Scan barcode
merlin_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Seriously, a book about a music camp, sign me up! Now, this isn’t your typical music camp (think Band Camp from Disney, or even American Pie), this is a highly competitive opera camp. Different, right? Opera is not really a genre of music that the young adult community talks about. I mean, I can honestly tell you that I know nothing about opera except that it’s mostly sung in another language.
The Sound of Us follows Kiki on her journey to be one of the coveted recipients of a musical scholarship to the Krause University music program. When Kiki arrives, she’s mostly in the shadow of her sister who went to the camp previously, won one of the scholarships, and generally wooed everyone all around. But that’s not Kiki. Kiki, while loving opera, also loves being a nerd. She loves marathoning her favorite TV show and then immediately hoping on Twitter to discuss it indepthly with her thousands of followers. I guess you could say that she’s Twitter famous in that fandom. But put her with real people, in real situations, and she clams up, hiding her nerdiness so that people will like her.
While this is a story about music, it’s also a story about growing up. On her first day, Kiki is thrust into situations where she must interact with people and make friends. Over the course of the book, she comes to realize that the people that she’s meeting like her for her and not just because she’s a great singer. And then there’s of course the boys. A late night meeting with mysterious drummer boy Jack, leads to a jam session that has Kiki thinking of no one else but him – to the point that it affects her music. She’s pretty sure Jack felt the same since he wants to continue the jam sessions. The only problem with this, opera camp has strict rules. One being, no singing anything that isn’t opera. And well, I’m sure you can guess that their jam sessions aren’t opera related. And go figure, there’s a snitch amongst the bunch. But with the competition this fierce and the stakes extremely high, obviously sabotage is going to come to play.
Overall, I felt this was a solid fun book. Kiki was likeable. There were times that she bothered me and she made reckless decisions (but hey, she’s a teen). The author wrote her in a way that was real for her age. As a nerd of many fandoms myself, I felt a connection to Kiki when she was describing her love and obsession with her favorite TV show. The side characters were fun and their personalities just filled the spaces of the camp. But once again, communication! So many things could have been avoided if people would have just talked!!
Also, can I say that I enjoyed the pop culture references? Especially this one,
"Today he’s dressed like Mitchell, but his head and body are all Seth Green on Buffy."
My love for Buffy knows no bounds. Anyway. Mostly, this book had me all happy like:
The Sound of Us follows Kiki on her journey to be one of the coveted recipients of a musical scholarship to the Krause University music program. When Kiki arrives, she’s mostly in the shadow of her sister who went to the camp previously, won one of the scholarships, and generally wooed everyone all around. But that’s not Kiki. Kiki, while loving opera, also loves being a nerd. She loves marathoning her favorite TV show and then immediately hoping on Twitter to discuss it indepthly with her thousands of followers. I guess you could say that she’s Twitter famous in that fandom. But put her with real people, in real situations, and she clams up, hiding her nerdiness so that people will like her.
While this is a story about music, it’s also a story about growing up. On her first day, Kiki is thrust into situations where she must interact with people and make friends. Over the course of the book, she comes to realize that the people that she’s meeting like her for her and not just because she’s a great singer. And then there’s of course the boys. A late night meeting with mysterious drummer boy Jack, leads to a jam session that has Kiki thinking of no one else but him – to the point that it affects her music. She’s pretty sure Jack felt the same since he wants to continue the jam sessions. The only problem with this, opera camp has strict rules. One being, no singing anything that isn’t opera. And well, I’m sure you can guess that their jam sessions aren’t opera related. And go figure, there’s a snitch amongst the bunch. But with the competition this fierce and the stakes extremely high, obviously sabotage is going to come to play.
Overall, I felt this was a solid fun book. Kiki was likeable. There were times that she bothered me and she made reckless decisions (but hey, she’s a teen). The author wrote her in a way that was real for her age. As a nerd of many fandoms myself, I felt a connection to Kiki when she was describing her love and obsession with her favorite TV show. The side characters were fun and their personalities just filled the spaces of the camp. But once again, communication! So many things could have been avoided if people would have just talked!!
