Review: A Little Wanting Song - Cath Crowley

Where I got it: ARC from Princess Bookie's Around the World Tours
Rating:  4.5 stars
Cover Rating: 4 stars (Eye-catching and combines the elements of the inside book designs nicely. )
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: June 8, 2010
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 263 p.

Charlie Duskin loves music.  She loves the way everything in this world has it's own sounds that combine to make the sweet songs of life. She only sings by herself now though, except when she sneaks a song she's recorded onto somebody's CD. Her mother and her grandmother have both died and this has somehow managed to pull her dad and her further apart, instead of closer together. She is sick of living in the shadows, she wants people to notice she's not that uncool.
Rose Butler is the girl next door to Charlie's summer getaway.  She has a boyfriend who's constantly getting in trouble and her best friend seems to follow him. She just wants to get out of the small, nothing town. She won a scholarship to go to a school in the city, but her mom won't let her go. Rose decides that maybe if she buddies up with Charlie, she might just be Rose's ticket out of here.

This was a very emotional novel. Well-written and breath-taking. I loved how Rose and Charlie's stories intertwined and overlapped. I really enjoyed reading the little bits of Charlie' songs that were interspersed between chapters. I do have to say I find it weird that Dave wore singlets all the time. Maybe this is an Australian thing? (no offense to Australia) They aren't overly attractive. This novel showed some typical teens struggling against problems many of us face; absent parents, crushes, bad choices, trying to make something of oneself. This novel shows the growth of at least two people into much better versions of themselves. They become stronger and much more self-assured. This was a beautiful, fun, funky read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As far as realistic fiction goes this was a pleasant, well-paced read.

First Line:
"Dad and I leave town in the early dark."

Favorite Line:
"She's yelling at forever
That's been breathing down her neck"