As horrible as it sounds, I was worried this book would be one of those hyped up books. So many people were gushing about how amazing it was, but I worried it was only because they like PaperFury and wanted to be good little fans. However, the cover featured a butterfly and a trusted friend of mine told me it was brilliant, so I decided to give it a read.
Title: A Thousand Perfect Notes
Author: C.G. Drews
Genre: Contemporary
Age Classification: Young Adult
Publisher: Orchard Books
Format: paperback
Release: June 7, 2018
First of all, trigger warnings to victims of abuse and anyone who has a heart may require a box (or ten) of tissues.
Beck is a poor tortured soul that has a passion for composing music but is forced to play the classics the Maestro mastered when she was young. The Maestro is Beck’s mother and by forced I mean physical and emotional abuse.
Beck is a kind-hearted teenage boy who cannot stand up for himself. He has exactly zero friends and no motivation to become anything. The only thing that seems to keep him going is protecting his younger sister, Joey, from the Maestro. His life is the same dull grey on repeat until a school assignment pairs him up with a ray of sunshine.
August is the human embodiment of happiness and positivity. Even Beck’s harsh comments and negative attitude can dampen her spirits. It would be difficult for August to be anything but a ray of sunshine given her parents are kind and understanding. She also lives with about a dozen dogs which would make most people happy.
Joey is also a beautiful soul with an amusing personality. I wanted to help Beck to protect her from the Maestro because the idea of her mother snuffing out her light was devastating to me. Paired with this devastation, I also felt a red, hot, angry hatred for the Maestro.
The plot was well told and really emotional. I have not experienced physical abuse like that in the book, but I know emotional abuse and I personally think it is well represented. I am not one to cry all that often at sad stories but by the end of this emotional book, I was crying an ocean.
My only complaint is that the end felt a little rushed. Maybe it was just my desire to know more about what happened after, but it is not enough for me to reduce my star rating.
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Although I cannot say I loved what happened to the characters in this book, I can say that I loved the way the story was told. If you have not read it yet (and can handle reading about abuse) I definitely recommend you rush out to buy yourself a copy immediately!
What are your thoughts about reading books featuring abuse?
Until next time bibliophiles!
Amy x
Zany Bibliophile 
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