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The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing
Losing weight over the summer gains Serena some popularity, but it also means discovering first-hand the pains of being a fifteen-year-old girl in a world that both sexualizes and shames young women. After narrowly avoiding exploitation in a shortlived relationship, Serena aligns with a new friend who was the victim of an explicit image that was shared at school. When Serena finds herself in a relationship with a new guy, she is surprised to find a different set of expectations. But have her previous experiences damaged her too much to make it work? As Serena struggles to find who she is as opposed to who she is expected to be, she begins sighting Devin - her older brother who disappeared months earlier.
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
592 people want to read
About the author
C.K. Kelly Martin
17 books326 followersLong before I was an author I was a fan of books about Winnie the Pooh, Babar, Madeline, Anne Shirley and anything by Judy Blume. Throughout high school my favourite class was English. No surprise, then, that most of my time spent at York University in Toronto was as an English major—not the traditional way to graduate with a B.A. (Hons) in film studies but a fine way to get a general arts education.
After getting my film studies degree I headed for Dublin, Ireland and spent the majority of the nineties there in forgettable jobs meeting unforgettable people and enjoying the buzz. I always believed I'd get around to writing in earnest eventually, and I began writing my first novel in a flat in Dublin and finished it in a Toronto suburb. By then I'd discovered that fiction about young people felt the freshest and most exciting to me. You have most of your life to be an adult but you only grow up once.
Currently residing near Toronto with my Dub husband, I'm an aunt to twenty-one nieces and nephews, and a great-aunt to five great-nieces and two great-nephews. I became an Irish citizen in 2001 and continue to visit Dublin as often as I can while working on novels about young people.
My first young adult book, I Know It's Over, came out with Random House in September 2008, and was followed by One Lonely Degree, The Lighter Side of Life and Death, My Beating Teenage Heart and sci-fi thriller Yesterday. I released Yesterday's sequel, Tomorrow, in 2013 and put out my first adult novel, Come See About Me, as an ebook in June 2012. Two of my contemporary YA books, The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing and Delicate, were published by Cormorant Books' Dancing Cat Books imprint in 2014 and 2015. They also published my middle grade sci-fi, Stricken.
My 2017 young adult novel, Just Like You Said It Would Be, is the book of my heart. Packed with movies references and giddy love for Dublin, Ireland, Just Like You Said It Would Be is a frank exploration of first love, full of confusion, elation, disappointment and its knack of making the ordinary seem amazing.
In 2019 I made my horror debut with DCB under the name Cara Martin. Booklist described Shantallow as "serious, literary and very scary" and Kirkus called it "gut-wrenching on various levels." It was an Ottawa Book Awards finalist and was longlisted for the Sunburst Award.
After getting my film studies degree I headed for Dublin, Ireland and spent the majority of the nineties there in forgettable jobs meeting unforgettable people and enjoying the buzz. I always believed I'd get around to writing in earnest eventually, and I began writing my first novel in a flat in Dublin and finished it in a Toronto suburb. By then I'd discovered that fiction about young people felt the freshest and most exciting to me. You have most of your life to be an adult but you only grow up once.
Currently residing near Toronto with my Dub husband, I'm an aunt to twenty-one nieces and nephews, and a great-aunt to five great-nieces and two great-nephews. I became an Irish citizen in 2001 and continue to visit Dublin as often as I can while working on novels about young people.
My first young adult book, I Know It's Over, came out with Random House in September 2008, and was followed by One Lonely Degree, The Lighter Side of Life and Death, My Beating Teenage Heart and sci-fi thriller Yesterday. I released Yesterday's sequel, Tomorrow, in 2013 and put out my first adult novel, Come See About Me, as an ebook in June 2012. Two of my contemporary YA books, The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing and Delicate, were published by Cormorant Books' Dancing Cat Books imprint in 2014 and 2015. They also published my middle grade sci-fi, Stricken.
My 2017 young adult novel, Just Like You Said It Would Be, is the book of my heart. Packed with movies references and giddy love for Dublin, Ireland, Just Like You Said It Would Be is a frank exploration of first love, full of confusion, elation, disappointment and its knack of making the ordinary seem amazing.
In 2019 I made my horror debut with DCB under the name Cara Martin. Booklist described Shantallow as "serious, literary and very scary" and Kirkus called it "gut-wrenching on various levels." It was an Ottawa Book Awards finalist and was longlisted for the Sunburst Award.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 26, 2017
C.K. Kelly Martin is so woefully underrated. I myself have barely scratched the surface of her work, but I love and applaud her efforts to write more mature, meaningful YA that tackles important societal issues. The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing follows fifteen-year-old Serena as she navigates the jungle that is high school and teams up with a group of girlfriends who swear off of boys. Each of them have been hurt or exploited by exes and they're finished with feeling like their value and worth is linked to what a guy thinks of them.
It's a wonderful story and I fell into Serena's narration seamlessly. She battles this urge to be strong on her own, without a relationship, while simultaneously realizing that there are different guys out there, in the world, and that the expectations for a relationship can be written and re-written. It's about consent and learning to love yourself/your body and trust and difficult parent/sibling relationships which I really appreciated. I don't want to talk too much about it, but I also want more readers to pick this up. Just trust me, I don't think you can be disappointed by this one.
It's a wonderful story and I fell into Serena's narration seamlessly. She battles this urge to be strong on her own, without a relationship, while simultaneously realizing that there are different guys out there, in the world, and that the expectations for a relationship can be written and re-written. It's about consent and learning to love yourself/your body and trust and difficult parent/sibling relationships which I really appreciated. I don't want to talk too much about it, but I also want more readers to pick this up. Just trust me, I don't think you can be disappointed by this one.
January 21, 2015
This is so, so good. Martin is woefully underappreciated and I wish that wasn't the case.
I just loved the hell of of this and highlighted it on my Recommendation Tuesday post - http://cleareyesfullshelves.com/blog/...
I just loved the hell of of this and highlighted it on my Recommendation Tuesday post - http://cleareyesfullshelves.com/blog/...
October 1, 2014
There’s so much that I felt while and after reading The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing. While this has been a so-so year for YA, TSTYCS is definitely up there with one of the best teen crisis books I’ve read this year.
Character wise, Serena—who is the lead female protagonist here—is my obvious favorite. She’s so real in the way she is, and the way she thinks. Her ideas, her actions are all very obviously ones that belong to a teenager. So I liked Serena in the way that I could connect with her well. But there was another reason I liked Serena.
All of us, at some point or the other, have been conscious about our body. Some of us still are. Serena is too. And Serena’s struggle is genuine. She stops eating foods she likes to eat and her cravings are what made me sympathize with her, to the point of feeling like shit about every time I had chilly cheese fries. And I’m not even on a diet.
But with Serena, there’s also the issue of her brother Devin, who is missing. She misses and in the beginning of the book, he’s all she ever thinks about. It was honestly painful to read. Every little thing that happened around her seemed to remind her of him. It was sad and devastating, and the way Serena and her family are after he leaves? They’re experiencing a type of pain that’s tangible. They’re uncertain and scared and living in the hopes of his return.
I’d never wish it on my worst enemy.
