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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
Such a beautiful story of how we need to open our minds and hearts to think of others. The world is changing and I hope that it's for the better. This book encourages me that it is.
i really enjoyed this story of gabe, his neighbor john, and his local radio show, 'beautiful music for ugly children.' funny & moving. i loved cronn-mills' other book as well. i hope she writes a million books.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gut Instinct - 5
Character - 5
Believability - 4
Uniqueness - 4.5
Writing Style - 4.5
Excitement Factor - 3.5
Story Line - 4.5
Title Relevance - 5
Artwork Relevance - 5
Overall - 4.56
Character - 5
Believability - 4
Uniqueness - 4.5
Writing Style - 4.5
Excitement Factor - 3.5
Story Line - 4.5
Title Relevance - 5
Artwork Relevance - 5
Overall - 4.56
It's a shame the cover of this book is so ugly, because I almost didn't read it. Am I glad I picked it up, though - it quickly scored a spot in my list of favourite books of all time. It's a touching story about Gabe who has been unfortunate enough to be born as Elizabeth. Despite my big interest in LGBT literature, this is the first book I've read with a trans protagonist, and I loved it. Gabe is a music geek and radio DJ, and the book was surprisingly relatable. I was afraid it would be dark and gloomy, but it's definitely not.
I don't know what more to say, I just loved this book through and through. It made me laugh and it made me cry and I just loved it.
I don't know what more to say, I just loved this book through and through. It made me laugh and it made me cry and I just loved it.
Liz has finally decided to be who she really is, or rather who he really is. Liz has always felt like a boy and she has finally decided to transition to Gabe. Gabe learns more about himself and how it feels to be who he truly is. This book connects through music and Gabe's awesome new radio career. However, it also highlights the many challenges that people who are transitioning must overcome.
This was a great insightful book.
This was a great insightful book.
3.5 stars, really. I am resisting the urge to give it 4 or 5 stars because it would only be in comparison to the other horrible clunkers I (tried to) read recently, [b:I am J|8140535|I am J|Cris Beam|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1305820681s/8140535.jpg|12936997] and [b:Parrotfish|522782|Parrotfish|Ellen Wittlinger|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348477148s/522782.jpg|510662]. I didn't make it more than ten pages into either of those books, and they happen to be Beautiful Music's main competition in the trans subset of YA Issue Books.
Beautiful Music for Ugly Children builds some lovable characters and interesting, complicated relationships. Cronn-Mills doesn't spend much time with Gabe's parents, but their reactions are contradictory, pained, confused, and loving, in a way that feels realistic. Gabe and Paige's relationship explores all kinds of new territory for them and resists resolution. Gabe and John, Gabe and Mara, John and Gabe's family---I could go on, but they all resist easy categories and they're all interesting.
The issues Gabe runs into around being trans are handled very well (yay!!), even if it dips into melodrama sometimes. Beautiful Music for Ugly Children mostly succeeds at being a book about a person who has other interests and other things going on in his life, and also happens to be trans. I hope other books will do it even better in the future, but this is, so far, the cream of the crop.
Beautiful Music for Ugly Children builds some lovable characters and interesting, complicated relationships. Cronn-Mills doesn't spend much time with Gabe's parents, but their reactions are contradictory, pained, confused, and loving, in a way that feels realistic. Gabe and Paige's relationship explores all kinds of new territory for them and resists resolution. Gabe and John, Gabe and Mara, John and Gabe's family---I could go on, but they all resist easy categories and they're all interesting.
The issues Gabe runs into around being trans are handled very well (yay!!), even if it dips into melodrama sometimes. Beautiful Music for Ugly Children mostly succeeds at being a book about a person who has other interests and other things going on in his life, and also happens to be trans. I hope other books will do it even better in the future, but this is, so far, the cream of the crop.
On one hand, it's an important book, because there are still so few teen novels with transgender protagonists. On the other hand, the story is really just good, not great. Gabe faces a lot of the same obstacles as real trans teens do, and it's good to see that struggle depicted, but the book often read to me as a cis person writing a trans person, not as a uniquely Gabe experience.
I'm so ecstatic that I picked this up on a whim. This may have a slowish start but STICK WITH IT. I've laughed, cried, listened to a lot of Elvis and fallen in love with Gabe all in the 24 hours it took me to read this. This is an amazing novel, Cronn-Mills has really written something special.
Gabe is a memorable Midwest kid with dreams of getting out of dodge and moving on to the next big thing. He loves music more than anything, and it just so happens his sweet next-door-neighbor, an older man named John, has the in with public access radio. Gabe starts his own show, the late night, sometimes provocative Beautiful Music for Ugly Children.
With the help of Gabe's best friend, his show gains popularity among the younger crowd. But Gabe's been worried from day one that the people from school will figure out who he is -- he takes the steps to start transitioning into life as Gabe just before the book starts. He came out to his family, and to his best friend, but the people at school either don't acknowledge he exists, or think of him as Elizabeth, "that dyke," and want to just pick on him. Gabe spends a lot of time in his head, figuring out how to relate to the people around him, and figure them out, since he came out to them.
