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jwinchell's review against another edition
4.0
Ambient is the word that comes to mind for this book. There’s so much space between the sparse words for feeling and listening. And it’s full of music- it literally flows through every page. I loved the use of color to differentiate Charlie’s story, Luka’s story, and Charlie’s newfound fascination with opera singer Maria Callas. It’s very specific in that it’s about the end of 8th grade and opera music, but it’s also a general coming of age story. The ending came together in just a few unrealistic frames given that so much musing and drama took over the story up until then.
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
5.0
Great book about music and tolerance. Set in middle school music class.
whitneymouse's review against another edition
3.0
This one was interesting, but the format reminded me of American Born Chinese in a bad way. The artwork is GORGEOUS and very aesthetically pleasing, but the stories don’t mesh well together and are confusing. One story line is about an opera singer, one is about a bullied classmate, one is about bees (for a short amount of time), and one is about the main character trying to complete an assignment. It seemed like the author just jumped from topic to topic, which left me feeling unsatisfied with the ending. It was a cool graphic novel, visually, though.
knbee's review against another edition
3.0
Striking illustrations. Cool premise. Touching story. There was a bit too much inference needed for me to feel fully connected, though.
reading_giraffe's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the art style a lot. The use of crayon(?) gives the art such vibrancy and life even when it is only 2-tone. I've also done that same type of soundtrack to my life assignments and seeing a middle schooler find her voice through it warmed my heart.
maryehavens's review against another edition
3.0
I love the concept of this book - write the soundtrack of your life (or this moment of your life). I loved the exploration of musical genres and the discovery of Maria Callas. I finished the book and immediately found a video of her singing the song that Charlie listened to in class.
I wanted more. I wanted to know what the author thought of each one of those genres and kind of needed a playlist to go along with this book. Makes sense, doesn’t it?? I suppose the author wanted you to find your own representative song/songs of each genre but it would have been nice to have some suggestions.
I’m not sure the part about Luka was necessary - felt a little added on. And what song did Luka sing?? I wanted more of the music!!!
I shared it with my daughter - maybe she’ll become interested in Callas too :)
I wanted more. I wanted to know what the author thought of each one of those genres and kind of needed a playlist to go along with this book. Makes sense, doesn’t it?? I suppose the author wanted you to find your own representative song/songs of each genre but it would have been nice to have some suggestions.
I’m not sure the part about Luka was necessary - felt a little added on. And what song did Luka sing?? I wanted more of the music!!!
I shared it with my daughter - maybe she’ll become interested in Callas too :)
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
This book drew my eye at the library and so I picked it up.
The story follows Mr. K's music class in a middle school. Our narrator, Charlie, is tasked with the assignment of picking a song that is meaningful to her and explain her connection to it. We get a small study of some genres Mr. K likes (he grew up in the 80's, so I like his music choices) and we get Charlie's growing interesting in Opera, specifically Maria Callas.
The book seems to want to tackle a lot of concerns at this age: identity, fitting in, sexuality. But, none are explored in depth and while I had a lot to look with beautiful sketches, I wanted to know these characters better.
The story follows Mr. K's music class in a middle school. Our narrator, Charlie, is tasked with the assignment of picking a song that is meaningful to her and explain her connection to it. We get a small study of some genres Mr. K likes (he grew up in the 80's, so I like his music choices) and we get Charlie's growing interesting in Opera, specifically Maria Callas.
The book seems to want to tackle a lot of concerns at this age: identity, fitting in, sexuality. But, none are explored in depth and while I had a lot to look with beautiful sketches, I wanted to know these characters better.
travelingallison's review against another edition
5.0
The images play along and incite the reader inside the head of Charlies during her final weeks as a middle-school student.
kayharkness's review against another edition
5.0
Really beautiful art and relatable content for sure. Loved this book.
jkenna1990's review against another edition
4.0
This book is about a group of kids in 8C, a music class in middle school. They are tasked with doing a project on a genre of music that defines them. Charlie is having a hard time figuring out what type of music defines her. They are learning about a different genre of music each day and Charlie doesn't know which one she relates to the most. Until they come to opera. She discovers Maria Callas, an amazing opera singer. She finally finds something that she connects to.
This is a fantastic book. I loved the story and the artwork. This is one of those books that I would recommend to someone if they are just starting out reading comics/graphic novels. I think that this is a fantastic addition to any library - personal or public.
This is a fantastic book. I loved the story and the artwork. This is one of those books that I would recommend to someone if they are just starting out reading comics/graphic novels. I think that this is a fantastic addition to any library - personal or public.