Then there’s Serena’s high school friends. What I liked most is that not all of the guys were assholes/studs and not all of the girls were bimbos/snobbish. There was a mix of different types of kids; a few of them were snotty outside with a heart of gold and some of them were just snotty. Nicole and Genevieve were Serena’s closest friends and her biggest cheerleaders—but they also weren’t perfect. They were exactly what Serena needed.
Gage is…yeah. He’s Gage Cochrane. He’s genuine and smart and actually likes Serena for her. Not because she’s recently lost weight, not because of her famous VJ brother, Morgan. But, there’s a catch with him too. And it’s the most unexpected one.
Yep. That’s all you get.
Like I said above, the struggle isn’t only Serena’s. It’s also one that involves her parents. Thank heavens that this is one of those YA books that involve the parents. And even though I didn’t personally care too much about her parents, I can understand their struggle. It’s not easy being a parent to three young children—especially when one of them is missing.
All in all, I loved reading TSTYCS. It was funny and sad all at the same time. Miss Martin has written exactly like a teenager would think and her characters are those you fall in love with immediately—even the bad ones :)
Find this review and more at Rhea's Neon Journal
Character wise, Serena—who is the lead female protagonist here—is my obvious favorite. She’s so real in the way she is, and the way she thinks. Her ideas, her actions are all very obviously ones that belong to a teenager. So I liked Serena in the way that I could connect with her well. But there was another reason I liked Serena.
All of us, at some point or the other, have been conscious about our body. Some of us still are. Serena is too. And Serena’s struggle is genuine. She stops eating foods she likes to eat and her cravings are what made me sympathize with her, to the point of feeling like shit about every time I had chilly cheese fries. And I’m not even on a diet.
But with Serena, there’s also the issue of her brother Devin, who is missing. She misses and in the beginning of the book, he’s all she ever thinks about. It was honestly painful to read. Every little thing that happened around her seemed to remind her of him. It was sad and devastating, and the way Serena and her family are after he leaves? They’re experiencing a type of pain that’s tangible. They’re uncertain and scared and living in the hopes of his return.
I’d never wish it on my worst enemy.
Then there’s Serena’s high school friends. What I liked most is that not all of the guys were assholes/studs and not all of the girls were bimbos/snobbish. There was a mix of different types of kids; a few of them were snotty outside with a heart of gold and some of them were just snotty. Nicole and Genevieve were Serena’s closest friends and her biggest cheerleaders—but they also weren’t perfect. They were exactly what Serena needed.
Gage is…yeah. He’s Gage Cochrane. He’s genuine and smart and actually likes Serena for her. Not because she’s recently lost weight, not because of her famous VJ brother, Morgan. But, there’s a catch with him too. And it’s the most unexpected one.
Yep. That’s all you get.
Like I said above, the struggle isn’t only Serena’s. It’s also one that involves her parents. Thank heavens that this is one of those YA books that involve the parents. And even though I didn’t personally care too much about her parents, I can understand their struggle. It’s not easy being a parent to three young children—especially when one of them is missing.
All in all, I loved reading TSTYCS. It was funny and sad all at the same time. Miss Martin has written exactly like a teenager would think and her characters are those you fall in love with immediately—even the bad ones :)
Find this review and more at Rhea's Neon Journal
November 28, 2014
Solid Canadian family and relationship drama, presenting a nuanced look at female sexuality and "slut shaming."
Read
September 28, 2014What I love about Martin's books are that they're big stories to the characters in the way that the things in an average person's life are big stories, even if they're not "Big" stories. The voices are authentically teen, with not just respect for teenagers, but empathy.
Serena's 15, and her world's been shaken up by her older brother leaving home, her boyfriend not standing up for her, and for finding herself outcast from many of her formal friends because of what happened one night at a party. After losing weight, she's noticed the way people treat her and act towards her has changed, and as much as she appreciates the attention, she's learned first hand that that attention isn't always positive.
As a means of getting her mind off her friendship situation and her family's fracturing -- including her mother's continuing disconnection to the world and her less-than-predictable behavior thanks to Devin's disappearance -- Serena decides to get a job. It's not long before she meets Gage, an older boy who asks her out. Feeling the pressure to prove herself as she's under the impression she needs to do, Serena makes a move on Gage that leaves him uncomfortable. He stops her, and it's through their budding relationship, Serena begins to learn the value of being honest, disclosing truths about herself and others, and most importantly, how to respect herself no matter what she looks like or what the world around her is doing. This isn't about a boy saving a girl. It's about a girl learning how to stand up for and save herself.
The romance that buds between Gage and Serena is sweet, too, and it's sweetly flawed in the ways that a relationship between two people in very different parts of their lives would be. Martin does a great job of portraying a relationship between a 19-year-old and a 15-year-old without it feeling uncomfortable or without it being parental nor perfect nor instant attraction.
This book also touches on teen parenthood, in addition to featuring a gay couple as a part of the story without it ever becoming the story itself. This is a slice-of-life story about a 15 year old girl, and it's satisfying.
Serena's 15, and her world's been shaken up by her older brother leaving home, her boyfriend not standing up for her, and for finding herself outcast from many of her formal friends because of what happened one night at a party. After losing weight, she's noticed the way people treat her and act towards her has changed, and as much as she appreciates the attention, she's learned first hand that that attention isn't always positive.
As a means of getting her mind off her friendship situation and her family's fracturing -- including her mother's continuing disconnection to the world and her less-than-predictable behavior thanks to Devin's disappearance -- Serena decides to get a job. It's not long before she meets Gage, an older boy who asks her out. Feeling the pressure to prove herself as she's under the impression she needs to do, Serena makes a move on Gage that leaves him uncomfortable. He stops her, and it's through their budding relationship, Serena begins to learn the value of being honest, disclosing truths about herself and others, and most importantly, how to respect herself no matter what she looks like or what the world around her is doing. This isn't about a boy saving a girl. It's about a girl learning how to stand up for and save herself.
The romance that buds between Gage and Serena is sweet, too, and it's sweetly flawed in the ways that a relationship between two people in very different parts of their lives would be. Martin does a great job of portraying a relationship between a 19-year-old and a 15-year-old without it feeling uncomfortable or without it being parental nor perfect nor instant attraction.
This book also touches on teen parenthood, in addition to featuring a gay couple as a part of the story without it ever becoming the story itself. This is a slice-of-life story about a 15 year old girl, and it's satisfying.
November 11, 2014
3.5/5 Stars.
I think the target audience for this book would be females aged 17 to 22. I'm not in that age range, so at times I felt ancient reading this book. My highschool experience was nothing like this (thank goodness), so I could not relate. I kept forgetting that Serena, the main character, was only fifteen. Fifteen! She's a child trying to be an adult. I realize the activities described in this book are a reality among many teenagers, but I still found parts of it disturbing.
What I did like:
I enjoyed learning about Serena's family and their relationship dynamics. I especially liked reading about Serena's brother Devin and how that ended. The ending with Devin was realistic and it fit.
What I didn't like:
Other than feeling like a dinosaur while reading this (I'm only 27!), I really didn't like Serena being with Gage. The character Gage himself seemed like a really nice guy, but . Their relationship just didn't work for me.
I think the target audience for this book would be females aged 17 to 22. I'm not in that age range, so at times I felt ancient reading this book. My highschool experience was nothing like this (thank goodness), so I could not relate. I kept forgetting that Serena, the main character, was only fifteen. Fifteen! She's a child trying to be an adult. I realize the activities described in this book are a reality among many teenagers, but I still found parts of it disturbing.
