This review is for Night Music, By Jenn Marie Thorne. Published by Penguin Teen. I would consider it a young adult, contemporary romance. The book length is approximately 400 pages. The expected publication date is March 19, 2019.
*** I received an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of this book from a giveaway on Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. ***
I give this book a 5/5 Star rating.
Key thoughts: This book is Amazing. Wonderful. Beautiful. Gut-wrenching. Perfection. Prepare to pull an all-nighter with this page-turner and have a box of tissues handy!!! I could not put it down even as tears blurred my vision and made reading difficult.
Review:
NIGHT MUSIC is a coming of age story about 17-year-olds, Ruby Chertok, and Oscar Bell. Ruby has grown up in a very white, influential family of musical geniuses but has always felt her life was underwhelming and almost as if she was an afterthought in her family. Oscar is a musical genius in his own right and comes from a black, suburban, well-off home with loving parents and siblings. Oscar travels to New York to study under Ruby’s father and attend the summer music program. He moves into the apartment in the basement of their home and dives right into his work, much to the dismay of Ruby.
Ruby is taking the summer off from everything music and is branching out to look for her niche. Oscar’s presence completely throws a wrench in her plans. Romance was not in the plans for either of them when the summer started, but there is an undeniable attraction that is too hard for them to ignore.
This story explores the stereotypes of color and wealth. It also digs down and shows how expectations and control expressed by the adults affect the psyche of young, impressionable teenagers. Are the choices the adults are making done in respect to helping Ruby and Oscar achieve their goals or is it more for implied diversity and financial gain that could be achieved for the school?
The quirky, awkwardness of teenagers finding their first true love and the struggle to be who they want to be will make your heart ache as well as cheer for Ruby and Oscar. The struggles Ruby goes through will have you guessing up until the end to see what path she decides to take.
I hope you will check out this book and that you enjoy reading this story as much as I did. After you read it, let me know what you think!