Young adult contemporary. Read it because I read a middle-grade book by the same author earlier in the year and really liked it. Focused on a teen girl and her relationship with her traumatized, addicted, and likely mentally ill mother. It captures something real and overwhelming and painful about that experience, and captures it well. I also enjoyed her relationships with her long-time male bestie and the girl she falls for, which provide both a welcome counterpoint of feeling for the reader and the basis within the story for her resilience. She is shown to be a sufficiently skilled pianist to get an audition at a major performing arts college in New York, and something about how her music is incorporated into the story feels a little bit off, but I can’t quite pinpoint what. Anyway, the book is pretty good, though definitely calibrate your expectations for YA contemporary.
Originally posted by Scott on Goodreads.