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But one person won’t let Daisy forget who she used to be: Irish exchange student and brilliant musician Cal. Does she want the bad boy or the prodigy? Should she side with her parents or protect her brother? How do you know when to hold on and when—and how—to let go?
“The Sound of Letting Go is deeply moving, fiercely honest, and always surprising. Stasia Ward Kehoe’s characters are so real and complex, you won’t want to let them go at the end. I loved this book!”—Barbara Dee, author of Solving Zoe, This is Me From Now On, Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life, and Trauma Queen
“Achingly beautiful, The Sound of Letting Go takes readers down a dangerous path while touching the heart and encouraging hope.”—Elana Johnson, author of Possession, Surrender, and Abandon
“Told in verse that is at once delicate and strong, lyrical and honest, Stasia Kehoe’s The Sound of Letting Go is a moving contemporary story of the intense push and pull between the responsibility of family and the freedom of dreams.”—Jessi Kirby, author of Moonglass, In Honor, and Golden
“With captivating verse and a lyrical love story to match, The Sound of Letting Go will keep you hanging on, breathless and enchanted, until the very last page.”—Gretchen McNeil, author of Possess, Ten and the forthcoming 3:59 and the “Don’t Get Mad” series
“Soulful and stunning, this book has captured my heart. It’s one of those tragic melodies you never want to end, a tribute to the damning and redemptive power of music.”—Jessica Martinez, author of Virtuosity and The Space Between Us
“The Sound of Letting Go draws you honestly into the turbulent ambivalence of life with a severely challenged sibling, while never short-shrifting Daisy's individual coming-of-age journey. The music of Stasia Kehoe's beautifully flawed characters will resonate in your mind long after you finish reading her book.”—Elise Allen, author of Populazzi, co-author of the Elixir series with Hilary Duff
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 6, 2014 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781101626559
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781101626559
- File size: 863 KB
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 6
- Lexile® Measure: 940
- Interest Level: 9-12(UG)
- Text Difficulty: 4-6
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Reviews
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Starred review from December 9, 2013
Kehoe’s second novel-in-verse, after 2011’s Audition, movingly evokes the conflicting emotions of 17-year-old Daisy Meehan as her family teeters on the edge of falling apart due to her younger brother Steven’s violent episodes. A skilled trumpet player, Daisy has used music as a means of escape from her chaotic home life for years. However, her parents, burdened by caring for Steven, “who has morphed from challenging autistic boy/ to dangerous, nonverbal near-man,” are unable to give her the support she needs. Now that they are considering placing Steven in an institution, Daisy is torn, craving a respite from being Steven’s “third parent,” but also dreading the hole in the family his absence would leave. Daisy’s increasingly large acts of rebellion undermine her chance to cultivate a friendship with a foreign exchange student who shares her passion for jazz. Instead, she turns to an old friend, who is no stranger to family conflicts. This painfully honest portrait of a family in crisis raises questions about love, responsibility, and self-sacrifice as it moves gracefully to a difficult but realistic resolution. Ages 12–up. Agent: Catherine Drayton, InkWell Management. -
December 15, 2013
"Change...is scary." And family breakup is never easy. Learning that her parents plan to place her unpredictably violent autistic brother in a group home, accomplished trumpet player and responsible older sister Daisy Meehan experiments with bad behavior in her junior year in high school, trying to figure out how she feels about it. Is this freedom? Does she want it? The author of this moving story underscores her point as Daisy and exchange student Cal O'Casey work out a fictional autobiography of a newly freed slave for an AP history class. Has Daisy's family been enslaved by her autistic brother, now big and frighteningly strong but still nonverbal? Will Cal, also a talented jazz musician, be a slave to his family's business back in Ireland, or her old friend-turned-boyfriend Dave Miller to his family's straitened circumstances? What does/would 13-year-old Steven want? As she ponders the dissolution of her own family, Daisy also considers her friends' parents' divorces. Families come apart in many ways and for many reasons, but in a small New Hampshire town, most everyone knows what's going on. Written in short lines of free verse and short chapters, this accessible narrative moves along quickly and believably, ending satisfyingly without suggesting that all has been resolved. An intriguing medley of music, teen romance, high school life and serious family issues. (Fiction. 13-18)COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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February 1, 2014
Gr 7 Up-Daisy Meehan is the kind of daughter who makes her parents proud. She is studious, a musical prodigy, and sacrifices her social life to help out with her brother, Steven, who has a severe form of autism. But when Daisy's parents decide to institutionalize her increasingly violent brother, she revolts. She quits band and starts dating the local bad boy. Kehoe's verse novel is a raw look at conflicting emotions and the healing power of music. Readers will be immersed in Daisy's battle between relief and guilt as she comes to terms with the fact that her brother will be separated from his family. She feels trapped in the quiet, careful household created to appease Steven, and her tension is alleviated at the idea of living without her brother. Daisy must then confront her own guilt over her feelings. Kehoe explores the power of music as it heals not only Daisy's pains but calms her brother's violent outbursts. This realistic portrayal of a family nearly torn apart by crisis will interest fans of romance, music, and drama.-Tiffany Davis, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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July 1, 2014
Star student and gifted trumpet player Daisy is furious when her parents decide they must institutionalize her autistic younger brother, whose increasing violence makes home life dangerous. The difficulty of decision-making is echoed in Daisy's mixed-up feelings about alluring bad boy Dave and Irish exchange student (and fellow jazz musician) Cal. Kehoe's novel in verse is a compassionately told, compelling story.(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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