Offbeat

October 15, 2018
Grades 7-10 Rose is serious about music, and she has her mother's full support, including receiving her late father's violin for her fourteenth birthday. There's only one problem: Rose wants to be a folk musician, but her mother wants her to be a classical musician. Rose is allowed to attend a folk festival to perform with her Celtic music group, but her mother makes it clear that if Rose does not choose to "get serious" and pursue classical music, she will no longer support Rose with private lessons. Rose hopes to win a fiddle contest at the concert to prove her seriousness about folk music, but one problem piles on top of another. She meets Liam, a kind of free spirit, who is friendly and supportive, and the simplicity of their friendship is refreshing. Rose's first-person, present-tense narrative is not overwrought with drama, despite the daunting obstacles she faces, and she achieves a convincing new level of maturity. This is a great high/low pick, and the well-paced story and likable characters will have wide appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)