Publisher: Simon
Pulse
Genre:
Contemporary Fiction
Page Count: 290
Source: Received
review copy from publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date:
October 18 2011
Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better?Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected.Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall....
My Review
I want to start
out by saying I know almost nothing about classical music or the
world of competitive violin playing. This did not stop me from
becoming completely absorbed in this novel. Jessica Martinez makes
the finer details very accessible for those readers who (like me) are
unfamiliar with this particular musical world.
Though there are
many, many things I loved about this novel my favourite by far was
Carmen herself. She was so authentic, so real and that girl is just
so brave! Even with all her personal flaws, I found her so admirable.
She is an incredibly complex and deep character and I just don't
think 300 pages was enough! I wanted the novel to be longer so I
could get to know more about her (I don't think this is a criticism –
I certainly don't intend it to be).
There are some heavy issues put forth in this novel. We've got intense competitions, prescription drug addiction, teenage love, over bearing parents. All tackled in just 290 pages! A difficult feat to pull off but Jessica Martinez manages it. This novel handles these issues in an appropriate way and doesn't brush off their importance. I think a lot of people (not just teens) will be able to relate to many of the themes in this novel
Virtuosity pulls you in and certain scenes will just tear you apart. The story is tragic, yet absolutely beautiful.
About the Author
Jessica was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. As a child she
played the violin, read books and climbed trees incessantly.
She went on to study English and music at Brigham Young University,
and since then has been a high school English teacher, symphony
violinist, elementary school teacher, violin teacher, and mother. She
currently live in Orlando, Florida with my husband and two children.
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