National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr (How to Save a Life) is a consistently excellent voice in teen literature, finding unusual angles from which to write about both daily problems and life-altering moments.
This latest novel asks us to consider how we find our way forward when our world turns upside down. Lucy Beck-Moreau has given up on her musical career at the advanced age of 16, she's got an admittedly pointless crush on her English teacher, and is barely speaking to her mother and grandfather. But when her younger brother gets a new piano teacher for his own career, Lucy's life starts to change--and more importantly, she realizes that she can change her life. The joys of this novel are many, but its most striking aspects are the genuine family moments that reflect both love and frustration, and the passion for music that permeates the structure, the plot and the characters' lives. --Jenn Northington, events manager at WORD bookstore