What I did like:
I enjoyed learning about Serena's family and their relationship dynamics. I especially liked reading about Serena's brother Devin and how that ended. The ending with Devin was realistic and it fit.
What I didn't like:
Other than feeling like a dinosaur while reading this (I'm only 27!), I really didn't like Serena being with Gage. The character Gage himself seemed like a really nice guy, but . Their relationship just didn't work for me.
February 1, 2017
More like 3.5 stars. Not my favourite C.K. Kelly Martin novel, but still a good contemporary read.
March 22, 2023
The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing is a touching story of the realities of adolescence. Serena, a 15-year-old girl, struggles to deal with the competing pressures that the world places on her shoulders. She wants to maintain friendships, track down her missing brother, and most definitely avoid another heartbreak. In the midst of these events, however, she meets Gage, a young man who completely changes her outlook on life. Adolescent readers can sympathize with Serena’s constant oscillation between frustration and ecstasy. The Sweetest Thing is poignant and touching, following the highs and lows of one young woman’s decision-making process. Masterfully crafted, it is an accurate reflection of a high schooler’s thought processes and hobbies, rather than a stereotyped version common in high-school targeted literature. However, this piece does contain mature content, and those unused to realistic fiction may find it slow-moving. For others, however, it is a lovely “slice of life” work that connects with readers.
Review by Lamia A., 16, Maryland Mensa
Review by Lamia A., 16, Maryland Mensa
November 7, 2017
Brilliant! I loved this one. Martin is such a fabulous writer and I think somewhat underappreciated. It took me a while to get through this book because I took a vacation in the middle and forgot to bring it *O* but I picked up right where I had left off with ease. Martin's books are always interesting and feel so human. Serena and her typical high school girl insecurities were all too familiar. But it was Gage who won my heart in this story. A most interesting story, a little sassy, a little sad, a little fun and a lot of awesome.
November 13, 2014
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These days, I don’t read too many indie books. Actually, I never really have. Pretty close to the only exception I make is for authors I already know to be of good quality. This was my sixth C.K. Kelly Martin book, so I was pretty sure it was a fairly safe bet. Martin is an author whose books I love to read because she pushes boundaries and manages to make me interested in topics that really don’t work for me usually. Her fiction is hard-edged and doesn’t shy away from the darker side of teenage life. The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing fits that mold well, but is also on the lighter side of Martin’s fiction.
Serena has a whole host of issues to work through in The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing. First, there’s the boyfriend. Or, more aptly, the ex. Serena dumps Jacob, he of the sexy basketball player arms, after he tries to force her to make out with another girl at a party. That was the straw that broke the relationship’s back. He’d been pressuring her for sex and to do things she wasn’t ready for or didn’t want to do. The fact that he tried to make her hook up with some other girl for the entertainment of his friends was one step too far. This scene is how we meet Serena, and I think it’s a good one. We see that beneath her insecurities, there is a very strong girl who will not let this guy force her into anything.
Then there are her friends, Izzy and Marguerite, who Serena still likes, but who do not understand what she’s going through. The whole Jacob fiasco has really messed with Serena’s head and they don’t really get how she’s feeling. As a result, they drift apart a bit and Serena ends up making friends with some other girls who have been wronged by boys at their high school. Genevieve, Nicole, and, later, Aya become Serena’s support system, as they all resolve they’d be best off not dating. I really like Martin’s take on friendship. I like that her early friendships sort of drift away but that Serena later makes a conscious effort to restore them. I like that Serena gains an understanding for the girl in the opening scene, the one who was going to make out with her. There are fights between friends, but they work through them. It’s very healthy and realistic. I love the way they support each other and do what they can to help others attacked by gossip as well. The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing has a lot of great things to say about slut- and virgin-shaming, and I love it all.
Then there’s Serena’s body. Until partway through freshman year, she was always chubby. Due to stress, she stopped having an appetite and dropped 29 pounds. Suddenly, she had male attention (Jacob). Before that, the only cute boys who would make out with her later pretended it hadn’t happened. Throughout The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing Serena struggles with her body image. She’s constantly worrying about what she’s eaten and weighing herself to see if she’s put on weight. The resolution isn’t addressed directly, but I do think that she stops thinking about this quite so much when she’s actually getting happier. It’s a classic effort to control something in her life.
The biggest issue in Serena’s life is her family. Her brother Devin left them months ago, after problems with drugs, and they don’t even know if he’s still alive. Serena’s mom doesn’t do anything but bid for crystal on eBay and her dad pretends everything is fine. Her family’s got all the emotion of a bunch of zombies. Devin was the family member she was closest to and he said horrible things to her before he left, including insults about her weight. It’s no wonder that she’s a mess after being treated this way by the person she was closest to in the world. The family stuff doesn’t tie up all neatly, but I think it’s wonderful how Serena gets closer to her other brother, Morgan, and learns to see things from his perspective.
While all of this is going on, Serena meets Gage, a customer at the store where she works. He asks her out and, despite the boy ban, she agrees to go. This romance is not one that I would ordinarily be able to get behind because 1) he’s 19 to her 15 and 2) . However, though they don’t handle everything perfectly, Gage genuinely is a nice guy and he’s really good for her right now. The relationship is managed in a really non-creepy way, even for me, which is impressive. Also, it’s nice that being in the relationship with Gage doesn’t magically solve Serena’s problems. She still has to work through her family and friend stuff alone. Having a boyfriend doesn’t disappear insecurities either.
C.K. Kelly Martin’s latest contemporary YA novel is one I would recommend to readers of Courtney Summers, in its unflinching honesty and the way that I end up caring about things that I usually don’t. I’m always so impressed when a book can get me to put aside my judgmental nature for a bit.
These days, I don’t read too many indie books. Actually, I never really have. Pretty close to the only exception I make is for authors I already know to be of good quality. This was my sixth C.K. Kelly Martin book, so I was pretty sure it was a fairly safe bet. Martin is an author whose books I love to read because she pushes boundaries and manages to make me interested in topics that really don’t work for me usually. Her fiction is hard-edged and doesn’t shy away from the darker side of teenage life. The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing fits that mold well, but is also on the lighter side of Martin’s fiction.
Serena has a whole host of issues to work through in The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing. First, there’s the boyfriend. Or, more aptly, the ex. Serena dumps Jacob, he of the sexy basketball player arms, after he tries to force her to make out with another girl at a party. That was the straw that broke the relationship’s back. He’d been pressuring her for sex and to do things she wasn’t ready for or didn’t want to do. The fact that he tried to make her hook up with some other girl for the entertainment of his friends was one step too far. This scene is how we meet Serena, and I think it’s a good one. We see that beneath her insecurities, there is a very strong girl who will not let this guy force her into anything.
Then there are her friends, Izzy and Marguerite, who Serena still likes, but who do not understand what she’s going through. The whole Jacob fiasco has really messed with Serena’s head and they don’t really get how she’s feeling. As a result, they drift apart a bit and Serena ends up making friends with some other girls who have been wronged by boys at their high school. Genevieve, Nicole, and, later, Aya become Serena’s support system, as they all resolve they’d be best off not dating. I really like Martin’s take on friendship. I like that her early friendships sort of drift away but that Serena later makes a conscious effort to restore them. I like that Serena gains an understanding for the girl in the opening scene, the one who was going to make out with her. There are fights between friends, but they work through them. It’s very healthy and realistic. I love the way they support each other and do what they can to help others attacked by gossip as well. The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing has a lot of great things to say about slut- and virgin-shaming, and I love it all.
Then there’s Serena’s body. Until partway through freshman year, she was always chubby. Due to stress, she stopped having an appetite and dropped 29 pounds. Suddenly, she had male attention (Jacob). Before that, the only cute boys who would make out with her later pretended it hadn’t happened. Throughout The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing Serena struggles with her body image. She’s constantly worrying about what she’s eaten and weighing herself to see if she’s put on weight. The resolution isn’t addressed directly, but I do think that she stops thinking about this quite so much when she’s actually getting happier. It’s a classic effort to control something in her life.
The biggest issue in Serena’s life is her family. Her brother Devin left them months ago, after problems with drugs, and they don’t even know if he’s still alive. Serena’s mom doesn’t do anything but bid for crystal on eBay and her dad pretends everything is fine. Her family’s got all the emotion of a bunch of zombies. Devin was the family member she was closest to and he said horrible things to her before he left, including insults about her weight. It’s no wonder that she’s a mess after being treated this way by the person she was closest to in the world. The family stuff doesn’t tie up all neatly, but I think it’s wonderful how Serena gets closer to her other brother, Morgan, and learns to see things from his perspective.
While all of this is going on, Serena meets Gage, a customer at the store where she works. He asks her out and, despite the boy ban, she agrees to go. This romance is not one that I would ordinarily be able to get behind because 1) he’s 19 to her 15 and 2) . However, though they don’t handle everything perfectly, Gage genuinely is a nice guy and he’s really good for her right now. The relationship is managed in a really non-creepy way, even for me, which is impressive. Also, it’s nice that being in the relationship with Gage doesn’t magically solve Serena’s problems. She still has to work through her family and friend stuff alone. Having a boyfriend doesn’t disappear insecurities either.
C.K. Kelly Martin’s latest contemporary YA novel is one I would recommend to readers of Courtney Summers, in its unflinching honesty and the way that I end up caring about things that I usually don’t. I’m always so impressed when a book can get me to put aside my judgmental nature for a bit.
October 9, 2014
Rating: 4.5 stars
NOTE: I received the eARC of this book as a part of the blog tour organized by Xpresso Book Tours. My review is honest.
To be honest, when I requested this book, I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into. I thought that this would be just another YA novel with typical themes and characters. I was very surprised when things didn't turn out all that typical - surprised in a positive way that is.
Writing style:
The story was told in first person POV, with Serena being the POV character. There was need for some polishing of the manuscript, so a good editor is in order.
Story line:
Like I mentioned above, this isn't the usual contemporary teen romance, where everything is quite obvious right away. Things happen out of the blue in the most realistic of ways that I felt like I was invited to share the deepest feelings, expectations and hopes of the characters. Also, I liked the growth of each character and the development of each relationship - slow, steady, believable.
Themes:
- sibling love is important, can be character-building and certainly can be a support
- parental expectations can be overwhelming
- drug addiction(and any other addiction, really) and how it changes people
- romantic relationships - the importance of being honest, of being careful, of being responsible
Characters:
Serena, being the POV character, is the one I got to know the best. I liked what I saw in her. I liked how much she grew in the span of this novel. She used to be a girl in rage, a hurt girl who didn't want to trust anyone, who felt disregarded and an outsider in a family of special people. By the end, she learned that she was just as special, but in different aspects. I really liked her reaction toward Gage - from beginning to end, except when she lied to him and when she tried to jump him. That was just weird, but I still totally understood her. What came after that was very thought-provoking and I enjoyed reading about her.
Gage, a random guy with a complicated life seemed to be just what Serena needed. Of course, since I didn't see all that much of him, and wasn't privy to his thoughts, I only had Serena's view of events. Gage was responsible, thoughtful and knew exactly what he wanted out of life. He hadn't been that way though, and the results are obvious. But I really liked how he got to handle things in the end. Very mature, even if a bit late.
Morgan, Serena's famous brother, seemed to be way out there in the beginning, but the more I saw of him, the more I realized that Serena may have filtered Morgan's real personality through a weird prism that only showed certain traits and held in others. Morgan was very open, sociable and likeable. But more important - he loved his family and did whatever he could think of to keep it together.
Devin, Serena's other brother, who was a drug addict some months ago, caused a lot of trouble in the family. The mom seemed to totally loose it after Devin left school and house and disappeared from the map. I think that he was a bit too selfish, running away like that and making everyone terrified that something horrible might've happened to him. Of course, I'm aware that drug addicts (or any addicts really) don't think very clearly, so Devin didn't really act any differently than expected. What was selfish of him was that even when he got clean he never thought to call home and tell his family that he's okay.
The mom was totally out there, addicted to Swarovski figurines and completely loosing if anything happened to those super precious crystals. She was messed up bad, but I don't think that Devin's disappearance act caused it. It may have intensified it though.
The dad seemed to be completely out of control. He was there but did nothing to help his wife get better.
Nicole and Genevieve, the two friends Serena acquired after a run-in with with some stupid boys (among them her boyfriend) were sworn off boys because they'd suffered humiliation on more than one occasion. They liked to play tough, but inwardly they were just hurt and needed reassurance and love.
In conclusion:
The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing isn't a fast-pace read, but it leaves you thinking in the end.
NOTE: I received the eARC of this book as a part of the blog tour organized by Xpresso Book Tours. My review is honest.
To be honest, when I requested this book, I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into. I thought that this would be just another YA novel with typical themes and characters. I was very surprised when things didn't turn out all that typical - surprised in a positive way that is.
Writing style:
The story was told in first person POV, with Serena being the POV character. There was need for some polishing of the manuscript, so a good editor is in order.
Story line:
Like I mentioned above, this isn't the usual contemporary teen romance, where everything is quite obvious right away. Things happen out of the blue in the most realistic of ways that I felt like I was invited to share the deepest feelings, expectations and hopes of the characters. Also, I liked the growth of each character and the development of each relationship - slow, steady, believable.
Themes:
- sibling love is important, can be character-building and certainly can be a support
- parental expectations can be overwhelming
- drug addiction(and any other addiction, really) and how it changes people
- romantic relationships - the importance of being honest, of being careful, of being responsible
Characters:
Serena, being the POV character, is the one I got to know the best. I liked what I saw in her. I liked how much she grew in the span of this novel. She used to be a girl in rage, a hurt girl who didn't want to trust anyone, who felt disregarded and an outsider in a family of special people. By the end, she learned that she was just as special, but in different aspects. I really liked her reaction toward Gage - from beginning to end, except when she lied to him and when she tried to jump him. That was just weird, but I still totally understood her. What came after that was very thought-provoking and I enjoyed reading about her.
Gage, a random guy with a complicated life seemed to be just what Serena needed. Of course, since I didn't see all that much of him, and wasn't privy to his thoughts, I only had Serena's view of events. Gage was responsible, thoughtful and knew exactly what he wanted out of life. He hadn't been that way though, and the results are obvious. But I really liked how he got to handle things in the end. Very mature, even if a bit late.
Morgan, Serena's famous brother, seemed to be way out there in the beginning, but the more I saw of him, the more I realized that Serena may have filtered Morgan's real personality through a weird prism that only showed certain traits and held in others. Morgan was very open, sociable and likeable. But more important - he loved his family and did whatever he could think of to keep it together.
Devin, Serena's other brother, who was a drug addict some months ago, caused a lot of trouble in the family. The mom seemed to totally loose it after Devin left school and house and disappeared from the map. I think that he was a bit too selfish, running away like that and making everyone terrified that something horrible might've happened to him. Of course, I'm aware that drug addicts (or any addicts really) don't think very clearly, so Devin didn't really act any differently than expected. What was selfish of him was that even when he got clean he never thought to call home and tell his family that he's okay.
The mom was totally out there, addicted to Swarovski figurines and completely loosing if anything happened to those super precious crystals. She was messed up bad, but I don't think that Devin's disappearance act caused it. It may have intensified it though.
The dad seemed to be completely out of control. He was there but did nothing to help his wife get better.
Nicole and Genevieve, the two friends Serena acquired after a run-in with with some stupid boys (among them her boyfriend) were sworn off boys because they'd suffered humiliation on more than one occasion. They liked to play tough, but inwardly they were just hurt and needed reassurance and love.
In conclusion:
The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing isn't a fast-pace read, but it leaves you thinking in the end.
January 7, 2016
2.5 stars
I looked at the summary of The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing, by C.K. Kelly Martin, when it came into my library and it was pretty highly rated, four point something, though I don't remember exactly what. The rating's come down now, 3.88 at the time I'm writing this, and that seems much more in line with the book I read. To be completely honest, I didn't really enjoy this book. I struggled with the writing style, never really clicked with or cared very deeply for any of the characters, and found the plot slow and kind of boring. Above all else, I felt rather squeamish about the age difference between Serena and Gage.
Serena's brother Devin's disappearance leaves her family reeling. After months of substance abuse and a final run in with his father, he takes off and seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. Serena feels his absence acutely because they were so close. Her mother's shut down, her father’s dealing with Serena’s mom and his own guilt, and her oldest brother, a semi-famous game show contestant turned video jockey on Much Music, lives in Toronto, so Serena has no one to turn to. After her first boyfriend lets her down, she befriends a group of girls who've sworn off guys. Then she meets a new guy while she's working. Gage isn't like the guys in her high school. Instead of rushing her into sex, he's clear that he doesn't want a sexual relationship. She keeps her budding relationship a secret from her new friends while she and Gage keep secrets of their own. One day while visiting her brother in Toronto, Serena sees Devin, or thinks she does, and she sets out on a quest to look for him on her own.
I tried very hard not to spoil anything in the summary, but I pretty much told the whole story save for a few not-surprises. I'm calling them not-surprises because you'll pick up on the hints in the story from the very beginning, and you'll see where the plot is going. What I liked best were the Canadian references to places like Second Cup, Tim Hortons and Much Music because as a Canadian, I don’t get to read about those too often.
Serena was okay. She was a good representation of a 15 year old. She was kind of all over the map emotionally and trying to figure out who she wanted to be, all while struggling with her old self-image—29 pounds heavier—and her new one. She's not used to male attention, and now that she's had a taste, she wants to explore it. I think my biggest problem is that I felt like we spent way too much time in her head. Her thoughts just weren't that deep. She justifies her behaviour to suit her mood, keeps secrets she shouldn't be keeping, and was much more reactive than I would have liked. Impulsive or impetuous, if you will. And I'm not at all sure she learned anything from her mistakes, or even that she saw them as mistakes.
I liked that Gage was respectful, honest and relatively upfront, but I couldn't ignore his past or gloss over and justify his choices as easily as Serena did, especially the one to be with Serena in the first place. I didn't feel one way or the other about Serena's friends, although I liked seeing the group stand up for other girls who were being picked on or taken advantage of. I think I liked Morgan, Serena's brother, best of all. At least he was trying to help everyone move on instead of ignoring the elephant in the room by avoiding the topic of Devin. His boyfriend Jimmy was lovely as well. I felt bad for Serena's parents but angry at them for ignoring Serena at the same time.
I thought this review would be short and to the point, but much like this story was very all over the place for me, discussing it has left me rambling and without a point. At the end of the day, this story didn't really go anywhere. I felt like the character growth didn’t go far enough, that the plot lacked a clear focus, and that the characters were not easily relatable or admirable. I don’t think this story was for me.
I looked at the summary of The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing, by C.K. Kelly Martin, when it came into my library and it was pretty highly rated, four point something, though I don't remember exactly what. The rating's come down now, 3.88 at the time I'm writing this, and that seems much more in line with the book I read. To be completely honest, I didn't really enjoy this book. I struggled with the writing style, never really clicked with or cared very deeply for any of the characters, and found the plot slow and kind of boring. Above all else, I felt rather squeamish about the age difference between Serena and Gage.
Serena's brother Devin's disappearance leaves her family reeling. After months of substance abuse and a final run in with his father, he takes off and seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. Serena feels his absence acutely because they were so close. Her mother's shut down, her father’s dealing with Serena’s mom and his own guilt, and her oldest brother, a semi-famous game show contestant turned video jockey on Much Music, lives in Toronto, so Serena has no one to turn to. After her first boyfriend lets her down, she befriends a group of girls who've sworn off guys. Then she meets a new guy while she's working. Gage isn't like the guys in her high school. Instead of rushing her into sex, he's clear that he doesn't want a sexual relationship. She keeps her budding relationship a secret from her new friends while she and Gage keep secrets of their own. One day while visiting her brother in Toronto, Serena sees Devin, or thinks she does, and she sets out on a quest to look for him on her own.
I tried very hard not to spoil anything in the summary, but I pretty much told the whole story save for a few not-surprises. I'm calling them not-surprises because you'll pick up on the hints in the story from the very beginning, and you'll see where the plot is going. What I liked best were the Canadian references to places like Second Cup, Tim Hortons and Much Music because as a Canadian, I don’t get to read about those too often.
Serena was okay. She was a good representation of a 15 year old. She was kind of all over the map emotionally and trying to figure out who she wanted to be, all while struggling with her old self-image—29 pounds heavier—and her new one. She's not used to male attention, and now that she's had a taste, she wants to explore it. I think my biggest problem is that I felt like we spent way too much time in her head. Her thoughts just weren't that deep. She justifies her behaviour to suit her mood, keeps secrets she shouldn't be keeping, and was much more reactive than I would have liked. Impulsive or impetuous, if you will. And I'm not at all sure she learned anything from her mistakes, or even that she saw them as mistakes.
I liked that Gage was respectful, honest and relatively upfront, but I couldn't ignore his past or gloss over and justify his choices as easily as Serena did, especially the one to be with Serena in the first place. I didn't feel one way or the other about Serena's friends, although I liked seeing the group stand up for other girls who were being picked on or taken advantage of. I think I liked Morgan, Serena's brother, best of all. At least he was trying to help everyone move on instead of ignoring the elephant in the room by avoiding the topic of Devin. His boyfriend Jimmy was lovely as well. I felt bad for Serena's parents but angry at them for ignoring Serena at the same time.
I thought this review would be short and to the point, but much like this story was very all over the place for me, discussing it has left me rambling and without a point. At the end of the day, this story didn't really go anywhere. I felt like the character growth didn’t go far enough, that the plot lacked a clear focus, and that the characters were not easily relatable or admirable. I don’t think this story was for me.
October 30, 2014
I usually love books that make me feel a range of emotions. If I rage, or almost cry, or laugh, or scream, to me the book is phenomenal. This book, however, didn't make me do any of those things, and when it did, it was to a small degree. However, do not assume that because of this factor, I didn't like it. That is, in fact, not the case. It was actually really good. But my love for this book is quiet, subdued, like how I am in real life. My love for it hit me softly, like a light shower on a spring day, and I believe that sometimes, the quietest books have more impact than the ones that hit you like a freight train.
This book was quite thought-provoking for me. Some points truly hit close to home. I could understand the main character's struggle with her mindset about weight. I mean, once you have experienced the prejudice that so clearly goes along with it, you never want to experience it ever again. So I definitely related to her in that regard. And then when she meets a guy, Gage, after swearing them off for awhile post breakup, all the things she knows about relationships, or at least the one she had with her ex Jacob, go out the window. She is practically thrown for a loop. And while I do think she too overreacted to the outcome of her and Gage's first "date", Gage cannot take all the blame, I think it's good that what happened happened. Because it started a chain of events which taught her things she never knew about herself. It gave her expectations for what she wants in future relationships, because this book's ending does not guarantee the two a happy ending, but it does guarantee that things will get infinitely better, for Serena is finding out what she truly wants from herself and from life itself.
In the beginning of the book, after Serena and Jacob's breakup, Serena feels isolated. The friends she had before getting together with Jacob seem to be doing their own thing, and she's alone. But seeing another girl in desperate need of a friend after having a video basically sent to everyone in school of her doing something she wasn't proud of guarantees Serena two new girl's she can relate to. And their common ground of swearing off boys makes their small group grow even more. Well, maybe not a lot more, but it does grow. And it also helps to make Serena into a better version of herself, because it shows her strength and compassion and an understanding of people's situations, even if they got themselves in the mess, that I believe makes her and Gage's relationship grow even more. In fact, I believe it makes Gage's own situation easier to understand.
As for her brother Devin, his leaving left a gaping hole in her family. Her parents pretty much stopped once he left and haven't been the same since. And while it is hard too for Serena to get over the fact that he did leave, because they seem so close in her recollections of the early days before he started shutting down, I also think it was good for her that he did this. It gives her a chance to connect with her older brother Morgan, who she mentions consistently, more contemplative than whiny, as being the star child of the family, the perfect one. She begins to see cracks in his facade that she never noticed were there before. And while is does seem naturally perfect, the fact that they were never close almost hurts him. Okay, it DOES hurt him. He truly wants to be there for her, and her animosity toward the fact that he does seem perfect probably kills him inside, because he can't help it. That's who he is, and he is such an amazing person, along with his boyfriend, and I was glad to see Serena find this out.
While this story does have an aspect of love in it, there is so much more. It is about finding your true self in a world where people judge you at every turn. About living your life even though bad things may happen along with the good. There is a sunshine at the end of this page-filled rainbow, a subtle sunshine that basically says everything is going to be okay, and you know what, at the end of this book, I could feel it almost warming my face.
This book was quite thought-provoking for me. Some points truly hit close to home. I could understand the main character's struggle with her mindset about weight. I mean, once you have experienced the prejudice that so clearly goes along with it, you never want to experience it ever again. So I definitely related to her in that regard. And then when she meets a guy, Gage, after swearing them off for awhile post breakup, all the things she knows about relationships, or at least the one she had with her ex Jacob, go out the window. She is practically thrown for a loop. And while I do think she too overreacted to the outcome of her and Gage's first "date", Gage cannot take all the blame, I think it's good that what happened happened. Because it started a chain of events which taught her things she never knew about herself. It gave her expectations for what she wants in future relationships, because this book's ending does not guarantee the two a happy ending, but it does guarantee that things will get infinitely better, for Serena is finding out what she truly wants from herself and from life itself.
In the beginning of the book, after Serena and Jacob's breakup, Serena feels isolated. The friends she had before getting together with Jacob seem to be doing their own thing, and she's alone. But seeing another girl in desperate need of a friend after having a video basically sent to everyone in school of her doing something she wasn't proud of guarantees Serena two new girl's she can relate to. And their common ground of swearing off boys makes their small group grow even more. Well, maybe not a lot more, but it does grow. And it also helps to make Serena into a better version of herself, because it shows her strength and compassion and an understanding of people's situations, even if they got themselves in the mess, that I believe makes her and Gage's relationship grow even more. In fact, I believe it makes Gage's own situation easier to understand.
As for her brother Devin, his leaving left a gaping hole in her family. Her parents pretty much stopped once he left and haven't been the same since. And while it is hard too for Serena to get over the fact that he did leave, because they seem so close in her recollections of the early days before he started shutting down, I also think it was good for her that he did this. It gives her a chance to connect with her older brother Morgan, who she mentions consistently, more contemplative than whiny, as being the star child of the family, the perfect one. She begins to see cracks in his facade that she never noticed were there before. And while is does seem naturally perfect, the fact that they were never close almost hurts him. Okay, it DOES hurt him. He truly wants to be there for her, and her animosity toward the fact that he does seem perfect probably kills him inside, because he can't help it. That's who he is, and he is such an amazing person, along with his boyfriend, and I was glad to see Serena find this out.
While this story does have an aspect of love in it, there is so much more. It is about finding your true self in a world where people judge you at every turn. About living your life even though bad things may happen along with the good. There is a sunshine at the end of this page-filled rainbow, a subtle sunshine that basically says everything is going to be okay, and you know what, at the end of this book, I could feel it almost warming my face.
September 27, 2014
I enjoyed the characters for the most part in The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing but there are many things that pushed me away from this read. Namely, the drama is lackluster and left me hanging through most of the book with no real idea of why, until almost the very end.
Firstly, we have Serena, she's your average gal, maybe a bit pudgy and not overly pretty. She, like most girls in high school, want to do anything to impress the boys around her, that is until she gets burned. This portion of the plot I did like. Serena has to learn through her various mistakes why it's bad to do things that other teenage, drunk, boys want you to do. Emphasis on the DRUNK. Emphasis on this being a contemporary with cell phones that can video every horror filled moment of you doing something you were telling yourself NOT to do in the first place!!
The characters were really real. Not every guy is an asshole, not every girl is a naive idiot that's trying to get a guy to like her. But, this is high school and all of us can remember the horror and the drama of those days! That part felt totally real but at the same time didn't necessarily make me want to continue reading the story. This is where the lackluster part hits. Not boredom necessarily but nothing made me want to continue the story.
Also, we have Serena's parents. YES! Another YA with parents that are in their children's lives. Well... sort of. These parents are messed up after Serena's brother goes missing. He was starting to go down a dark path and they didn't know how to help him but now they are wrought with worry. So much so that Serena has one major reason to want boys to like her, so she gets SOME kind of attention.
I really did like that Serena winds up having a small group of girls that she can confide in. I think that is so important for everyone but especially when she feels like she has nobody to turn to. Gage threw me for a little bit of a loop at first but I really like that guy. His motives are very interesting! This also progresses the story while adding in some drama that, once again, is totally real nowadays. My favorite parts of the book all had to do with Gage.
The ending felt right. I was worried that things weren't going to be answered and just left as they were around the 80% (ish) part, but everything was summed up nicely and left me feeling satisfied that I read this.
In short: Very contemporary romance with some real issues that girls have to face every day.
This review was originally posted on Creating Serenity
January 30, 2015
I had this feeling that I would totally like this one. Yet when I got to a certain point in the book, I thought that it wasn't what I expected. Then again I reached another point in the book and realized that I liked it more than I thought I would. Judgments and conclusions are not really enough, huh?
Everything about Serena's life is more of a cliche. Still it did not bore me entirely. The things that happened to her, how she managed them and how the people around her managed them were all a little expected. Though I guess that's a given in a contemporary novel. What set out this one apart is the realistic thoughts and actions that the characters had. They said and did things one will say and do in real life. It may be rude and all but it's the truth and you can't always get that. At first, I didn't like Serena. Like I've said, the characters were realistic and so she was being a fifteen year old obsessed-with-herself kind of girl. As the story went on, I learned how to soften with her. She had her reasons and stuff. Though that's one thing I didn't exactly feel genuine with. It was like I just read she was having her closure in the end and that's it. I don't know why but it seemed a little rush for me when that happened. I didn't get to feel that heavy weight lifted off my chest.
This novel may be about Serena trying to be contented with herself, trying to find her brother, trying to be enough for her parents. But for me, it was more than that. It was about being fat, about swearing off guys, about judging people based on their looks, about how you cannot help people when they don't want your help, about family issues and just about everything else. I guess anyone can relate to these things even in the most indirect way. So you definitely won't get bored with this.
I have to commend Kelly's writing for making this novel entertaining while still tackling the issues in a serious way. Truly one of the most realistic light-but-heavy novels I've read with realistic concerns.
Originally posted at The Bookish Confections
Everything about Serena's life is more of a cliche. Still it did not bore me entirely. The things that happened to her, how she managed them and how the people around her managed them were all a little expected. Though I guess that's a given in a contemporary novel. What set out this one apart is the realistic thoughts and actions that the characters had. They said and did things one will say and do in real life. It may be rude and all but it's the truth and you can't always get that. At first, I didn't like Serena. Like I've said, the characters were realistic and so she was being a fifteen year old obsessed-with-herself kind of girl. As the story went on, I learned how to soften with her. She had her reasons and stuff. Though that's one thing I didn't exactly feel genuine with. It was like I just read she was having her closure in the end and that's it. I don't know why but it seemed a little rush for me when that happened. I didn't get to feel that heavy weight lifted off my chest.
This novel may be about Serena trying to be contented with herself, trying to find her brother, trying to be enough for her parents. But for me, it was more than that. It was about being fat, about swearing off guys, about judging people based on their looks, about how you cannot help people when they don't want your help, about family issues and just about everything else. I guess anyone can relate to these things even in the most indirect way. So you definitely won't get bored with this.
I have to commend Kelly's writing for making this novel entertaining while still tackling the issues in a serious way. Truly one of the most realistic light-but-heavy novels I've read with realistic concerns.
Originally posted at The Bookish Confections
October 31, 2014
(YA) When fifteen year-old Serena sheds nearly thirty pounds over the summer, she's suddenly a hot commodity to the boys in her high school. Despite family troubles concerning her brother that has disappeared, she's willing to try out her newfound body-confidence and ends up dating a boy her age.
Except it doesn't go that well. Does having a boyfriend mean losing your self-respect?
Fed up with the shocking misogyny that's converged on them from the boys that said they loved them, she and her new-ish friends swear off the opposite sex altogether. But then Serena meets Gage -- a hottie, who is also four years older than her -- and who has some secrets. Can she balance this? Should she even want to? What would her friends say? And is this even right?
So... what I love about Martin's writing here, is that this book, from the very first scene on, is really, really raw. It's the opposite of melodrama -- it just this slow, guttural burn as Serena tries to figure everything out. Her relationship with Gage was intriguing from their first meeting, and Serena made me laugh over and over again -- especially in the beginning when she feels she just can't trust anyone. Her unspoken thoughts just cracked me up. She's wry and smart and later on, in all the upheaval, her frustrations and thoughts just cut to the bone. I kept going back to certain passages -- how did Martin do that, make me feel exactly how Serena was feeling?
It didn't end how I thought it would -- concerning Gage or Serena's family issues. And I liked that, too. Nice to know some things can still surprise me.* :)
-----
*Am I the only one that thought she was going to somehow end up with Jon Wheatly? I know he was only mentioned a few times, but he jumped off each of the whopping two pages that he was mentioned on -- I pegged him as the guy she'd end up with, somehow, in some way... what the hell was I thinking?
*Also, this cover is my favorite cover of the year so far. Feels right.
Except it doesn't go that well. Does having a boyfriend mean losing your self-respect?
Fed up with the shocking misogyny that's converged on them from the boys that said they loved them, she and her new-ish friends swear off the opposite sex altogether. But then Serena meets Gage -- a hottie, who is also four years older than her -- and who has some secrets. Can she balance this? Should she even want to? What would her friends say? And is this even right?
So... what I love about Martin's writing here, is that this book, from the very first scene on, is really, really raw. It's the opposite of melodrama -- it just this slow, guttural burn as Serena tries to figure everything out. Her relationship with Gage was intriguing from their first meeting, and Serena made me laugh over and over again -- especially in the beginning when she feels she just can't trust anyone. Her unspoken thoughts just cracked me up. She's wry and smart and later on, in all the upheaval, her frustrations and thoughts just cut to the bone. I kept going back to certain passages -- how did Martin do that, make me feel exactly how Serena was feeling?
It didn't end how I thought it would -- concerning Gage or Serena's family issues. And I liked that, too. Nice to know some things can still surprise me.* :)
-----
*Am I the only one that thought she was going to somehow end up with Jon Wheatly? I know he was only mentioned a few times, but he jumped off each of the whopping two pages that he was mentioned on -- I pegged him as the guy she'd end up with, somehow, in some way... what the hell was I thinking?
*Also, this cover is my favorite cover of the year so far. Feels right.
October 1, 2015
Rating 4.5/5
C.K. Kelly Martin has a way of stirring up emotions in a subtle, quiet way that you don't even realizing that it is happening until it consumes you. She has done this once again with The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing. With her story, she captures the experiences of a girl growing up, figuring out what she wants, and finding her voice.
I loved the varied relationships throughout the book. We get to see Serena with her parents and learn of their new family dynamic after her older has left home. We see Serena with her oldest brother - the golden boy - as she tries to figure out their relationship. We see the new friendships that develop between a group of girls who are tired of rumors and slut-shaming and want to do something about it. We see a romantic relationship develop between Serena and Gage - the too-cute guy who stops in her place of work. Through all of these relationships we get to know Serena and her fears and doubts and her insecurities, but we also get to see her strengths and her convictions as she attempts to figure out who she is and what she wants.
The relationship that develops between Serena and Gage is complicated. There is attraction and intimacy. There are misunderstandings and hurt feelings. They have their secrets and half-truths (and even some lies), but eventually there is communication. They discussed wants and desires and boundaries and limits in a way that was genuine. We get to see a real friendship develop between them and see how funny they are together as they fall for each other.
