The Song Reader

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing, honest storytelling
Review: "The Song Reader" is a strikingly real and honest book - the kind of book that draws you completely into the world of its characters, the kind of book that, when you finally look up from it, the room may have gone almost completely dark and you didn't notice. The characters are ones you grow quickly to care about, and the discoveries they make by the book's end are not overly dramatic, yet surprising and satisfying. Though the language may seem deceptively simple, this book takes on issues that are difficult and complex. I appreciate that Lisa Tucker doesn't exploit those issues, but handles them subtly, respectfully, with a compassion for her characters that sings on every page.

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Summary: Great debut novel!
Review: A fascinating first book by Lisa Tucker. Leeann is the narrator of this story of her life with her older sister, Mary Beth who is a song reader. Says Leeann: "Song reading was her term for it and she invented it as far as I know. ...she used music to read people's lives. Their music." This is a complex story of two sisters trying to make a life for themselves. Their father left when Leeann was very young and their mother died in a car accident when Leeann was in grade school. The ending left me hoping there will be a sequel. After all the ups and downs of the sisters and the people in their lives, there must be more to this story.

Lisa Tucker's characters put me in mind of the unique and eccentric characters that come to life in the books of Billie Letts and Fannie Flagg. I look forward to seeing more from this gifted author in the future.



Rating:
Summary: Sweet and tender coming of age story
Review: A sweet and tender coming of age story about two sisters, one the legal guardian of the other, living happily in a small midwestern town until personal struggles threaten this family unit. A very engaging read, I look forward to more from this author.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book to read!
Review: As so many have said here, I enjoyed meeting these strong and yet vulnerable new characters and watching their lives unfold. I relived my own adolescence, watching Leeann make decisions that would change her life forever, and make her way through her own rites of passage. I agonized with Mary Beth, as she tried to make everything "right" around her, knowing that she couldn't, but trying none the less.

But what I enjoyed most about this book was the reading experience of it. This is the type of novel where you will say, "Oh, I'll just finish this chapter" but when that time comes, you cheat. "I'll read one more...." The book is written so that you simply can't put the book down, which is my favorite type of book!

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Summary: Read it one night...
Review: but I'll remember it always. This book rings so painfully true that you can't pull yourself away. I turned page after page following the sorrowful triumph of Leeann and Mary Beth, two sisters living out the consequences of their mother's choices . . . and their own. I grew up in the 80s, so revisiting the songs was an added bonus. Who doesn't remember the summer of "Endless Love"? There were times during the reading of this book, that the reflections of my own pain during this period made me want to put the book down.

But I didn't dare.

Lisa Tucker's writing is a book should be--a trip into unexpected places with people we love, a trip that always leads back to ourselves. Bravo, Mrs. Tucker.

Rating:
Summary: BookBrowse Award Winner
Review: Davina - BookBrowse.com

The cover of this book led me think that it would be a bit of fluff - probably targeted at a relatively young teenage audience, but luckily I read a few pages to be sure, and then a few more, and found myself hooked. The plot device itself is original - one of the lead characters earns her living performing 'song readings' (during which she analyzes the songs that people can't get out of their heads for their hidden psychic meaning). However, a good plot device isn't enough to keep most people turning the pages - you also need characters that compel you into their lives and keep you reading. Lisa Tucker's debut novel is filled with mainly female characters who are compellingly odd whilst remaining thoroughly believable.

Recommended for women of all ages, including older teenagers. It would make an excellent reading club choice, especially for mixed aged groups.

Rating:
Summary: A rare gift
Review: Every once in a while a book comes along that inspires us and moves us to tears all at the same time all the while making it hard for us to tear our eyes away. That's what this book did for me: It gave me the gift of an equally rare and wonderful reading experience that will resonate within me for a long, long time.

The Song Reader is the story of two sisters who are seemingly alone against the world. Mary Beth is the legal custodian for her younger sister, LeAnn. Mary Beth supports them both as a waitress and a Song Reader, which if you're anything like me and associate a certain year with what was playing on the radio, or your favorite song with a paticularly happy time in your life you will understand the concept of song reading. Through these girls' indescibably strong bond they somehow make it work, but their life certainly is not without struggle and pain. Mary Beth doesn't understand LeAnn and vice versa and it's the unanswered questions and years of bottled up anguish that [possibly may] tear this family apart.

