Such a fascinating story behind the scenes of the real Von Trapps from the Sound of Music. I loved learning about Maria and her history, what was different from the movie, and what was the same. The Sound of Music is such an iconic movie, I loved it as a kid, my kids enjoy it, and I don’t know many people who don’t know of it at the very least.

I thought the storyline alternating between Maria and Fran was excellent, and well written. The behind the scenes of Rodger’s and Hammerstein was also fun. It was hard to put down and I was fully invested in what was going on and what was going to happen next. The character of Maria was so identifiable, you could see how she grew, both in good and bad ways with her circumstances, and the family dynamic was also well told. 

The only downside and the reason for a half a star loss was at the end with Fran and her own story, it felt just odd and half-hearted. I just kept trying to figure out what just happened - the rest of the book was just so well fleshed out and threaded from one event to the next and then the bottom just kind of dropped out for Fran’s detail, that it felt stunted and gappy. 

All in all however, I really loved it. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.