Review: Sing

Review:

I received a copy from Netgalley.

 

This title had been on my wishlist when I first saw it on Netgalley. I had already pre ordered. I didn’t realise the first galley I applied for was for sample chapters only. I hate sample chapters on Netgalley. Thankfully though, I wind up getting a full review copy.

 

Took a while to get into, but I did end up really enjoying it. A fluffy contemporary YA novel about a famous pop singer who after suffering a very public break up with her movie star boyfriend retreats with her best friends to the small island where one of her friends grew up. (It does kind of read like it could have been Taylor Swift fanfiction, but all the same, it’s an enjoyable read.)

 

Though initially I must admit I did have a hard time liking Lily Ross, the pop star main character. I was getting vibes of poor little famous person. She’s chosen a career in the public eye, and then seems surprised when nasty things are written about her and secrets about her relationships come out on gossip blogs after the breakup and words are twisted and stuff comes out that was taken completely out of context. Maybe I’m being a bit of a bitch here but it’s sort of like – well what did you expect? You chose a career that puts you in the public eye – she’s got legions and legions of fans. While there are plenty of people I’m sure who just love the music and will go to the concerts and enjoy the songs without really wanting to dig into the private life of the person behind the music, there are always going to fans who go to the opposite extreme and will want to know every last little thing about the singer they love. It’s not even like it’s the first time it’s happened to Lily, she’s known for big relationships, falling in  love deep and fast and making wonderful music about the guys and the relationships. She had a whole tour and album planned around her relationship with her current boyfriend Jed Monroe. Which goes up in flames. It’s certainly not fair on Lily, yes, it must be horrible to have someone you thought you were very much in love with break up with you and it becomes unnecessarily very public. Though at the same time it’s like – well, it comes with the territory of being famous.  

 

So a retreat with two best friends who have known Lily forever, Samantha and Tess, sounds like a really good idea. Lily comes to the conclusion all she’s written about is love and relationships. She wants something new and to find new inspiration and who she is without the flashy boyfriends. Sounds like very sensible idea.  Tess grew up on a tiny island community and convinces Lily it’s the perfect spot where she can collect herself after what happened with Jed. So off they go, Lily disengaging herself from her pop star career and getting the chance to just be herself with no fans and paparazzi around.

 

There are of course people who recognise her, but it’s a world away from New York. And just as Lily starts to relax – oh surprise, she accidentally hits a car coming back from somewhere early one morning and meets a really nice guy, Noel.  Um, wasn’t the whole point of this retreat to find something else to write songs about other than boys and romance, Lily? The scenery is wonderful, she can finally be herself with no expectations and has a kind of personal freedom she hasn’t had in a long time. Yet Lily can’t seem to find her song writing mojo. 

 

It’s immediately eye rolling because this is predictable as hell. It’s easy to see exactly where this is plot is going to go. That being said, Noel was actually a really sweet and decent guy. He has a somewhat complex family situation and an awesome little sister who (unsurprisingly) is a huge Lily Ross fan. The sister has own unique personality and becomes quite an important part of the plot. 

 

It becomes quite an emotional turmoil as Lily finds her song writing mojo, gets to know Noel and the island better. Then has to start recording her songs so brings her whole crew to the island to record things and prep for the upcoming tour.  She keeps things from her two besties, and can’t seem to get why the girl who comes from the island is irritated when the whole Lily Ross menagerie comes to produce the songs and record the new album all in time for the tour. Which brings chaos and of course…the paparazzi.  

 

Lily finds herself with some very hard choices to make towards the end of the novel when everything starts going wrong. She keeps secrets, and in some cases can be incredibly naive and dumb, while in others she shows an incredible level of maturity and common sense. She may be a famous person, but after all, she’s just a human girl with a big heart who makes mistakes and realises there are things to learn, and shows herself a damn good role model. 

 

An extremely well written novel, maybe a bit predictable but it’s a very enjoyable read with deep characters and a good emotional pull.

 

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, Children’s for approving my request to view the title. 

Original post: sunsetxcocktail.booklikes.com/post/1498774/review-sing