My Thoughts on Echoes of a Silent Song

 

About:

When a choral composer and conductor falls victim to creative block, he resorts to his fallback plan of teaching high school choir. Callum Knight’s goal at Peterson High is simple: rediscover his muse, extract himself from teaching, and get back to Boston as quickly as possible.

As the long-suffering accompanist at the high school, Peterson-native Blair Emerson has watched the revolving door of choir directors and their negative impact on her choirs over the last few years. She is less than impressed when a disheveled Callum stumbles in on his first day.

But then they discover an unsigned, unfinished, and handwritten choral composition by a clear musical genius. Blair recalls rumors of Iris, a Peterson student from the 1970s who composed music but was found dead during her senior year. Blair and Callum work to determine if the piece is hers, and the truth they uncover shakes both of them to the core.

With rhythm and flair, Amanda Wen takes readers on an unexpected journey into the depths of a small town’s history in this riveting first book in the Melodies and Memories duology.

My Thoughts:

It has been a little bit since I have read an author Wen novel, and this one was something else. First off, music is like a foreign language to me. I can't read it or make it, but I certainly do enjoy listening to it. It is a beautiful art form that is described so well in this story that I could almost hear it. Especially as this story speeds up and hits that ever-important climax.

This is a duology and both stories are connected to one another. Blair and Callum are two people who are forced to work together and do not exactly get along from the get-go. Callum sees his time as a teacher as only a place holder till he can get his creative juices flowing again. Blair on the other hand is dedicated to her job and these students and hates that Callum is only a stand in, nor does he seem to care. He is also very grumpy; she is very prickly. However, when Callum realizes that Blair just might be his muse that gets his music making going, their hidden passions for one another knocks out their animosity towards each other. I enjoyed watching their love story progress.

This is also a bittersweet mystery of a young student composer, Iris, who was said to have committed suicide in her senior year. We get inside of her head and hear her story and what was actually happening. Her story was very raw and at times painful and eye opening as well.

This was a riveting story of hurting people finding not only love again, but also the truth of the past.

I was provided a copy of this novel by the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review, and all views and opinions are my own.