Book Review: Harp's Song by Cassie Shine


Warning: this review contains mild spoilers!

This book is a very easy read. I finished it in two days, despite fitting my reading time around watching a few movies on Netflix. (For the record, Frances Ha is a great film!)

Harp's Song is a well written YA novel with believable characters. Cassie Shine has done a thorough job of fleshing out her protagonists, particularly Harp and her best friend Connor. My first impressions of Harp were that she was a sweet, pleasant girl with a good head on her shoulders despite being the victim of years of abuse. She was exceptionally well adjusted despite her many insecurities and lack of self-esteem. Her greatest quality was perhaps her desire to better her circumstances and follow her dreams of attending a music college. 

The portrayal of Harp in the beginning really made me like her and sympathise with her crappy home life, namely her evil bitch mother who makes it a point to verbally and physically abuse her own daughter every opportunity she gets. Cassie Shine's depiction of Harp's mother in the beginning chapters leaves no doubt in your mind that this is a disgusting excuse of a mother with no humane qualities whatsoever.

But then Harp's problems begin piling up, and she loses the plot and begins acting out. She ditches nice guy Connor and starts hanging out with a guy who frankly, gives off creepy rapist vibes every time he touches or even looks at her.

Towards the end of the book, Harp became quite unlikeable, almost a completely different person. Her mother's sudden personality change also seemed abrupt and unrealistic. Suddenly, she's a loving mother who is able to quit drinking despite years of abusing alcohol? I didn't buy it.

But all in all, it's not a bad book.

My rating:

(This ARC was provided by NetGalley)





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