Tag: Music

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YA Review: Gorgeous Gruesome Faces

Title: Gorgeous Gruesome Faces
Author: Linda Cheng
Edition: Paperback
Rating: 4/5

YA Review: Gorgeous Gruesome Faces

Confession time: I love ‘behind the scenes in the music business’ stories. Think Daisy Jones and the Six, Coyote Ugly, Espedair Street or Almost Famous. I even loved Julie and the Phantoms. I don’t know what it is about catching a glimpse behind the curtain at the off-stage antics and work ethic of band members, but I’m hooked.

So how could I resist Gorgeous Gruesome Faces, which promised dark secrets, female rivalries, personality clashes, and the gruelling selection process for a K-Pop band? Sign me up!

And the book delivered. From the flashbacks to narrator Sunny’s former band, a disastrous love triangle and the death of a band-mate, to the competition to become part of a new K-Pop sensation, everything I was looking for was there, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

What I wasn’t expecting was the dark twist, and the genuinely unsettling psychological horror of the present-day storyline. This element of the story builds slowly, with flashbacks introducing the theme, and gradually creeps into the narrator’s experiences as she works to win her place in the band. I’m not usually a horror fan, but this had me gasping, turning pages late into the night, and desperately trying to work out what was going on.

The high-stakes, life-changing competition and the clever psychological storyline work so well together, and I couldn’t put the book down. Interesting characters, burning rivalries, and deadly mistakes come together to produce an un-put-downable novel. The end was not the resolution I had been expecting when I opened the book, but it is definitely a satisfying ending for the narrator. Recommended if you’re looking for a dark twist on the K-Pop celebrity dream.

Have you read Gorgeous Gruesome Faces? What did you think of Sunny’s story? Did you guess what was happening? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

YA review: Gorgeous Gruesome Faces cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: The Songs You’ve Never Heard

Title: The Songs You’ve Never Heard
Author: Becky Jerams and Ellie Wyatt
Edition: Paperback
Rating: 5/5

How much did I love this book? Just thinking about it is making me smile. A musical in book form is such a clever idea, and the authors have created a warm, emotional story accompanied by an album of the original music from the novel. I loved the entire experience!

Meg McCarthy is thoroughly sick of being the younger sister to musical superstar Caspar, especially when he’s home for the summer, trying and failing to write songs for his second album. Every conversation seems to revolve around her famous brother – at home, at school, and at her embarrassing summer job serving frozen yoghurt to tourists. She’s learned not to expect genuine friendship – everyone wants to use her to get close to Caspar. So when she meets aspiring singer-songwriter Alana at work, she expects more of the same.

But Meg has a secret. She’s been writing and recording her own songs for years, and keeping them hidden from everyone around her. The only person she shares them with is an online contact, but she’s too scared to admit to him who she is in real life. When Alana convinces her to share her music, the two girls begin working together, pooling their talents and writing songs as a duo. Meg isn’t ready to share their songs, and when their work is leaked online she finds herself overwhelmed as she tries to manage the consequences.

Meg is a highly relatable character. She’s used to living in the shadow of a successful older brother, and she has understandably had enough of trying to be friends with people who only want access to him. Her attitude might be aggressive, but I completely understood her need to be seen as an individual, and not an extension of Caspar’s identity. When she meets Alana – larger than life, bubbly, open and enthusiastic – she struggles to understand her new colleague. Their developing connection was a joy to read, and I loved following their journey as they shared their music and friendship.

This book plunged me deep into Meg’s life, and immersed me in her experiences and feelings. I was completely hooked, and invested in her hopes, dreams, and disasters. Her relationship with her brother felt real and raw, and her musical partnership with Alana was joyful and exciting. Half way through the book I realised that I needed to hear the songs, rather than simply reading the lyrics, and I downloaded the album. Hearing Caspar sing for the first time was absolutely thrilling, and listening to songs from Meg and Alana added so much to the experience of the story.

Definitely a five-star read, and a five-star idea. I adored it.

Have you read The Songs You’ve Never Heard? And have you listened to the songs? What did you think of Meg’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

YA review: The Songs You’ve Never Heard cross-posted to GoodReads.

Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.