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A review by neuroupsurgent
All Together Now by Hope Larson
4.0
Band dynamics!
Okay, so I read this without having read All Summer Long, whoops, so I am missing some context. That said—
I appreciate the story’s intended truth, as provided by Bina’s mom. Honor your own boundaries and wait to do a thing until you’re truly ready, and on your own terms, whether it’s debuting your music or going along with it when your bff wants to be your boyfriend. It’s an act of strength to be selective about the opportunities you pursue! It is your right to say no when you’re unsure, even to your bestie, even when it’ll upset them, even when they’re a boy! This story could not have existed in the dark ages (ha) when I was a tween (and needed it most), so I appreciate that and the cultural shifts that allow for it.
Unfortunately, the way songwriting/authorship issue shook out undermined the greater takeaway: playing a song whose melody and lyrics you didn’t write absolutely calls for informed consent from the songwriter, no matter how much arranging you did on the song, and here there was a clear violation as the songwriter wasn’t informed and couldn’t consent. This is made worse by the fact that the band intentionally parts ways with the songwriter before playing her material without permission.
A few tweaks to the dialogue and the book could’ve treated the issue with neutrality if it seemed too capitalistic to apply creative property issues to a story about a middle school band. Instead, the narrative attitude comes across as victim blaming. Chronologically, Bina is: portrayed as irrational—bestial!?!!—for being upset (hissing cat, striking snake, howling…dog? wolf?), told that the song wasn’t personal enough to protect it from being stolen (and no, the “I didn’t mean it’s your fault” moment of character dialogue doesn’t cover the narrative’s butt for including that dialogue or any of the following); described as “psycho” for shutting down the performance; blamed again for her own humiliation, which arguably wasn’t about the “scene,” but about being kicked out of a band that went on to steal her song; shown thinking she wrecked her whole life and outright calling herself a “crazy girl;” shown apologizing for defending her boundary and rewarding the band by handing them a gig AND creating their flyers; given a joke-check as thanks and shown treasuring it; called a “B” in the band’s new, original song (but they love her anyway? wow thanks?); and shown to say she guesses she IS a “B,” and not just because her name starts with B.
Compounded by Darcy’s earlier violations of Bina’s boundaries leading up to the band split, this is some BS even before you even consider that Bina and her mother and brother are the only characters of color in the book. Taking into account the racial dynamics, the more relentless message of this book is that to get out of a toxic friendship with a white girl, you have to let her and her “culturally oppressed” white boyfriend violate your boundaries, steal your creations, shoulder the blame, reward them for it, and be grateful—even as they continue to treat you like crap.
A woman of color would’ve written a different story for Bina. I’m gonna go look for her.
Let’s keep working on shifting this culture.
Okay, so I read this without having read All Summer Long, whoops, so I am missing some context. That said—
I appreciate the story’s intended truth, as provided by Bina’s mom. Honor your own boundaries and wait to do a thing until you’re truly ready, and on your own terms, whether it’s debuting your music or going along with it when your bff wants to be your boyfriend. It’s an act of strength to be selective about the opportunities you pursue! It is your right to say no when you’re unsure, even to your bestie, even when it’ll upset them, even when they’re a boy! This story could not have existed in the dark ages (ha) when I was a tween (and needed it most), so I appreciate that and the cultural shifts that allow for it.
Unfortunately, the way songwriting/authorship issue shook out undermined the greater takeaway: playing a song whose melody and lyrics you didn’t write absolutely calls for informed consent from the songwriter, no matter how much arranging you did on the song, and here there was a clear violation as the songwriter wasn’t informed and couldn’t consent. This is made worse by the fact that the band intentionally parts ways with the songwriter before playing her material without permission.
A few tweaks to the dialogue and the book could’ve treated the issue with neutrality if it seemed too capitalistic to apply creative property issues to a story about a middle school band. Instead, the narrative attitude comes across as victim blaming. Chronologically, Bina is: portrayed as irrational—bestial!?!!—for being upset (hissing cat, striking snake, howling…dog? wolf?), told that the song wasn’t personal enough to protect it from being stolen (and no, the “I didn’t mean it’s your fault” moment of character dialogue doesn’t cover the narrative’s butt for including that dialogue or any of the following); described as “psycho” for shutting down the performance; blamed again for her own humiliation, which arguably wasn’t about the “scene,” but about being kicked out of a band that went on to steal her song; shown thinking she wrecked her whole life and outright calling herself a “crazy girl;” shown apologizing for defending her boundary and rewarding the band by handing them a gig AND creating their flyers; given a joke-check as thanks and shown treasuring it; called a “B” in the band’s new, original song (but they love her anyway? wow thanks?); and shown to say she guesses she IS a “B,” and not just because her name starts with B.
Compounded by Darcy’s earlier violations of Bina’s boundaries leading up to the band split, this is some BS even before you even consider that Bina and her mother and brother are the only characters of color in the book. Taking into account the racial dynamics, the more relentless message of this book is that to get out of a toxic friendship with a white girl, you have to let her and her “culturally oppressed” white boyfriend violate your boundaries, steal your creations, shoulder the blame, reward them for it, and be grateful—even as they continue to treat you like crap.
A woman of color would’ve written a different story for Bina. I’m gonna go look for her.
Let’s keep working on shifting this culture.