Guitar Notes – Mary Amato
Guitar Notes – Mary Amato
Tripp, who plays guitar only for himself, and Lyla, a cellist whose talent has already made her famous but not happy, form an unlikely friendship when they are forced to share a practice room at their high school.
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One thought on “Guitar Notes – Mary Amato”
Guitar Notes was sweet and interesting, if somewhat predictable. The plot line didn’t surprise me and the plot twist was a bit unoriginal, but the book was overall enjoyable. It was a nice balance between light and serious. I would say the novel definitely deserved to be published, read, and praised, but not awed over.
I liked almost everything about this book. Lyla and Tripp – the main characters – were unique and well-characterized. They were unpredictable and certainly not stereotypical, which made them all the more relatable. While I didn’t understand the music terminology and song writing they bonded over, I could understand how they each felt like an outcast in everyday life. Their story also gave me hope that I can make friends in unlikely situations despite being an introvert myself.
I also loved the way Lyla and Tripp communicated through notes and e-mails, but the book also described life when they were not interacting with one another. In other words, Guitar Notes was not an epistolary novel (a story written in the form of a series of documents). I found the balance between writing formats and characters to be a perfect balance. Thus, I was not bothered by character bias or boredom of one perspective.
After spending time thinking about Guitar Notes, I have decided that the reason I couldn’t absolutely adore the story was the fact that it was played safe. The author didn’t take any risks. The only good example I can’think of involves a SPOILER ALERT IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH.
I could really relate to how Lyla didn’t love playing the cello anymore but couldn’t bring herself to tell her dad. Then she went into a coma after a car accident and when she woke up her dad didn’t care because he was so glad she was alive. Problem solved. I felt that that plot twist was a way of chickening out of the confrontation the book has been escalating towards. In real life, people have to face their fears and deal with their problems instead of having them go away under dramatic circumstances. Real life is not a soap opera.
All in all, I would recommend Guitar Notes for people who love guitar, are considered odd, and have difficulty saying no. Although my mind wasn’t blown away, this was a nice book to wrap up the summer with.