Also, can I say that I enjoyed the pop culture references? Especially this one,
"Today he’s dressed like Mitchell, but his head and body are all Seth Green on Buffy."
My love for Buffy knows no bounds. Anyway. Mostly, this book had me all happy like:
saffie95's review against another edition
4.0
Midway through I got really annoyed with the MC, but luckily she redeemed herself
megs_s's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nnancy25's review
5.0
So 2016 is turning out to be the year of contemporaries because so far there has not been a book I haven’t loved and The Sound of Us is no exception. The Sound of Us is the story of Kiki Nichols, a girl off to opera camp for six weeks the summer before senior year. However, it isn’t any other summer camp. At the end, the seven best voices will receive a full ride to Krause University to continue their development and education in opera and Kiki is determined to be one of the chosen seven. Despite having a heavy musical theme throughout, much like If I Stay by Gayle Forman, this book has a lot of aspects that as a reader, even one not immersed in music like myself, you can relate to.
For my full review check it out here:
http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2016/05/book-review-sound-of-us-by-julie.html
For my full review check it out here:
http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2016/05/book-review-sound-of-us-by-julie.html
saschadarlington's review
5.0
Up until today my favorite YA novel was Fangirl. The Sound of Us by Julie Hammerle may be trying and succeeding at usurping that title.
Kiki is also a fangirl but of a science fiction tv show called Project Earth and its female lead, Dana/Calliope. Kiki is a nerd who loves tv and music and twitter, but she decides to hide these parts of herself away when she attends voice camp because she really wants to fit in, make friends, and have a chance at one of the seven scholarships that are up for grabs.
to read more: https://saschadarlington.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/review-of-the-sound-of-us/
Kiki is also a fangirl but of a science fiction tv show called Project Earth and its female lead, Dana/Calliope. Kiki is a nerd who loves tv and music and twitter, but she decides to hide these parts of herself away when she attends voice camp because she really wants to fit in, make friends, and have a chance at one of the seven scholarships that are up for grabs.
to read more: https://saschadarlington.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/review-of-the-sound-of-us/
kirstysbookshelf's review
4.0
I was provided a copy by Net Galley.
I really enjoyed this book, it is a perfect contemporary to read over summer. The story follows Kiki who goes to a music summer camp with the hope of getting a scholarship. This was such a cute story and I really liked Kiki. I loved her obsession with TV and music and she seemed like a really relatable character. I also liked the inclusion of social media as that is such a big part of people's lives and I think it made the story more realistic.
This was such a fun read. I really liked Jack and Kiki together even if it didn't always run smoothly. I loved seeing Kiki develop throughout this book. Her ex- best friend always put her down so she had very little confidence at the start of the book but we get to see her develop throughout the book and I loved seeing her character develop.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I would like to read more from this author. If you are looking for a fun contemporary then this will be the perfect book for you.
I really enjoyed this book, it is a perfect contemporary to read over summer. The story follows Kiki who goes to a music summer camp with the hope of getting a scholarship. This was such a cute story and I really liked Kiki. I loved her obsession with TV and music and she seemed like a really relatable character. I also liked the inclusion of social media as that is such a big part of people's lives and I think it made the story more realistic.
This was such a fun read. I really liked Jack and Kiki together even if it didn't always run smoothly. I loved seeing Kiki develop throughout this book. Her ex- best friend always put her down so she had very little confidence at the start of the book but we get to see her develop throughout the book and I loved seeing her character develop.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I would like to read more from this author. If you are looking for a fun contemporary then this will be the perfect book for you.
samantha_randolph's review
5.0
Mini-review:
-Fantastic, musical contemporary
-Great themes of finding yourself, discovering your passion, and embracing your talents
-TOP-NOTCH romance plot that shows bittersweet nuance
-Fantastic, musical contemporary
-Great themes of finding yourself, discovering your passion, and embracing your talents
-TOP-NOTCH romance plot that shows bittersweet nuance
camrobbins's review
5.0
Kiki's got a great voice (both singing and narrating)! First kisses, first loves...it was fun to go with her to opera camp.
dani_reviews's review
4.0
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I went into this expecting a fairly standard YA contemporary. There is nothing wrong with the standard story, especially when you’re in the mood for something easy and predictable in that Happily Ever After kind of way. I love those kinds of stories when I need a break between fantasies and dystopias. They’re great.
