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lm_henderson's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book,full of interesting ,mismatched characters who for various reasons come together to join a community choir .Sad in places but extremely funny....a worthy sequel to 'The Hive' in my opinion.
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
3.0
Bridgeford is a small country town in England. Like many similar it has become a dormitory town for commuters and the town centre is fading. Small community groups exist but are dwindling, one of these is the Bridgeford Community Choir. The stories of some of the members, new and old, intertwine to give a portrait of small town life.
In a similar way to her previous book, 'The Hive', Hornby focuses on the lives of a small group of people drawn together by common purpose. Her writing is unchallenging and the stories predictable but that doesn't make this a bad book. For those looking for a simple, enjoyable, entertaining read this fits the bill perfectly.
In a similar way to her previous book, 'The Hive', Hornby focuses on the lives of a small group of people drawn together by common purpose. Her writing is unchallenging and the stories predictable but that doesn't make this a bad book. For those looking for a simple, enjoyable, entertaining read this fits the bill perfectly.
chalkletters's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
After a conversation about how Anne's choir antics would make an excellent book, Anne bought me All Together Now for Christmas and I'm just getting around to reading it. As a long-standing choir member myself, I was obviously predisposed to enjoy and recognise aspects of this contemporary choir-based novel.
Actually, Bridgeford Community Choir is on the verge of not qualifying for the title. In the absence of their musical director, they descend into what sounds like any choir-leaders worst nightmare: no harmonies and total democracy over song choices. Not only that, but nobody turns up to performances and they keep singing the same songs over and over without learning enough to make any improvements.
From those depths, All Together Now should have been a satisfying story of the choir getting back on track (pun accidental, but fully intended). Gill Hornby sort of delivers on that promise, and the choir-related scenes are where the characters come most into their own. Tracey and Bennet’s storylines, in particular, work best when they're directly interacting with the choir, and the end of Annie's plot also works best in that context. Outside of the choir, on the other hand, a surprising number of the characters are just unpleasant to read about. Sue, Bennet’s ex and Annie's best friend, is the worst, but even Annie and Tracy have their moments.
As with the characters, All Together Now’s prose is at its best describing the choir coming together, the power of music and singing to have an outsized impact on a person's emotional wellbeing. There was one weird moment where Gill Hornby departed from her otherwise close-perspective character viewpoint and seemingly had the soul of the choir narrate a few passages. Other than that, the writing style was effective if unremarkable.
While All Together Now wasn't quite the choir book I was hoping it would be, it was enjoyable enough, and I have another choir book on my TBR which might still be the book I'm looking for!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Death, Medical content, Addiction, Drug use, and Pregnancy
No infidelity:gems_31's review
3.0
This isn't my usual choice of genre, but I ended up enjoying the book quite a bit. the author explores the themes of dealing with change and what it means to be a community in such a way that you feel empathy towards the characters, but without it feeling too sickly sweet or preachy. I would most likely read something by this author again as it was a really easy read and perfect for summer days or going on holiday
sarah_lynn's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
eupomene's review against another edition
4.0
A delight, a real treat. She gets the magic and wonder of a choir spot-on, among all the silliness.
ashappee89's review
2.0
I tried to like this book, I really did. It just felt too much like a mashup of Glee and a preachy after school special.
hannahgrene's review
It wasn't great, but I quite enjoyed this one. Very middle England, but characters not quite so caricature
maureensbooks89's review
3.0
A view weeks ago I was approached to read ‘All Together Now’ by Gill Hornby, for the blog tour. I haven’t read any books by Gill Hornby before, and this book sounded different than the books I normally read. Since getting out of your comfort zone is definitely a good thing at times, I decided to participate in the tour.
Well, ‘All Together Now’ definitely was a different read for me. I’ve been reading a lot of contemporary romance novels lately, and ‘All Together Now’ is definitely not that.
It took me a long time to really get into ‘All Together Now’. I don’t really know why. For one, I had some trouble with keeping up with all the characters of which we get to read the point of views. I don’t mind reading different point of views, but when there are more than two point of views, and from the very beginning on, I always have trouble keeping everyone apart. The other problem at the beginning of this book was definitely the whole choir part. All the talk about a choir just wasn’t very interesting to me and it took a while to really get my attention.
Half way through the book I began to like this story more. The characters started to interest me, and I enjoyed the way of writing more and more. There definitely were a view very funny parts in this read. And what made it even more funny was how different all these characters were. Most characters only had one thing in common and that was the choir.
What I really liked about this book was the little town it took place in. Although it was forced at times, everybody seemed to want to help out and there was a huge sense of community. I loved that. Especially since I’ve never known that little town vibe myself. I love to read about these little towns.
And not to forget, I really love the cover of ‘All Together Now’ by Abacus. That cover can really cheer you up.
So, this read wasn’t perfect. But in the end I definitely liked it.
Well, ‘All Together Now’ definitely was a different read for me. I’ve been reading a lot of contemporary romance novels lately, and ‘All Together Now’ is definitely not that.
It took me a long time to really get into ‘All Together Now’. I don’t really know why. For one, I had some trouble with keeping up with all the characters of which we get to read the point of views. I don’t mind reading different point of views, but when there are more than two point of views, and from the very beginning on, I always have trouble keeping everyone apart. The other problem at the beginning of this book was definitely the whole choir part. All the talk about a choir just wasn’t very interesting to me and it took a while to really get my attention.
Half way through the book I began to like this story more. The characters started to interest me, and I enjoyed the way of writing more and more. There definitely were a view very funny parts in this read. And what made it even more funny was how different all these characters were. Most characters only had one thing in common and that was the choir.
What I really liked about this book was the little town it took place in. Although it was forced at times, everybody seemed to want to help out and there was a huge sense of community. I loved that. Especially since I’ve never known that little town vibe myself. I love to read about these little towns.
And not to forget, I really love the cover of ‘All Together Now’ by Abacus. That cover can really cheer you up.
So, this read wasn’t perfect. But in the end I definitely liked it.