lesbian identities. I loved Roxy’s drive to bring Aboriginal music to the forefront. I also appreciated the subplot about the university’s budget cuts, how it showed that white people claim we are decolonising, when we are actually forcing assimilation and taking away safe spaces from indigenous people. On the topic of colonisation, I thought this quote was particularly poignant: 

“The reality was that in front of me was a view of England: England dropped in the bush, England pressing down on Kaurna country.” 

Regarding the queerness theme, I loved that Roxy was so immediately self-accepting. Her story depicts the reality of coming out again and again, and never knowing how people might react. It also shows the tension between Roxy’s indigenous and lesbian identities, in that her race means the country is a safer place for her, but then her queerness means the city is. On top of these core topics, the book also touches on: how relationships can be complicated when it comes to forgiveness; alcoholism and its impact on those around you; and parental abandonment. 

It was not the book’s focus, but the romance was very sweet. I loved how supportive Roxy and Ana were of one another, and appreciated the small details of physical affection that Thomas included. It truly painted a picture of a loving relationship. I was also relieved to see there was no third-act breakup! Nothing but communication here, folks. 

Music was central to the story which was fantastic. Reading about Soul Band and the televised music competition was so cool, but mostly I just appreciated seeing Roxy’s passion for music shine through. I wish I had kept a list of all the songs she mentioned so I could listen to them now! 

My major criticism of this book is that the prose needed to be fleshed out more; it was quite bare in places. I wanted more description and internal monologuing, and I felt that some events weren’t given enough weight. In the end I only docked one star because of this, because I really enjoyed the book, loved the ending, and would recommend this to others looking for a slice-of-life, contemporary new adult coming-of-age story. 

Rep: Aboriginal Australian lesbian MC (NB: lesbian is not used to directly describe her, only the word gay, although lesbian is used three times in a positive context, one of which is in a discussion of Roxy’s identity and she does not deny the term as a descriptor; d**e is used as a slur against the MC once, and the word occurs three more times as the MC is reflecting on the incident), Māori sapphic LI, almost all SCs are Indigenous Australian 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...