But that’s not what The Sound of Us was.
The Sound of Us was about Kiki. Not Kiki and a guy (or girl). Ok, yes, there was a guy in there, but this book was about Kiki. Kiki figuring out who she was. Kiki learning to own who she was. Kiki taking a stand for who she wanted to be, separate from guys and crappy friends and pushy parents.
Kiki was scarily relatable. She wasn’t a supermodel, she remarked on how she had friends online but not in real life and she lived through Twitter. So she and I were basically twins. Sure, I’m not an opera singer (although my cousin is going to Indiana in August to study classical singing!!!), but I think we all have something we’re striving for like Kiki is aiming for singing.
Over the weekend, I had a suspiciously similar experience to Kiki when she shows up for her music camp. I went to something like an orientation weekend for students at the business school I’ll be attending come September. I felt like the odd one out, the quiet, “quirky” one. Kiki tweeted the following during that first day:
Here’s what I messaged my bestie (met through Twitter, funnily enough):
(Yes, that is exactly what I said. I bet a lot of you have also said similar things about yourself to your best friends. We should all stop!)
Kiki had to room with Brie, a Blake Lively-like girl. I had to room with a gorgeous Mexican girl who quickly made friends with a tall, blonde, beautiful Swedish girl.
Ok, so I think you get the point that Kiki came into my life right after my epic disappointment of a weekend in which I felt so out of place that I left a day early. (And then spent an hour dissecting with my therapist.) (You can see why I need a therapist in my last post on body positivity.)
I actually wish I’d read The Sound of Us before I went to the event, as what Kiki learned at camp and the personal growth she experienced over the course of the summer would have been so helpful to me, and I’m a few years older than 17!
There wasn’t a lot on the side of world-building, but I thought the characters were great. I loved how there wasn’t one “perfect” guy, and it showed that guys who you think are perfect are actually human…and also 17 and trying to figure their lives out as well. Characters that initially seemed to be stereotypes (like the Little Miss Perfect Mean Girl) took on more depth through Kiki’s eyes, and she was actually very mature and gracious…maybe even more so than I would be. I had to take a long, hard look at myself while reading this!
Yes, I was initially a little bit disappointed with the ending, as it didn’t follow the normal YA contemporary model and was rather open. But then I slapped myself out of that ridiculous mood and realised that The Sound of Us was one of the most realistic, relatable, mature and empowering contemporaries I have ever read. It would have been WRONG to end it any other way!
I recommend this to everyone who has ever felt invisible, out of place and inadequate. Kiki was so inspiring, and I’ve already ordered a physical copy of this book to serve as a reminder to myself to be who I want to be!
I went into this expecting a fairly standard YA contemporary. There is nothing wrong with the standard story, especially when you’re in the mood for something easy and predictable in that Happily Ever After kind of way. I love those kinds of stories when I need a break between fantasies and dystopias. They’re great.
But that’s not what The Sound of Us was.
The Sound of Us was about Kiki. Not Kiki and a guy (or girl). Ok, yes, there was a guy in there, but this book was about Kiki. Kiki figuring out who she was. Kiki learning to own who she was. Kiki taking a stand for who she wanted to be, separate from guys and crappy friends and pushy parents.
Kiki was scarily relatable. She wasn’t a supermodel, she remarked on how she had friends online but not in real life and she lived through Twitter. So she and I were basically twins. Sure, I’m not an opera singer (although my cousin is going to Indiana in August to study classical singing!!!), but I think we all have something we’re striving for like Kiki is aiming for singing.
Over the weekend, I had a suspiciously similar experience to Kiki when she shows up for her music camp. I went to something like an orientation weekend for students at the business school I’ll be attending come September. I felt like the odd one out, the quiet, “quirky” one. Kiki tweeted the following during that first day:
Opera singers are REALLY attractive people, guys. I feel like I’m a walking, talking, singing “before” picture.
