Cynthia Salaysay

The title and the magnificent cover art, with a girl of color (almost a silhouette-style art) head bowed, hands in lap seated in front of a grand piano, grabbed me from the get go. Seventeen year old Claire is auditioning to become a student of Paul Avon, and right away the descriptions of the music are indeed music for any aficionado of piano. "I know which one is his before I read the address because I hear Chopin doing his bright best, gushing our the first-floor window of a cherry-ise-cream-pink house. Prelude no. 1. It instantly puts me at ease." And then playing for Avon: "Already my muscles are seizing up, and Paul looks like he wants me to get on with it...The piece has a processional quality, a thrumming in the left hand. It should not be like a hummingbird. My hands are skittering over the chords, and it's worse if I try to force myself to stop shaking The fugue is rushed and it sounds like chattering chickens. I just keep speeding up and up and up." (You get the idea. Especially pianists will feel this; we've all been there).

Claire is delighted when Paul takes her on as a student, but (spoiler alert) he ultimately takes her on in other ways. And although that, I'm sure, was the author's reason for writing the book, the unfolding plot of sexual encounters was not as engaging for me as a reader as the lovely lyrical musical exchanges.

Nonetheless, my own taste aside, Salaysay's debut novel is an important book in the metoo era. It's so easy for a young woman to get caught up in a relationship she's not ready for, didn't ask for because she's obsessed with the music and with pleasing her teacher. Salaysay is a gifted writer.… (meer)

This book was incredible. It’s very relatable to those with immigrant parents who want their children to succeed. To those who finally want to do something fun and take advantage of the little freedoms given after years of always doing the “right thing”.

Claire had big dreams of going to college far away from Fremont, California. That is until her mom said it was going to be too expensive. But she kept all the brochures and continued to dream. After winning third place in a small piano competition her teacher puts her in touch with Paul Avon, the man with connections and expertise that could help Claire use her talents to get into those colleges she wants to escape to.

Once her audition goes well their student-teacher relationship begins and he helps her gain more confidence and more freedom. Does it get uncomfortable? Supremely. But Claire feels that he’s the only one who understands her and can prepare her for the biggest piano competition that could determine her future.

It’s difficult to read teen novels at times because there comes a point where as an adult I don’t want to read about these kids “getting it on”. So there are some parts I kind of skipped around. I think it’s still a story worth reading for the way Salaysay described Claire’s emotional ties with music. The relationships she builds and explores with her peers is a great cautionary tale about who to trust. Overall its still a good experience to go back and remember the mistakes I made at the same age and see how others did the same, or worse, and what they learned from it.… (meer)

A premise that could have been fulfilled better. Even so, there's some disturbing content that might have the potential to trigger some teens. Losing a parent is painful for anyone, but when you're younger, the hurt is that much greater because you lack real world experience in terms of how you (and others) got through similar grief. Add in a desperate need to excel in a very competitive skill, plus an arrogant and skilled predator and you have the potential for ugliness and disaster. Read the book to find out if that's what happens.… (meer)