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A Common Language
Kalli Hardford is forced to leave her home in the US to attend an elite music college in the UK when she is accepted on scholarship. There she meets the members of Data Venia, a group on campus focused on excellence. When Kalli's scholarship is put at risk she must choose between friendship and getting ahead. All of the members of Data Venia must face their past to start their careers.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 27, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 2, 2018
I couldn't get into this book at all. I couldn't get attached to any character or understand their motivation for the way that they acted. But most of all, their are shifts in scenes without any kind of break or warning; you'll be reading a conversation between two people, and all of a sudden, two other people are talking about something completely different and you have no idea when the switch happened. Over the top drama, and a rushed post-climax (wherever that actually happened) with silly flash-forward future endings. I thought there would be more about the "common language" of music that these music students shared, but there wasn't even much of that at all. Overall, a disappointing book. Sorry.
May 9, 2014
I really wanted to love this book. In my opinion it was better than a two star "okay" because I saw the potential it was on the edge of achieving.
I liked how the characters were all coming from different areas with a wide variety of backgrounds. I like how the scenes would occasionally get broken up by UA staff point of views. I think the the plot lines were good and well braided, but it got confusing sometimes. This happened when the Author would reiterate and explain one situation from multiple points of view, and then others only one with no clarity making me wonder why it was mentioned at all.
I found it hard to connect with the characters for two reasons. One, I felt like I was being 'told' about them and not 'shown' their personalities through actions. Two, the angst and troubles experienced in this book weren't in balance with the good times the characters experienced. I wanted to enjoy the happy moments, but they were so fleeting and overshadowed immediately by another unfortunate event that would often reduce one of the main characters past the point of tears giving that character the opposite impression on me then I think was intended. This happened so much, that the impact of the ending wasn't as gripping as it could have been.
Like I said, this book had a great deal of potential, especially for a first novel. I was glad I stuck with it. It will defiantly stay on my shelf to read again. I have a lingering feeling this is the type of book that gets better with a second read.
I liked how the characters were all coming from different areas with a wide variety of backgrounds. I like how the scenes would occasionally get broken up by UA staff point of views. I think the the plot lines were good and well braided, but it got confusing sometimes. This happened when the Author would reiterate and explain one situation from multiple points of view, and then others only one with no clarity making me wonder why it was mentioned at all.
I found it hard to connect with the characters for two reasons. One, I felt like I was being 'told' about them and not 'shown' their personalities through actions. Two, the angst and troubles experienced in this book weren't in balance with the good times the characters experienced. I wanted to enjoy the happy moments, but they were so fleeting and overshadowed immediately by another unfortunate event that would often reduce one of the main characters past the point of tears giving that character the opposite impression on me then I think was intended. This happened so much, that the impact of the ending wasn't as gripping as it could have been.
Like I said, this book had a great deal of potential, especially for a first novel. I was glad I stuck with it. It will defiantly stay on my shelf to read again. I have a lingering feeling this is the type of book that gets better with a second read.
January 24, 2017
So I read another YA romance book...don't judge me. This one was quite good. The dialogue was at-times too realistic and there were too many characters to get significant depth out of many of them, but the premise was terrific and the execution makes you wonder about that whole "first novel" thing.
It's funny. We expect everyone to drop a "To Kill a Mockingbird" with their first novel, forgetting that:
1. Not everyone has a Truman Capote to do some "editing" and
2. "To Kill a Mockingbird" wasn't even Harper Lee's first.
This novel shows promise; a professional editor could have made this a 5* debut. As it is, it is a fun read. If you want to read about teens acting, sounding, and thinking like teens, try this novel on for size. You should not be disappointed.
It's funny. We expect everyone to drop a "To Kill a Mockingbird" with their first novel, forgetting that:
1. Not everyone has a Truman Capote to do some "editing" and
2. "To Kill a Mockingbird" wasn't even Harper Lee's first.
This novel shows promise; a professional editor could have made this a 5* debut. As it is, it is a fun read. If you want to read about teens acting, sounding, and thinking like teens, try this novel on for size. You should not be disappointed.
September 27, 2015
Honestly, I didn't get very far in this book. It was too hard to keep track of so many characters and I was annoyed by most of them.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews