Facing the Music

Publishers Weekly - Cahners\\Publishers_Weekly

Equally somber but not as disturbing as Willey's Saving Lenny, this intimate story traces the coming of age of a brother and sister mourning their mother's death. Ever since the tragic car accident months earlier, the members of the Franklin family have been drifting apart. Mr. Franklin is busy with his girlfriend, high school senior Mark spends most nights rehearsing with the band he has recently joined and 15-year-old Lisa feels lonelier than ever. Her days take on new meaning, however, when Mark's band partner, Danny, overhears her singing to herself and asks her to be the group's vocalist. Knowing Danny's reputation as a 'mover,' Mark opposes the idea, but Lisa, who has already fallen for Danny's charm, takes the plunge and quickly becomes a local celebrity. Although Lisa's rise to stardom is somewhat implausible, her infatuation with Danny, which inevitably leads to heartbreak, is painfully realistic.As is the case with the author's previous novels, Willey focuses more on the growth of characters than the formulation of neat resolutions, with the result that her protagonists seem to acquire a life off the page, too.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Still distraught after her mother's death, Lisa finds a new life singing for her brother's band, but he's less happy with the arrangement. "Willey's protagonists seem to acquire a life off the page," PW observed. Ages 12-up. (June)

The ALAN Review - Jeanne M. McGlinn

The chance to become lead singer in her brother's band sets the stage for sixteen-year-old Lisa Franklin to grow emotionally. For the first time in four years, she is able to talk about her dead mother to Danny, her brother's friend. But she also realizes that her romantic attachment to Danny is one-sided. The story centers on the changes in Lisa, but Mark, her older brother, also expresses his confusion, resentment, and grief - mostly in separate chapters. Lisa's coming of age coincides with her family's renewal as they learn how important it is to feel - not just sadness - but also love, accomplishment, and friendship. For Lisa this learning comes when she realizes that she is gifted in her singing, that she is capable of accomplishing things on her own, and that she needs her friends and family. Renewal comes when she and her family can also face how things end.

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10Since her mother's death, 16-year-old Lisa lives isolated in the midst of her family. Neither her older brother, Mark, nor her father communicate; her mother's departure has left them without the social "glue" to stick together. Mark finds direction in Crawl Space, a band. Smooth, charismatic Danny, the group leader, enlists insecure Lisa as singer. As life improves for her, things get worse between the siblings. Even so, their constant efforts together as band members lead them to see one another and themselves more honestly. When Lisa is jettisonedboth by Danny, who has ignited a manipulative romance with her, and by the bandshe confronts reality head-on and finds strength in her very real talent. There are no promises made of easy resolutions, but the ambiguity is satisfying. Lisa is convincingly drawn, though the father is a weak point. Exhibiting all the symptoms of involvement in a love affair he denies, he belatedly tries to mend fences. A more serious weakness, however, lies in the development of the three boys in the band, for readers don't know where they've been or where they are going. The book is easily told in Lisa's voice, with chapters interspersed in Mark's. Thematically similar to Cynthia Voigt's Orfe (Atheneum, 1992), but for a younger readership, this title deals with the pressures of rock-and-roll, glamour and relationships that aren't what they seem. It's a fast-paced read that will keep kids turning pages and leave them with something to think about as well.Carolyn Noah, Central Mass. Regional Library System, Worcester, MA

Anne O

Still shell-shocked by their mother's sudden death a few years earlier, Lisa and her older brother, Mark, withdraw into barely communicative states, as does their father. Mark's band is about his only link with life, and when Lisa's extraordinary singing voice captures the attention of charismatic band leader Danny Fabiano, he invites her to join the band. Her stunning success and growing confidence blast her out of withdrawal and into the dangerous but thrilling world of local public acclaim and infatuate devotion to the untrustworthy Danny. Mark's jealousy and internal band problems doom the summer adventure, however, and Lisa ends up sadder but immeasurably strengthened and wiser. Willey has written a powerful novel of adolescent joy and defeat, alternating the narration between Lisa and Mark, and rendering emotional expression with great care. The band aspect will appeal to teen readers, as will the wonderfully realistic portrayal of the adolescent psyche.