Wait For Me by Amy Jo Burns
Young folk singer Elle Harlow reaches the height of her prowess in 1973, with two wildly beloved albums to her name and a hidden history of impossible heartbreak. When she sets foot on the famed Grand Ole Opry stage, a far cry from the mountain that raised her, Elle gives the biggest performance of her life. Then, to the dismay of shocked fans, her producer, and the man who still loves her, she vanishes.
Almost two decades later, eighteen-year-old Marijohn Shaw is spending her summer pumping gas, writing songs on her broken mandolin, and longing for a mother. Her father, Abe, has always sworn he was the last person to see Elle Harlow alive, but when a meteor strikes the woods of their sleepy Pennsylvania town and a piece of Elle’s past emerges from the wreckage, the truth of her disappearance sets fire to everything Marijohn believes about herself, her music, and her ability to love with abandon.
Wait for Me exalts the lush hills of Appalachia and the bright lights of Nashville as it reveals the legacy of Elle Harlow, the bold voice that defined her, the intimate betrayal that undid her, and the unexpected faith of another young woman determined to resurrect her.
Review: Thank you to Celadon Books and Goodreads giveaways for an ARC of this book!
Folk singer Elle Harlow shot to fame in 1973 and then vanished into the night. Nearly two decades later, 18-year-old Marijohn Shaw has spent her life at her father's gas station, writing songs on her broken mandolin, and dreaming of the mother that left her behind. When a meteor strikes, a piece of Elle's past emerges with the wreckage and makes both Elle and Marijohn question everything they know about themselves.
This had some great elements of it, including the mystery of what happened to Elle Harlow, the girl who grew up knowing she had been abandoned, and the lush setting of Appalachia and the music industry of Nashville. It reminded me a lot of elements of Daisy Jones and the Six. Song writing, struggling to find where you belong, and betrayal by those you love are huge themes of the book.
However, the plot of this was incredibly convoluted and complicated in a way that didn't feel realistic or probable. At times I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief. The meteor strike scene was especially crazy because what do you mean they caught it on film and yet they weren't hurt and yet it ends up connecting characters. I don't want to give spoilers but ultimately, how Marijohn winds up being raised by her dad is sort of glossed over. This seems like such a drak and improbable decision by one of the main characters and it was difficult for me to accept she just left her and ran and never thought about the whole thing again. I did not connect emotionally with the characters, nor did I feel like I knew any of them particularly well.
I also did not click with the writing style of this book. It is trying hard to be lyrical and poetic. There are some legitimately pretty lines but much of it felt like it was straining towards lyricism and not quite hitting the mark. Reading this, I felt like commitment to this flowery, lyrical writing was prioritized over character development or believable plot: "They wanted each other just as they were - without words, without woods, without warning. They kissed like they were final and fatal, bruised and brilliant, like they were writing a song that no chords, no beginning, no end" (279). I understand the writing is meant to echo the art of the song writers that make up this story, but it just didn't quite work for me. It just reads as sort of corny and words that sound good together but yet don't have much real meaning in terms of the story and the characters.
This will absolutely be a homerun for some readers, and it does have some wonderful elements, but it fell short of the mark for me.
Stars: 3
Comments
Post a Comment