Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
Charlie lives in the city and journeys into the country every holiday to help her father run his parents' store to give them a break. Rose lives in the small town and wants anything to get away. But the two have never been friends, though both families have tried to bring the two girls together.
This holiday will prove different for both girls. Rose has been accepted into a school in the city. She knows her family won't let her go. But if she can befriend Charlie and get Charlie's family to invite her to stay with them, she may just have a chance. Rose's friends, Luke and David, can't understand Rose's sudden change of heart. They've always called Charlie Duskin Charlie Dorkin. Now, all of a sudden Rose wants to include her in their adventures. Charlie's a bit hesitant to join in, but she did always think Dave was nice enough. At least he tried to be nice to her in the past.
The summer unfolds in alternating chapters. Charlie loves her music, yet she's afraid to play anything in front of others. Dave is finding Charlie more interesting the longer he's around her. Rose and Luke are a couple, but this summer they're having issues of their own. And all along, Rose is finding Charlie isn't so bad, but she's kept her ulterior motive hidden.
A LITTLE WANTING SONG was originally published in Australia in 2005 under the title CHASING CHARLIE DUSKIN. Readers will be able to pick up the Australian undertones to the story, even though it could be Anytown, Anywhere that Ms. Crowley writes about. And I have to be honest - I think the previous title makes more sense. That being said, the story is still good and worth the time to settle down and read.
Charlie lives in the city and journeys into the country every holiday to help her father run his parents' store to give them a break. Rose lives in the small town and wants anything to get away. But the two have never been friends, though both families have tried to bring the two girls together.
This holiday will prove different for both girls. Rose has been accepted into a school in the city. She knows her family won't let her go. But if she can befriend Charlie and get Charlie's family to invite her to stay with them, she may just have a chance. Rose's friends, Luke and David, can't understand Rose's sudden change of heart. They've always called Charlie Duskin Charlie Dorkin. Now, all of a sudden Rose wants to include her in their adventures. Charlie's a bit hesitant to join in, but she did always think Dave was nice enough. At least he tried to be nice to her in the past.
The summer unfolds in alternating chapters. Charlie loves her music, yet she's afraid to play anything in front of others. Dave is finding Charlie more interesting the longer he's around her. Rose and Luke are a couple, but this summer they're having issues of their own. And all along, Rose is finding Charlie isn't so bad, but she's kept her ulterior motive hidden.
A LITTLE WANTING SONG was originally published in Australia in 2005 under the title CHASING CHARLIE DUSKIN. Readers will be able to pick up the Australian undertones to the story, even though it could be Anytown, Anywhere that Ms. Crowley writes about. And I have to be honest - I think the previous title makes more sense. That being said, the story is still good and worth the time to settle down and read.
Who could've guessed that such an unassuming book could be so lyrical, so haunting, so memorable? But so it is. A LITTLE WANTING SONG blew me away. More than simply pretty words or a classic coming-of-age summer story, Cath Crowley's impressive novel is beautiful inside and out in its own quirky way, just like its characters.
Cath Crowley clearly has the heart of a poet. Words feel like her beloved; there is a simultaneous ease and depth with which she writes, stringing phrases together that, at first glance, don't look like they would work, but when you look closer, you realize could not have been better expressed. This is one of my favorite passages (and you know it's an unusual day--and review--when I'm actually quoting from the book):
"I stand under the waterfall while it smashes at rocks and skin and memory. Gus and Beth take me to bands when they can, when it's underage or they know the people running the gig. You walk inside, and the music's so loud the world shatters and the things that didn't make sense before still don't make sense but they don't have to while you're in there. That's what it's like here. The water makes everything ice and cracks. I'm standing under bits of falling me. Dave and Rose are screaming, but I can't hear them. I scream back all the things I want in this world that I can't have. The water's making me cold and Dave's making me burn and I'm writing songs played with strings of sun and ice and honey." p. 113 (ARC version)
There's rhythm and music and a sort of profound understanding of humanity all here. It's like magic. There's no other way to describe it.
But, of course, a book cannot just stand on one excellent aspect alone, and the characters in A LITTLE WANTING SONG are that slick combination of too-cool-for-us and one-of-us. Maybe it's the way Cath writes, which makes me feel like Charlie, Rose, Luke, and Dave live in this world that's much cooler than mine, even though it's technically the same world, and they certainly don't think they're living in poetry. However, I adored the dialogue, and the way they were all distinct, and the way I could half recognize them and half be fascinated by their "otherness."
It's hard for me to review A LITTLE WANTING SONG, as its beauty cannot be imitated, and must be experienced to be believed. Perhaps I'll just leave with saying that, as soon as I get my hands on a finished copy, I know this will be a book that I'll reread when I need inspiration, and I know that I'll always be able to find something new to love each time I do.
Cath Crowley clearly has the heart of a poet. Words feel like her beloved; there is a simultaneous ease and depth with which she writes, stringing phrases together that, at first glance, don't look like they would work, but when you look closer, you realize could not have been better expressed. This is one of my favorite passages (and you know it's an unusual day--and review--when I'm actually quoting from the book):
"I stand under the waterfall while it smashes at rocks and skin and memory. Gus and Beth take me to bands when they can, when it's underage or they know the people running the gig. You walk inside, and the music's so loud the world shatters and the things that didn't make sense before still don't make sense but they don't have to while you're in there. That's what it's like here. The water makes everything ice and cracks. I'm standing under bits of falling me. Dave and Rose are screaming, but I can't hear them. I scream back all the things I want in this world that I can't have. The water's making me cold and Dave's making me burn and I'm writing songs played with strings of sun and ice and honey." p. 113 (ARC version)
There's rhythm and music and a sort of profound understanding of humanity all here. It's like magic. There's no other way to describe it.
But, of course, a book cannot just stand on one excellent aspect alone, and the characters in A LITTLE WANTING SONG are that slick combination of too-cool-for-us and one-of-us. Maybe it's the way Cath writes, which makes me feel like Charlie, Rose, Luke, and Dave live in this world that's much cooler than mine, even though it's technically the same world, and they certainly don't think they're living in poetry. However, I adored the dialogue, and the way they were all distinct, and the way I could half recognize them and half be fascinated by their "otherness."
It's hard for me to review A LITTLE WANTING SONG, as its beauty cannot be imitated, and must be experienced to be believed. Perhaps I'll just leave with saying that, as soon as I get my hands on a finished copy, I know this will be a book that I'll reread when I need inspiration, and I know that I'll always be able to find something new to love each time I do.
