Three main subjects are at the heart of Jennifer Weiner’ latest novel: motherhood, sisterhood, and music.
In the early 2000s, Sisters Zoe and Cassie share a modest room, go to school together, and sing together. Despite their closeness, they are very different from one another; poised and sociable Zoe looks out for awkward loner Cassie and gives her constant pep talks. Zoey wishes to be a beloved star in the pop music world. Cassie has a unique musical gift that she tries to keep private. She receives a scholarship to train in classical music at a top conservatory and finds her place in that world, most content when she’s focused on playing.
Russell D’Angelo is a thoughtful songwriter and musician who brings out the sisters’ talents. They become a band with the addition of a couple of other players. Gradually, they begin climbing the ladder to fame in a business that is known to be cutthroat, particularly to women. The sisters vie for Russel’s attention, at first only musically and then romantically as well. This leads to disharmony among all those involved with the individuals and the band.
Fast-forward to Zoe being an unequipped, reluctant mother to Cherry. Zoe is married to the handsome, stable Jordan, and tries to manage their blended family. But Cherry can’t abide Jordan’s son, whose disturbing behavior almost always evades detection. She grows up to be independent, seeking a music career of her own while knowing nothing about her mother’s past or about her aunt’s existence. Like her mother, she is motivated and relentless. One day she grabs an opportunity to run away and try her luck at fame.
Throughout the novel there are nostalgic mentions of all kinds of music, especially pop music from Zoe and Cassie’s teen years in the early aughts through Cherry’s in the current day. Russel has an encyclopedic knowledge of lyrics and music that he shares with Cassie. The reader learns much about the luck and momentum of the seemingly glitzy music business. The author also portrays the inner life of someone on the spectrum, describing Cassie’s loneliness and inability to conform to the “‘norm.” Cassie’s character speaks for so many who are misunderstood and whose talents can be easily passed over or missed. This book is compulsively readable and suitable for both teens and adults.
Miriam Bradman Abrahams, mom, grandmom, avid reader, sometime writer, born in Havana, raised in Brooklyn, residing in Long Beach on Long Island. Longtime former One Region One Book chair and JBC liaison for Nassau Hadassah, currently presenting Incident at San Miguel with author AJ Sidransky who wrote the historical fiction based on her Cuban Jewish refugee family’s experiences during the revolution. Fluent in Spanish and Hebrew, certified hatha yoga instructor.