Here’s what I messaged my bestie (met through Twitter, funnily enough):
I'm pretty sure I'm the ugliest girl here. It's like Miss Universe, and I'm the DUFF.
Except I have no friends.
So DUFG.
No one wants to sit next to me.
(Yes, that is exactly what I said. I bet a lot of you have also said similar things about yourself to your best friends. We should all stop!)
Kiki had to room with Brie, a Blake Lively-like girl. I had to room with a gorgeous Mexican girl who quickly made friends with a tall, blonde, beautiful Swedish girl.
Ok, so I think you get the point that Kiki came into my life right after my epic disappointment of a weekend in which I felt so out of place that I left a day early. (And then spent an hour dissecting with my therapist.) (You can see why I need a therapist in my last post on body positivity.)
I actually wish I’d read The Sound of Us before I went to the event, as what Kiki learned at camp and the personal growth she experienced over the course of the summer would have been so helpful to me, and I’m a few years older than 17!
There wasn’t a lot on the side of world-building, but I thought the characters were great. I loved how there wasn’t one “perfect” guy, and it showed that guys who you think are perfect are actually human…and also 17 and trying to figure their lives out as well. Characters that initially seemed to be stereotypes (like the Little Miss Perfect Mean Girl) took on more depth through Kiki’s eyes, and she was actually very mature and gracious…maybe even more so than I would be. I had to take a long, hard look at myself while reading this!
Yes, I was initially a little bit disappointed with the ending, as it didn’t follow the normal YA contemporary model and was rather open. But then I slapped myself out of that ridiculous mood and realised that The Sound of Us was one of the most realistic, relatable, mature and empowering contemporaries I have ever read. It would have been WRONG to end it any other way!
I recommend this to everyone who has ever felt invisible, out of place and inadequate. Kiki was so inspiring, and I’ve already ordered a physical copy of this book to serve as a reminder to myself to be who I want to be!
See this review in its natural environment, Dani Reviews Things.
bookishly_faith's review
3.0
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review (Thanks!)
I think my rating is more 3.5 stars. I really did like this book but about halfway through, I got really fed up with Kiki's inner dialogue (aka angst) about Jack. This novel kind of reminds me of [b:All the Feels|29222548|All the Feels|Danika Stone|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1463478745s/29222548.jpg|45844743], except [b:The Sound of Us|27779285|The Sound of Us|Julie Hammerle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1462217742s/27779285.jpg|47756646] was a bit more well-rounded because it didn't focus solely on the fandom.
This book is about Kiki, a girl who is going to a summer camp to compete for an opera scholarship. She wants to convince to her parents that opera is what she wants to do with her life and prove that she isn't a quitter like her older sister, who went to the school and now is unemployed. Kiki is also an avid fan of Project Earth and is inspired by her favourite character from the show, Dana. While at this camp, Kiki meets a guy who she jams with and they instantly connect. But there is a mole in the camp who will kick someone out of the running for the scholarships for not following the rules. Jamming out to rock songs instead of working on opera songs could get Kiki kicked out of camp. This book follows Kiki's struggles with finding out what her passion really is, working hard at opera camp and accepting herself.
I really liked that this book was about opera. I've never read a book where someone wants to have a career in opera. It was interesting to see how someone learns opera music and what a person studying music needs to learn to get a career in it. Sure, this book could have gone a little bit deeper, but overall, I was satisfied about what I learned about opera in [b:The Sound of Us|27779285|The Sound of Us|Julie Hammerle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1462217742s/27779285.jpg|47756646].
The plot of this book was really interesting. It wasn't predictable at all. I find that contemporaries can really be predictable sometimes but this one wasn't the case. This novel was always fast paced and never boring. I liked how the author used the opera camp to get Kiki to grow while it also created a lot of delicious drama. (What can I say, I like drama in my contemporary books?) Sometimes I felt that the main character's actions were a tiny bit more bold that I expected from her, but nonetheless, I think they were all realistic.
