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A review by marywahlmeierbracciano
The Music Game by Stéfanie Clermont
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
In this episodic, character-driven novel set in 2010s Canada and California, three friends come of age, inevitably drifting apart and back together again. Céline, Julie, and Sabrina want to live in a different world. Readers get to know them through gritty, complex vignettes, hazy with cigarette smoke. When Vincent, a friend in their circle, dies by suicide at an old gathering place, something changes. The friends burn out on their dreams, navigating family conflicts and romantic relationships, shared living arrangements, employment, and education in lonely places, whether filled with or devoid of people, although kinship remains a light in the dark. Stéfanie Clermont is a French-Canadian Sally Rooney.
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, and Rape