Review: Virtuosity
Format: Hardcover
Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better?
Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected.
Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall....
From the day I was born, I sang.
At two years old, I'd make noise when my diaper was being changed, and I'd kick my legs.
At three, I would bounce in my crib and sing.
At five, I would stand in front of the TV when Blue's Clues was on and shake my butt in my diaper, singing the Mail Song.
At eleven, I entered a singing competition, and when I was twelve, I won it.
The point of this timeline-style anecdote is that I've felt pressure my entire life, to do better, to do more, to improve, to win. I know exactly what Carmen and Jeremy are going through, which made this book SO easy to read. I related so much to this book, it wasn't even funny. I played violin as well, for three years. I wasn't very good, but I knew all the musical terms which made this book that much relatable. I remember that something Carmen couldn't do, I couldn't do either, and it felt like Jessica Martinez had written a book about me. Well, except for the fact that I definitely wasn't in a worldwide violin competition. And my mom wasn't my manager.
The book was actually REALLY SHORT. The font was GINORMOUS and there were under 300 pages, so it felt like I was zipping through it. My total reading time was about an hour; it really didn't take long. I read it on the airplane from Reno to Spokane. (Sorry, if my thoughts are jumbled up. I'm not very coherent in the brain today.)
Virtuosity was great.
:)
Five Owls
Comments