The only reason I gave this book four stars is because it has a very Melbourne setting and so I am not sure how well it will be understood in other parts of Australia and this probably limits sending the book to other English speaking countries.
On the other hand this book is a splendid study of our modern times as we all negotiated Covid-19 and lockdowns, and daily government updates, and possibly even the death of a loved one. I do wish I could give it five stars because I found this story utterly engrossing.
Grace is the third daughter in a high achieving family. Her father plays the violin beautifully but he gave up his dream to be a musician and became a communications trainer. But music is in her soul just as it is for her grandmother Ettie who was one a member of the symphony. Her mother is an international lawyer and as the story opens she has left for Italy. The date is 28th February, 2020 and the world is becoming concerned about a virus in China. Listen to the music Grace plays with her dad.
Crux (James Michael Cruz) is an artist - he uses spray cans to create his huge works but for now he is limited to art on the garage wall because he is not allowed to buy spray cans until he is eighteen. His work is not tagging it is art. His father is a television cameraman so he is right in the thick of daily updates and news about Covid. He is also a youth counsellor. His mother loves crystals but she works as a nurse and so is all caught up in all the Covid panic, procedures and confusion.
Crux sees a YouTube video of Grace with her violin. He is invited by some street artists to assist with a huge commission piece in the city and when one guy fails to turn up, the other invite Crux to paint the violin girl.
This story is told in two voices, and it is a verse novel so it is filled with emotion. It is obvious from the beginning that Crux and Grace will meet but they will also have to navigate parents and the pandemic. The title has two meanings - grace notes are a part of music - optional but important and often beautiful. There are lots of notes in this book as Grace and Crux negotiate their new relationship, friendships and parents. They need to draw on grace to accept rules and change. They also have to convince their parents that even though they are both only fifteen they are old enough to make their own life decisions.
"My violin always feels warm,
like there's still a breath in it
from the spruce trees,
from the maple tree,
living wood
cut down, carved out
to create a stringed voice.
There's still a life-force that sings
that can't ever be suppressed,
even when my violin lies alone in its case."
"Mum never let us wear
Disney princess dress-ups.
She never let us read
the pink-and-purple-coloured books
-a dozen in a series -
with stories
about princesses who waited for princes
to rescue them.
So when we played princesses,
we rescued princes but refused to marry them,
fought dragons with homemade swords ... "
Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advance copy. Grace Notes was published on 1st February, 2023. I highly recommend this book as a terrific addition to a High School library especially one in Melbourne or Victoria but perhaps in other parts of Australia too. I'm sure teenagers will know the name Dan Andrews and many will vividly remember zoom lessons and lockdowns and even the toilet paper stampedes.
"Six days later Dan the man is up for his presser,
North Face jacket,
grim determination on his face.
I watch him from my laptop in bed,
still in my pyjamas ...
I already know what he's going to say.
He will tell Victorians,
the deflated Victorians,
the number of cases
in the preceding twenty-four hours - 274 -
the number of death in the preceding twenty-four hours
from coronavirus -
nine."
"Mum's face has almost permanent lines
from her PPE.
The AFL players catch planes with their families.
play footy for us.
We judge daily numbers
on whether Dan Andrews
is wearing his North Face or his suit.
We are over sourdough bread."
No comments:
Post a Comment