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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5⭐️ I enjoyed this book but some parts got a bit repetitive, and I had to suspend my disbelief a few times. also I called the plot twist from the beginning!!!
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was really engaging. Racism parts were hard to read because they were realistic.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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
Audio version has a great note from the author at the end....don't miss it!
I was REALLY excited about this one. A book about a black violinist by a black violinist!! I've never related more to a story (the only difference is that Ray was actually good and liked to practice ha). Having played the violin for 16+ years, I really connected to the musicality of the book and I completely understood how lonely it feels often being the sole black violinist, and (if lucky) one of the few black kids, in orchestra.
That's why it makes me sad to rate this book just 3 stars. The premise had lots of potential but the writing and character development were just not there for me. None of the characters felt fleshed out and the dialogue was so choppy. The mystery aspect lasted maybe 40 pages. The rest of the book was backstory, so this was really more of a coming of age story. It also strangely read like a memoir, and after reading the acknowledgement section, it turns out the majority of the events in the story actually happened to the author (so, I do hope he comes out with a memoir in the future-- would totally read that). Overall though, it wasn't terrible and it's worth giving this book a try, see if you like it. I'll be on the lookout for his future novels.
That's why it makes me sad to rate this book just 3 stars. The premise had lots of potential but the writing and character development were just not there for me. None of the characters felt fleshed out and the dialogue was so choppy. The mystery aspect lasted maybe 40 pages. The rest of the book was backstory, so this was really more of a coming of age story. It also strangely read like a memoir, and after reading the acknowledgement section, it turns out the majority of the events in the story actually happened to the author (so, I do hope he comes out with a memoir in the future-- would totally read that). Overall though, it wasn't terrible and it's worth giving this book a try, see if you like it. I'll be on the lookout for his future novels.
Had me hooked but minus one star because I correctly guessed who it was early on and the ending was a bit of a drag once I confirmed my suspicions.