When someone tips the listeners off that Gabe is "really" Elizabeth, things start getting a little darker. Gabe's caught between protecting himself, worrying about why his best friend is acting so squirrely, and the strange text messages he's getting from his long time crush. The only thing keeping him together are the remaining listeners, who call themselves the Ugly Children Brigade. Gabe asks them to do different things -- leave notes about their "A" Side and "B" side, decorate a well-known town statue, etc. Readers who enjoyed Vinyl Princess would definitely get into this sort of thing.
The real strength in this book is Gabe's voice. Kirstin Cronn-Mills has a great knack for creating memorable protagonists for us to follow -- her book The Sky Always Hears Me (and the hills don't mind) had the same kind of confrontational, honest voice. Gabe's not willing to sugar coat things, even though at times he still shows some hesitance and embarrassment. Most notably, in the scenes when he's first experiencing his Mango, and when he's having his heart-to-hearts with the best friend.
But that raw honesty came at a price. Gabe's hostility towards his best friend's sexuality, and his misogyny were both frustrating. The comments he sometimes made, the words he used -- it's hard to tell what was him dealing with his own feelings. It made it hard for me to empathize with Gabe, and I really wanted to like him. It wasn't enough to make me stop reading the book, but it worth mentioning and discussing. That hostility tainted the best friend relationship for me, and really, it felt like we're made to think she's not a good friend, or she's selfish.
The relationships are what make the drearier parts of this more bearable. John and Gabe have the best relationship. Gabe's so worried about coming out to him, but it turns out fine. Although the 'triangle' thing confused me (you'll see if you read it), you can tell how much John genuinely cares about Gabe. He just wants him to be happy, and understands that being Gabe is what makes him happy. He's encouraging and supportive of Gabe following his interests in participating in a radio contest, and has his back when threats of violence start. There are so few relationships like this that work in a way that's not exactly surrogate son or protege, and I feel like we have it nailed down well here.
I would absolutely recommend this book to people who enjoy books with a heavy music slant -- the references aren't over-the-top, and the music mentioned is a good enough mix that you can really feel the appreciation Gabe has for music in general, not just a few choice genres. Gabe's a memorable kid, above all else.
With the help of Gabe's best friend, his show gains popularity among the younger crowd. But Gabe's been worried from day one that the people from school will figure out who he is -- he takes the steps to start transitioning into life as Gabe just before the book starts. He came out to his family, and to his best friend, but the people at school either don't acknowledge he exists, or think of him as Elizabeth, "that dyke," and want to just pick on him. Gabe spends a lot of time in his head, figuring out how to relate to the people around him, and figure them out, since he came out to them.
When someone tips the listeners off that Gabe is "really" Elizabeth, things start getting a little darker. Gabe's caught between protecting himself, worrying about why his best friend is acting so squirrely, and the strange text messages he's getting from his long time crush. The only thing keeping him together are the remaining listeners, who call themselves the Ugly Children Brigade. Gabe asks them to do different things -- leave notes about their "A" Side and "B" side, decorate a well-known town statue, etc. Readers who enjoyed Vinyl Princess would definitely get into this sort of thing.
The real strength in this book is Gabe's voice. Kirstin Cronn-Mills has a great knack for creating memorable protagonists for us to follow -- her book The Sky Always Hears Me (and the hills don't mind) had the same kind of confrontational, honest voice. Gabe's not willing to sugar coat things, even though at times he still shows some hesitance and embarrassment. Most notably, in the scenes when he's first experiencing his Mango, and when he's having his heart-to-hearts with the best friend.
But that raw honesty came at a price. Gabe's hostility towards his best friend's sexuality, and his misogyny were both frustrating. The comments he sometimes made, the words he used -- it's hard to tell what was him dealing with his own feelings. It made it hard for me to empathize with Gabe, and I really wanted to like him. It wasn't enough to make me stop reading the book, but it worth mentioning and discussing. That hostility tainted the best friend relationship for me, and really, it felt like we're made to think she's not a good friend, or she's selfish.
The relationships are what make the drearier parts of this more bearable. John and Gabe have the best relationship. Gabe's so worried about coming out to him, but it turns out fine. Although the 'triangle' thing confused me (you'll see if you read it), you can tell how much John genuinely cares about Gabe. He just wants him to be happy, and understands that being Gabe is what makes him happy. He's encouraging and supportive of Gabe following his interests in participating in a radio contest, and has his back when threats of violence start. There are so few relationships like this that work in a way that's not exactly surrogate son or protege, and I feel like we have it nailed down well here.
I would absolutely recommend this book to people who enjoy books with a heavy music slant -- the references aren't over-the-top, and the music mentioned is a good enough mix that you can really feel the appreciation Gabe has for music in general, not just a few choice genres. Gabe's a memorable kid, above all else.