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A review by nadineeeeeee
The Songs You've Never Heard by Ellie Wyatt, Becky Jerams
3.5
Rtc//
——
4.2.2023
Thank you to Netgalley, publisher, and authors Becky Jerams and Ellie Wyatt for the ARC!
Now, I was never one for making lists (I found ranking things in order absolutely a pain and somehow very stressful), but since our mc here, Meg McCarty, is apparently one of those list-obsessed girlies, I’m going to be one too for the sake of this review.
Top 4 things I… want to talk about this book.
1. The Friendship.
Meg McCarthy and Alana Howard is basically grumpy/sunshine trope and I love it.
The friendship is one of the main focuses of the book (alongside music) and I think the authors did a great job developing and executing it. Meg and Alana just brought up the best in each other. Alana pushed Meg to break down her walls and chase what she dreamed of. Meg helped Alana chase and push away her own dreams and ghosts.
And then they became a singer-songwriter duo??? Hello?? Is that a hit I see??
2. The characters.
Meg McCarthy is that list-obsessed, music nerd girlie. Like, I lost count of the amount of lists we have in this book. On a different note, I found Meg McCarthy as such an interesting character. I got to see how fame affected her, how she dealt with it, and how while it seemed like her brother’s fame the reason she got everything handed on a silver platter, it’s also the reason why she was hiding what she was so passionate about. Songwriting. Singing. She was resentful for loads of time in the beginning, and honestly I don’t blame her.
Alana Howard is a talented, bold, kind, brilliant character. I absolutely admire her, and the way she handled every picks and stones in such classy way, I think she’s just amazing. She’s so unbelievably confident. She took up her own space in the world, she’s not afraid to embrace herself, and well yeah I think she’s my favorite character in this book. She’s so cool.
3. The Fame.
I mean, it’s no news that fame is a privilege that has a cruel cost. Honestly, I don’t know how so many people survive this with all their sanity intact. I would’ve broke down and gone insane on the first week if I were any of them.
In this book, we get to see how fame and the internet (the bad bad place) seeped through these characters’ minds and how they dealt with it. With Meg. Alana. And also Casper McCarthy (the famous brother). We see how the tongues of these trolls slash and how it could affect one’s mental health. How hard it is to live under camera lights and interviewers shoving mics up your faces when all you want was just to serve the freaking yoghurt in peace. About the pressures, the suffocating demand for unrealistic beauty standards, and the body-shaming round every corner. You’d need a hard skin.
And we get to see these characters handled the fickle thing that is fame in their own way, fighting the monsters lurking around the corner. Which was probably one of my favorite parts of the book.
4. The music.
The music pop culture references we got was overwhelming. Like every time we got one to a song (or 5 songs mostly), I just had to write all of them down. And I think I’ve got all on the list now. And I’m planning to make a spotify playlist of them lol. There are just way too many songs to not care how they sounds like!
And then the song lyrics. All was well-written. But my favorite is definitely Alana’s ‘Didn’t I?’
That was a lyrical masterpiece and I want to hear it in real life please and thank you.
Overall : This a lovely YA contemporary book filled with friendship and music. And while there’s nothing groundbreaking with this book, I had a fun time reading this, and I hope you will too!
3.5/5 stars!
——
4.2.2023
Thank you to Netgalley, publisher, and authors Becky Jerams and Ellie Wyatt for the ARC!
Now, I was never one for making lists (I found ranking things in order absolutely a pain and somehow very stressful), but since our mc here, Meg McCarty, is apparently one of those list-obsessed girlies, I’m going to be one too for the sake of this review.
Top 4 things I… want to talk about this book.
1. The Friendship.
Meg McCarthy and Alana Howard is basically grumpy/sunshine trope and I love it.
The friendship is one of the main focuses of the book (alongside music) and I think the authors did a great job developing and executing it. Meg and Alana just brought up the best in each other. Alana pushed Meg to break down her walls and chase what she dreamed of. Meg helped Alana chase and push away her own dreams and ghosts.
And then they became a singer-songwriter duo??? Hello?? Is that a hit I see??
2. The characters.
Meg McCarthy is that list-obsessed, music nerd girlie. Like, I lost count of the amount of lists we have in this book. On a different note, I found Meg McCarthy as such an interesting character. I got to see how fame affected her, how she dealt with it, and how while it seemed like her brother’s fame the reason she got everything handed on a silver platter, it’s also the reason why she was hiding what she was so passionate about. Songwriting. Singing. She was resentful for loads of time in the beginning, and honestly I don’t blame her.
Alana Howard is a talented, bold, kind, brilliant character. I absolutely admire her, and the way she handled every picks and stones in such classy way, I think she’s just amazing. She’s so unbelievably confident. She took up her own space in the world, she’s not afraid to embrace herself, and well yeah I think she’s my favorite character in this book. She’s so cool.
3. The Fame.
I mean, it’s no news that fame is a privilege that has a cruel cost. Honestly, I don’t know how so many people survive this with all their sanity intact. I would’ve broke down and gone insane on the first week if I were any of them.
In this book, we get to see how fame and the internet (the bad bad place) seeped through these characters’ minds and how they dealt with it. With Meg. Alana. And also Casper McCarthy (the famous brother). We see how the tongues of these trolls slash and how it could affect one’s mental health. How hard it is to live under camera lights and interviewers shoving mics up your faces when all you want was just to serve the freaking yoghurt in peace. About the pressures, the suffocating demand for unrealistic beauty standards, and the body-shaming round every corner. You’d need a hard skin.
And we get to see these characters handled the fickle thing that is fame in their own way, fighting the monsters lurking around the corner. Which was probably one of my favorite parts of the book.
4. The music.
The music pop culture references we got was overwhelming. Like every time we got one to a song (or 5 songs mostly), I just had to write all of them down. And I think I’ve got all on the list now. And I’m planning to make a spotify playlist of them lol. There are just way too many songs to not care how they sounds like!
And then the song lyrics. All was well-written. But my favorite is definitely Alana’s ‘Didn’t I?’
That was a lyrical masterpiece and I want to hear it in real life please and thank you.
Overall : This a lovely YA contemporary book filled with friendship and music. And while there’s nothing groundbreaking with this book, I had a fun time reading this, and I hope you will too!
3.5/5 stars!