I won this book in a giveaway by Candlewick Press—thank you for the ARC! I’m giving a short review, just a small collection of the thoughts I had while reading.
After seventeen-year-old Claire Alalay’s father's death, only music has helped her channel her grief. Claire likes herself best when she plays his old piano, a welcome escape from the sadness — and her traditional Filipino mother’s prayer groups. In the hopes of earning a college scholarship, Claire auditions for Paul Avon, a prominent piano teacher, who agrees to take Claire as a pupil. Soon Claire loses herself in Paul’s world and his way of digging into a composition’s emotional core. She practices constantly, foregoing a social life, but no matter how hard she works or how well she plays, it seems impossible to gain Paul’s approval, let alone his affection. Author Cynthia Salaysay composes a moving, beautifully written portrait of rigorous perfectionism, sexual awakening, and the challenges of self-acceptance. Timely and vital, Private Lessons delves into a complicated student/teacher relationship, as well as class and cultural differences, with honesty and grace. This is one of those reads that I struggled with a lot. On one hand, it was full of promise, and on the other, it made me so uncomfortable. Sexual exploitation is definitely a darker topic to explore, and Salaysay handled it with grace. That being said, I didn’t love how graphic some of the scenes were, and I didn’t love the narration. Even though I felt sympathy for Claire, I didn’t like her at all. She was distinctly unkind to her best friend and her mom, and seemed to think that lacking a sense of who she was granted her the opportunity to lash out at them. We in YA talk a lot about unlikeable female characters, but this goes beyond that, into unsympathetic. What I did like: Private Lessons did a great job of discussing socioeconomic disparities and ethnic identity. Claire’s family is Filipino, and multiple times through the novel she encounters microaggressions and judgment that resonated with me. I liked this secondary plot line that Salaysay included. All in all: Give Private Lessons a chance, but definitely know what you’re getting into. 3/5 stars.
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The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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