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A review by jenbsbooks
A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser
3.25
I liked this ... didn't love it. It is YA, and I wonder if I would have been more taken in during my younger years. It does a good job of showing a side of life that (hopefully/luckily) many kids don't have any idea about ... homelessness.
I had picked up a physical copy at a library sale - it was a "beehive award" (Children's Literature Association of Utah) nominee. I saw it had high ratings on Goodreads. I was able to snag the audio and Kindle copies from my library. As with most recent publications, there isn't a Table of Contents in the physical copy (this leaves it lacking in my opinion). The Kindle and audio both had a complete TOC, showing how the book was divided into days, and then alternating between the POV of June and Tyrell. Several switches/chapters for each day. Originally each day (Sep30, Oct 1-8, then a jump to Oct 22-26) ... the whole book taking place in under a month. The individual chapters had running chronological chapter labels as well as the POV, which IS appreciated, makes it easier to switch between formats and locate my place. 72 chapters in all.
With this whole thing taking place in less than 30 days ... I just wondered a little about the fast friendships formed so quickly and completely. I guess that can happen, especially under stressful circumstances, but still I wasn't sure I bought it. Even more suspect was Tyrell, never having ever played an instrument or known how to read music, being able to play a song, no matter how simple, that quickly. Even on the piano ... much less a violin!
The title ties in nicely. While this wasn't specifically about refugees, one of the families featured, the mother spoke Cantonese, not English (which added to the struggle). Having recently read a book about refugees, I was making some mental comparisons between the stories and situations.
Completely clean - no language or sex or violence.
I had picked up a physical copy at a library sale - it was a "beehive award" (Children's Literature Association of Utah) nominee. I saw it had high ratings on Goodreads. I was able to snag the audio and Kindle copies from my library. As with most recent publications, there isn't a Table of Contents in the physical copy (this leaves it lacking in my opinion). The Kindle and audio both had a complete TOC, showing how the book was divided into days, and then alternating between the POV of June and Tyrell. Several switches/chapters for each day. Originally each day (Sep30, Oct 1-8, then a jump to Oct 22-26) ... the whole book taking place in under a month. The individual chapters had running chronological chapter labels as well as the POV, which IS appreciated, makes it easier to switch between formats and locate my place. 72 chapters in all.
With this whole thing taking place in less than 30 days ... I just wondered a little about the fast friendships formed so quickly and completely. I guess that can happen, especially under stressful circumstances, but still I wasn't sure I bought it. Even more suspect was Tyrell, never having ever played an instrument or known how to read music, being able to play a song, no matter how simple, that quickly. Even on the piano ... much less a violin!
The title ties in nicely. While this wasn't specifically about refugees, one of the families featured, the mother spoke Cantonese, not English (which added to the struggle). Having recently read a book about refugees, I was making some mental comparisons between the stories and situations.
Completely clean - no language or sex or violence.