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felishacb 's review for:
August Lane
by Regina Black
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
August Lane has a lot of heart, and Regina Black weaves such great stories. August is the daughter of a Black country music singer who abandoned her with her grandma she August was a child in order to pursue her career. (There's more going on there and the grief is felt throughout the story. Content note for parental abandonment in multiple ways, including forced pregnancy.)
August meets Lucas after moving to a new high school, and they have chemistry from their first meeting. They both like country music and make a good team where August writes lyrics while Luke writes music. They are each facing their own emotional and physical struggles at home and become a safe place for the other, siphoning off time together and celebrating small moments.
When the book starts, you meet Luke who is a Black country artist who is playing bars, trying to live in recovery from alcoholism, and living off one hit song--that August co-wrote while he took all the credit.
You get to meet these two over a decade later. They're still messy, but they're older and wiser, with some of that development coming over the space of the book when they are back in each other's lives. They're still drawn to each other, and maybe they still need each other to make great music.
I love the slow burn, the quiet and attentive love. I liked the two POVs and the way the timeline was handled. It can be hard to balance, but Regina uses both techniques to enrich the story. I also loved the history she tells here to show that country music, like most music in the US and maybe this planet, has its roots in Black music and Black culture.
There is childhood trauma, childhood abuse, drugs in the home, and parental neglect of many varieties. As a childhood trauma survivor, I felt like it was handled sensitively and not drawn out in long scenes.
I'll keep reading anything Regina Black writes!
August meets Lucas after moving to a new high school, and they have chemistry from their first meeting. They both like country music and make a good team where August writes lyrics while Luke writes music. They are each facing their own emotional and physical struggles at home and become a safe place for the other, siphoning off time together and celebrating small moments.
When the book starts, you meet Luke who is a Black country artist who is playing bars, trying to live in recovery from alcoholism, and living off one hit song--that August co-wrote while he took all the credit.
You get to meet these two over a decade later. They're still messy, but they're older and wiser, with some of that development coming over the space of the book when they are back in each other's lives. They're still drawn to each other, and maybe they still need each other to make great music.
I love the slow burn, the quiet and attentive love. I liked the two POVs and the way the timeline was handled. It can be hard to balance, but Regina uses both techniques to enrich the story. I also loved the history she tells here to show that country music, like most music in the US and maybe this planet, has its roots in Black music and Black culture.
There is childhood trauma, childhood abuse, drugs in the home, and parental neglect of many varieties. As a childhood trauma survivor, I felt like it was handled sensitively and not drawn out in long scenes.
I'll keep reading anything Regina Black writes!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Violence, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Abortion
Minor: Bullying, Rape, Sexual content