I remember what a confusing age fifteen was with trying figure out what I wanted, what I should want, and questioning my friendships. I could see parts of my teenage self in Serena. She isn't perfect, and I think that is why I liked her so much.
I loved reading this book and getting to know the characters. I found it to be an emotional and fulfilling story. I hope that other readers will love it just as much as I do.
C.K. Kelly Martin has a way of stirring up emotions in a subtle, quiet way that you don't even realizing that it is happening until it consumes you. She has done this once again with The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing. With her story, she captures the experiences of a girl growing up, figuring out what she wants, and finding her voice.
I loved the varied relationships throughout the book. We get to see Serena with her parents and learn of their new family dynamic after her older has left home. We see Serena with her oldest brother - the golden boy - as she tries to figure out their relationship. We see the new friendships that develop between a group of girls who are tired of rumors and slut-shaming and want to do something about it. We see a romantic relationship develop between Serena and Gage - the too-cute guy who stops in her place of work. Through all of these relationships we get to know Serena and her fears and doubts and her insecurities, but we also get to see her strengths and her convictions as she attempts to figure out who she is and what she wants.
The relationship that develops between Serena and Gage is complicated. There is attraction and intimacy. There are misunderstandings and hurt feelings. They have their secrets and half-truths (and even some lies), but eventually there is communication. They discussed wants and desires and boundaries and limits in a way that was genuine. We get to see a real friendship develop between them and see how funny they are together as they fall for each other.
I remember what a confusing age fifteen was with trying figure out what I wanted, what I should want, and questioning my friendships. I could see parts of my teenage self in Serena. She isn't perfect, and I think that is why I liked her so much.
I loved reading this book and getting to know the characters. I found it to be an emotional and fulfilling story. I hope that other readers will love it just as much as I do.
December 12, 2014
I am a huge fan of Martin's writing and I absolutely loved this book.
Let's start with the fact that Serena has body image issues - which is something that is very close to my heart. Being overweight plays with your head and your emotions and everything else (some of it you don't even realize is being affected) and let's say that it will lead you to do things that you would never do, if you didn't feel so bad about yourself. Oh and did I mention "things that you would not normally do if OTHER people didn't make you feel so bad about yourself".
So, I am not surprised that Serena showed some singularly poor judgment which, now is coming back to bite her in the ass. "Watch what you ask for, you might get it" popped into my head and just would not leave throughout this entire book.
Body images are not the only thing Serena is dealing with and through all of it, her little voice keeps telling her there is better - which she finds in Gage.
What follows is a touching friendship/relationship with ups and downs - which serves to help Serena grow.
This book is touching because it deals with a young girl who is struggling on so many levels. Having said this, however, I have to admit that C.K. Kelly Martin's books are always deep and touching. But I especially identified with Serena who is just trying to figure out where she fits in this life.
The writing is down to earth and sensitive and I love, love that Serena is flawed. So often, authors try to make their characters either too perfect or horrible and Serena is neither.
Yes, there are other characters in this story, but Serena is the story for me.
Let's start with the fact that Serena has body image issues - which is something that is very close to my heart. Being overweight plays with your head and your emotions and everything else (some of it you don't even realize is being affected) and let's say that it will lead you to do things that you would never do, if you didn't feel so bad about yourself. Oh and did I mention "things that you would not normally do if OTHER people didn't make you feel so bad about yourself".
So, I am not surprised that Serena showed some singularly poor judgment which, now is coming back to bite her in the ass. "Watch what you ask for, you might get it" popped into my head and just would not leave throughout this entire book.
Body images are not the only thing Serena is dealing with and through all of it, her little voice keeps telling her there is better - which she finds in Gage.
What follows is a touching friendship/relationship with ups and downs - which serves to help Serena grow.
This book is touching because it deals with a young girl who is struggling on so many levels. Having said this, however, I have to admit that C.K. Kelly Martin's books are always deep and touching. But I especially identified with Serena who is just trying to figure out where she fits in this life.
The writing is down to earth and sensitive and I love, love that Serena is flawed. So often, authors try to make their characters either too perfect or horrible and Serena is neither.
Yes, there are other characters in this story, but Serena is the story for me.
March 19, 2015
The book explores the balancing act of being in high school, where girls are ostracized for being too uptight and chaste, or are taunted and humiliated for being too promiscuous. This is amplified with the prevalence of social media because word or even video of every mistake can spread quickly. The conflicting pressures from boys, friends, and family can be overwhelming as demonstrated in the novel.
cover artSerena has a complicated family life that has an impact on the rest of her relationships. Her favourite brother’s drug problems and disappearance leave her with mentally absent parents. Her other brother’s fame overshadows her, as she struggles to deal with the loss.
The author does a fantastic job of making the everyday struggles resonate. From insecurity about her weight, to a mix of excitement and shame about her sexuality, to the disillusionment she feels about her role-model turning out to be flawed- Serena feels like a real person.
Teens looking or realistic drama will enjoy this.
cover artSerena has a complicated family life that has an impact on the rest of her relationships. Her favourite brother’s drug problems and disappearance leave her with mentally absent parents. Her other brother’s fame overshadows her, as she struggles to deal with the loss.
The author does a fantastic job of making the everyday struggles resonate. From insecurity about her weight, to a mix of excitement and shame about her sexuality, to the disillusionment she feels about her role-model turning out to be flawed- Serena feels like a real person.
Teens looking or realistic drama will enjoy this.
January 27, 2016
This was an amazing read --- a young girl, fifteen years old and her life trying to get through high school with a very dysfunctional family not really happening to her. And, yet through all the complications = her boyfriend is 19, lost twin brother she has located, mother on drugs and depressed. It gave me a new understanding of today’s teens – I never had to worry about drugs, sex, everyone taking pictures of everything you did on dates and at parties and then spreading them all through school…..this girl did great and bless her through the rest of her life! Even though it was a complicated read – very interesting, well plotted, well written and a book that could benefit an awful lot of people!
October 1, 2014
I really liked this book. I think that it may have been a tad scattered but overall I enjoyed the storyline, plot and the characters as well.
The MC left something to be desired but not everyone can be a complete badass. LOL!
I like that it deals with gritty issues. Raising awareness for teen readers is always a plus I think. Giving them a practical set of skills on how to deal or not to deal with certain situations. Parts of this read were super intense for me and I definitely had emotional moments.
Over all it was a great story it just took a little getting into.
I recommend it if you read Contemporary YA with meaning!
The MC left something to be desired but not everyone can be a complete badass. LOL!
I like that it deals with gritty issues. Raising awareness for teen readers is always a plus I think. Giving them a practical set of skills on how to deal or not to deal with certain situations. Parts of this read were super intense for me and I definitely had emotional moments.
Over all it was a great story it just took a little getting into.
I recommend it if you read Contemporary YA with meaning!
March 8, 2015
I liked this one - SLASH - feel sort of weird about it. The younger girl/older guy thing gets an interesting twist where the guy isn't THAT much older, but the fact that he pushes it into more uncomfortable territory. Like, I get that there are probably lots of relationships between people on either side of the Great Dividing Line Of Adulthood, but this doesn't really delve too much into the downside/stigma attached and sort of glamourizes it.
That said, well drawn, sympathetic characters in an unusual-yet-believable situation.
That said, well drawn, sympathetic characters in an unusual-yet-believable situation.
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