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storiesandcoffee 's review for:
In Harmony
by Emma Scott
"I was too tired to make something up. Pretending to be okay was f*cking exhausting."
In Harmony is a YA/NA romance about 17-year-old Willow who is struggling to overcome the unspeakable night when her innocence was stolen, and 19-year-old Issac who is fighting demons of his own. But when Willow and Issac are cast as Ophelia and Hamlet in the town production of Hamlet, they are forced to stop hiding from their pain and face it head on, both in real life and on the stage.
“Watching you act was like looking through a doorway into another world. A place where extraordinary things happen. I got to escape by watching you. So instead of a general compliment, I want to thank you for taking me somewhere else for a couple hours. I needed it.”
I found the way Emma Scott wrote In Harmony to be so creative, as she wrote it to mirror some of the elements of Hamlet, so that not only are we watching the characters act out the play, we are also offered a deeper understanding of Shakespeare's tragedy. Much like Ophelia, Willow is basically being told what to think and how she should feel by every person in her life, especially her parents. (Talk about a toxic relationship.) And much like Hamlet, Issac's pain from losing a parent can be felt through the pages. I really enjoyed the way Emma made those connections.
“I’ve seen firsthand what privilege can do when it wants something.”
I also feel the need to praise Emma Scott for the way she handled sexual assault with care and honesty. Sometimes authors approach this topic as a plot device to add drama to a book, but they miss the mark, leaving out all the different layers of anger and pain a victim may feel. Often times I read stories where a victim meets someone to sweep them off their feet, and they are immediately healed. Or worse, sometimes rape is glorified with blurry lines and non-consent is portrayed as sexy and dominate. (I wish I were making that up, but just last month, I read a new release that did exactly that.) In Harmony is a slow burn like no other, because Emma allowed Willow to be completely ready before she went there with Issac. Through Willow, Emma demonstrated the ways a sexual assault can affect a victims mental health and well-being and some of the steps that are necessary for healing.
"Do your thing. Whatever it is."
This coming-of-age story has very little steam and does have a very young adult feel to it, but I have no doubt I will be thinking about this story for awhile.
Free on KU and recommended for fans of angsty authors like Ella Fields and Kate Stewart.
Best song to listen to while reading this book: Sweet Redemption by Ron Pope.
"At the root of all madness is an unbearable truth."
In Harmony is a YA/NA romance about 17-year-old Willow who is struggling to overcome the unspeakable night when her innocence was stolen, and 19-year-old Issac who is fighting demons of his own. But when Willow and Issac are cast as Ophelia and Hamlet in the town production of Hamlet, they are forced to stop hiding from their pain and face it head on, both in real life and on the stage.
“Watching you act was like looking through a doorway into another world. A place where extraordinary things happen. I got to escape by watching you. So instead of a general compliment, I want to thank you for taking me somewhere else for a couple hours. I needed it.”
I found the way Emma Scott wrote In Harmony to be so creative, as she wrote it to mirror some of the elements of Hamlet, so that not only are we watching the characters act out the play, we are also offered a deeper understanding of Shakespeare's tragedy. Much like Ophelia, Willow is basically being told what to think and how she should feel by every person in her life, especially her parents. (Talk about a toxic relationship.) And much like Hamlet, Issac's pain from losing a parent can be felt through the pages. I really enjoyed the way Emma made those connections.
“I’ve seen firsthand what privilege can do when it wants something.”
I also feel the need to praise Emma Scott for the way she handled sexual assault with care and honesty. Sometimes authors approach this topic as a plot device to add drama to a book, but they miss the mark, leaving out all the different layers of anger and pain a victim may feel. Often times I read stories where a victim meets someone to sweep them off their feet, and they are immediately healed. Or worse, sometimes rape is glorified with blurry lines and non-consent is portrayed as sexy and dominate. (I wish I were making that up, but just last month, I read a new release that did exactly that.) In Harmony is a slow burn like no other, because Emma allowed Willow to be completely ready before she went there with Issac. Through Willow, Emma demonstrated the ways a sexual assault can affect a victims mental health and well-being and some of the steps that are necessary for healing.
"Do your thing. Whatever it is."
This coming-of-age story has very little steam and does have a very young adult feel to it, but I have no doubt I will be thinking about this story for awhile.
Free on KU and recommended for fans of angsty authors like Ella Fields and Kate Stewart.
Best song to listen to while reading this book: Sweet Redemption by Ron Pope.
"At the root of all madness is an unbearable truth."