I also really liked the main character of this book, Kiki. She starts off really insecure and shy and as the book goes on, you get to see her flourish when she finds friends and discovers what she wants. Kiki was super relatable because of her obsession with Project Earth. I liked when she would be like, I need to Tweet this. Or when she would ask herself what her favourite character would do.
At first, I liked the character of Jack, aka the love interest. He seemed really compatible with Kiki and Kiki was really happy and acted like herself with him. But once we got to the middle of the book, I started to get annoyed with how much of Kiki's thoughts this guy was taking. After that, I realized how insta-love their relationship was and I just got really angry with Jack by the end of this book. The ending with them made me pretty angry and was just a little bit too ambiguous for my taste. In the end, Kiki kind of realizes she shouldn't need a guy this much, but it took forever for her to get to a point of confidence. Now, don't get me wrong, I know that this book is to have romance, but in 2016, I kind of expect there to be more themes in YA contemporary about the independence of women.
All in all, this book was an engaging and fun read. Sure I was a little annoyed with Kiki's obsession with Jack, but this book was really unique and dramatic. I liked the friendship themes and the idea of finding yourself. I liked that it was kind of about college, which is a plot point that I like seeing in books. It was a good contemporary, but expect a bit of heavy romance-angst while reading.
I think my rating is more 3.5 stars. I really did like this book but about halfway through, I got really fed up with Kiki's inner dialogue (aka angst) about Jack. This novel kind of reminds me of [b:All the Feels|29222548|All the Feels|Danika Stone|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1463478745s/29222548.jpg|45844743], except [b:The Sound of Us|27779285|The Sound of Us|Julie Hammerle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1462217742s/27779285.jpg|47756646] was a bit more well-rounded because it didn't focus solely on the fandom.
This book is about Kiki, a girl who is going to a summer camp to compete for an opera scholarship. She wants to convince to her parents that opera is what she wants to do with her life and prove that she isn't a quitter like her older sister, who went to the school and now is unemployed. Kiki is also an avid fan of Project Earth and is inspired by her favourite character from the show, Dana. While at this camp, Kiki meets a guy who she jams with and they instantly connect. But there is a mole in the camp who will kick someone out of the running for the scholarships for not following the rules. Jamming out to rock songs instead of working on opera songs could get Kiki kicked out of camp. This book follows Kiki's struggles with finding out what her passion really is, working hard at opera camp and accepting herself.
I really liked that this book was about opera. I've never read a book where someone wants to have a career in opera. It was interesting to see how someone learns opera music and what a person studying music needs to learn to get a career in it. Sure, this book could have gone a little bit deeper, but overall, I was satisfied about what I learned about opera in [b:The Sound of Us|27779285|The Sound of Us|Julie Hammerle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1462217742s/27779285.jpg|47756646].
The plot of this book was really interesting. It wasn't predictable at all. I find that contemporaries can really be predictable sometimes but this one wasn't the case. This novel was always fast paced and never boring. I liked how the author used the opera camp to get Kiki to grow while it also created a lot of delicious drama. (What can I say, I like drama in my contemporary books?) Sometimes I felt that the main character's actions were a tiny bit more bold that I expected from her, but nonetheless, I think they were all realistic.
I also really liked the main character of this book, Kiki. She starts off really insecure and shy and as the book goes on, you get to see her flourish when she finds friends and discovers what she wants. Kiki was super relatable because of her obsession with Project Earth. I liked when she would be like, I need to Tweet this. Or when she would ask herself what her favourite character would do.
At first, I liked the character of Jack, aka the love interest. He seemed really compatible with Kiki and Kiki was really happy and acted like herself with him. But once we got to the middle of the book, I started to get annoyed with how much of Kiki's thoughts this guy was taking. After that, I realized how insta-love their relationship was and I just got really angry with Jack by the end of this book.
Spoiler
And I really don't get how Kiki sort of wanted back a spineless, cheating idiot?!All in all, this book was an engaging and fun read. Sure I was a little annoyed with Kiki's obsession with Jack, but this book was really unique and dramatic. I liked the friendship themes and the idea of finding yourself. I liked that it was kind of about college, which is a plot point that I like seeing in books. It was a good contemporary, but expect a bit of heavy romance-angst while reading.