I am a [fan] for a coming of age story, but this one is a cut above all the rest. LeAnn is struggling with her feelings and finding her place in the world. Both she and her Sister, Mary Beth are honest, hearwrenching characters that will take up residence in your heart and mind for a long time.

Lisa Tucker has out done herself on her first time out. She has important things to say and a very unique way of saying them. If she hasn't already, I'm sure she will soon become quite an important strong voice in cotemporary fiction. I am anxiously awaiting another wonderful novel by Ms. Tucker!!

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Summary: Great Musical Fiction
Review: From Boston Beats (Matt Robinson)

Ever get a song stuck in your head? Find yourself singing the same refrain over and over, but you don't know why? Don't you wish there were someone to help you figure it out? Well now there is- Sort of. In her debut novel, journalist/waitress/computer programmer/professor and tour groupie Lisa Tucker presents Mary Beth Norris, a young woman who turns her small town on its ear by figuring out the meaning of the music it hears every day. Though she is kept plenty busy raising her adopted son and taking care of her younger sister, Mary Beth always has time for music. She spends hours each day going over the lyrics of favorite songs. Soon, she begins to offer her sonorous services to neighbors, as a way of helping them deal with issues they may not even consciously realize they have. As word of Mary Beth's special talents spreads, more and more people become inextricably linked to this sympathetic musical entrepreneur. Eventually, Mary Beth's odd calling turns on her, and it is up to those she has tried to help to return the favor, even if they do not fully understand it. Along the way, the town rediscovers many of its members, seeing them what they are, often for the first time. Whether Mary Beth can afford to continue to provide her services, however, remains to be seen. Written with vivid imagery and characters that all can recognize, The Song Reader is a unique vision that many may hope will come to pass. At turns shocking and inspiring, it is sure to stick with you and make you rethink your "favorite" songs.


Rating:
Summary: A Clever Story of Family Devotion and Secrets
Review: Have you ever had a tune pop into your head and then wonder where it came from? Or find yourself singing the same song over and over and over again? The plot of Lisa Tucker's debut novel, THE SONG READER, relies on the premise that those songs are not random, but rather that they have meaning just waiting to be uncovered if we devote some time to thinking about their relevance.

Mary Beth Norris has a special talent; her customers claim she is gifted. She can take the songs that are stuck in your head and determine not only what they mean but also why you repeat them. Her younger sister Leeann, the narrator, describes it best: "My sister Mary Beth was a song reader. Song reading was her term for it and she invented the art as far as I know. It was kind of like palm reading, she said, but instead of using hands, she used music to read people's lives --- their music. The songs that were important to them from as far back as they could remember. The ones they turned up loud on their car radios and drove a little faster. The ones they sang in the shower and loved the sound of their own voice. And of course, the songs that always made them cry on that one line one even thought was sad."

In their small southern town, Mary Beth has quite a following and makes a meager living from her ability to supplement her job as a waitress. She helps people make sense of their lives. She unearths deep-seeded fears, helps mend broken hearts, and brings families back together again --- all based on reading the lyrics the townsfolk bring to her.

"Sometimes I thought Mary Beth's gift would bring us everything," said Leeann about her talent. Little did she know that she would bring great pain before great happiness. Engrossing, lyrical and original, THE SONG READER, Mary Beth's tale, proves to be too telling. She uncovers a devastating secret about one of her customers that affects the entire town --- and nearly destroys Mary Beth and Leeann.

THE SONG READER is a clever story of family devotion and secrets, by a strong new author. Lisa Tucker is a writer to watch and will no doubt become a household name in the future.

--- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara

Rating:
Summary: the best novel I've read this year
Review: I agree with what everybody else has said here. The Song Reader is a totally wonderful novel. It has music and heart and humor and heartbreak. Mary Beth's gift is fascinating. Leeann's voice is honest and achingly real. All the supporting characters are complicated people, not one dimensional extras.

If anybody out there hasn't tried this book, I heartily recommend it. I haven't met anyone who hasn't loved it. Even the toughest reader in my book group confessed she'd shed a few tears.