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A review by bluebeereads
Noteworthy by Riley Redgate
4.0
Quite The Novel Idea ~ Words from the Clouds
I have to admit, I kind of feel stupid now. Because when this author's debut was released, it had a lot of positive buzz, and it still does, but I never picked it up. For some reason. Which right now completely escapes me. Because honestly, I should have read it already. No doubt, upon finishing Noteworthy, I am certain I will push it up on my endless TBR and try to actually fix that mistake by the end of the year. Because Noteworthy was an extremely enjoyable and wonderfully diverse read that left me with a big, satisfied smile on my face. I hear that's a positive reaction to a book.
Noteworthy is about Jordan Sun, who's at the start of her junior year at Kensington Blain Boarding School for Performing Arts. As an Alto 2, she struggles to get parts in plays. Voices like hers aren't very popular in the musical theatre world so she's not very surprised when she's not chosen for the fall musical for the third year in a row. Then a spot opens up in the school's most worshiped, revered... and all-male a cappella group the Sharpshooters. Desperate to prove herself, Jordan transforms herself into a boy and auditions for them, not really imagining how much her life will change once she actually gets in.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. Not just because of the music theme and the a cappella stuff, but also because of the diversity. Jordan's self-discovery and the exploration of gender are handled with such care and respect in this book and it's executed beautifully. I feel like I should mention that right off the bat because it's one of the best things in this book and it's worth reading just for that. But obviously there's a lot more to enjoy than just that. I just wanted to get that out of the way first.
The writing was also really my style. It was very easy and quick to read but still had lots of depth to it. And banter! So much lovely banter. The characters really make this book so much more wonderful and I loved the friendship between the Sharpshooters. Though I would've loved to get to know some of them better? I feel like we only got to know some of them a bit better and the others just enough to make them somewhat developed. Don't get me wrong, none of them were flat pancakes. I just wanted to get to know them better because all the characters were all so unique and likable that I wanted more of them. I want each of them to have their own book, even. Because I loved Trav, Nihal, Isaac, Mama, Jon Cox, Eric and Marcus. All of them. I also loved our MC Jordan. I found myself relating to her sometimes too. Which is always nice, of course.
So why am I not giving it 5 stars? Well... It's hard to pinpoint an exact reason? Except maybe that towards the end I found it... wrapping up a bit too easily? To say it without spoilers. I just can't get myself to say more than that "I really enjoyed it". I wish I could say I loved the pants off this book, but I just didn't. I just... really enjoyed it a lot. Though I wish I loved it.
All in all, Noteworthy is a beautifully diverse book about friendship, self-discovery and music. I highly recommend it if you're a YA Contemporary fan but also if you like movies like Pitch Perfect. Obviously. You know that comparison was coming. Now go forth and read.
I have to admit, I kind of feel stupid now. Because when this author's debut was released, it had a lot of positive buzz, and it still does, but I never picked it up. For some reason. Which right now completely escapes me. Because honestly, I should have read it already. No doubt, upon finishing Noteworthy, I am certain I will push it up on my endless TBR and try to actually fix that mistake by the end of the year. Because Noteworthy was an extremely enjoyable and wonderfully diverse read that left me with a big, satisfied smile on my face. I hear that's a positive reaction to a book.
Noteworthy is about Jordan Sun, who's at the start of her junior year at Kensington Blain Boarding School for Performing Arts. As an Alto 2, she struggles to get parts in plays. Voices like hers aren't very popular in the musical theatre world so she's not very surprised when she's not chosen for the fall musical for the third year in a row. Then a spot opens up in the school's most worshiped, revered... and all-male a cappella group the Sharpshooters. Desperate to prove herself, Jordan transforms herself into a boy and auditions for them, not really imagining how much her life will change once she actually gets in.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. Not just because of the music theme and the a cappella stuff, but also because of the diversity. Jordan's self-discovery and the exploration of gender are handled with such care and respect in this book and it's executed beautifully. I feel like I should mention that right off the bat because it's one of the best things in this book and it's worth reading just for that. But obviously there's a lot more to enjoy than just that. I just wanted to get that out of the way first.
The writing was also really my style. It was very easy and quick to read but still had lots of depth to it. And banter! So much lovely banter. The characters really make this book so much more wonderful and I loved the friendship between the Sharpshooters. Though I would've loved to get to know some of them better? I feel like we only got to know some of them a bit better and the others just enough to make them somewhat developed. Don't get me wrong, none of them were flat pancakes. I just wanted to get to know them better because all the characters were all so unique and likable that I wanted more of them. I want each of them to have their own book, even. Because I loved Trav, Nihal, Isaac, Mama, Jon Cox, Eric and Marcus. All of them. I also loved our MC Jordan. I found myself relating to her sometimes too. Which is always nice, of course.
So why am I not giving it 5 stars? Well... It's hard to pinpoint an exact reason? Except maybe that towards the end I found it... wrapping up a bit too easily? To say it without spoilers. I just can't get myself to say more than that "I really enjoyed it". I wish I could say I loved the pants off this book, but I just didn't. I just... really enjoyed it a lot. Though I wish I loved it.
All in all, Noteworthy is a beautifully diverse book about friendship, self-discovery and music. I highly recommend it if you're a YA Contemporary fan but also if you like movies like Pitch Perfect. Obviously. You know that comparison was coming. Now go forth and read.