“Every life has a soundtrack. All you have to do is listen.Music has set the tone for most of Zoe Baxter’s life. There’s the melody that reminds her of the summer she spent rubbing baby oil on her stomach in pursuit of the perfect tan. A dance beat that makes her think of using a fake ID to slip into a nightclub. A dirge that marked the years she spent trying to get pregnant.For better or for worse, music is the language of memory. It is also the language of love.In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into her career as a music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a new life, but to her shock and inevitable rage, some people—even those she loves and trusts most—don’t want that to happen.”
Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. It’s a love that began when I saw the movie The Pact. I quickly read ALL of her books. When I heard she was writing such a controversial book…I was kind of scared. I’m as open-minded as they come. So, don’t get me wrong. I just didn’t know if she could pull it off. She did.
I love the characters in this book. Every one of them. I loved Zoe and her spunk the most. Her patients amazed me and broke my heart at the same time. The facts about music therapy peppered throughout the book opened my eyes. I’m a huge fan of music and know it’s theraputic, but it was amazing to think of how it transformed these characters. I even kind of liked Max, I especially liked being able to see inside of his mind and have my eyes opened to what someone who sees homosexuality as a sin might think.
The music accompanying the book brought me to tears. Let’s just say I’m super sensitive. I cry very easily. But how can you not cry during a book where the first sentence is “One sunny, crisp Saturday in September when I was seven years old, I watched my father drop dead.” The book also made me laugh, many times. The ending wrapped things up nicely, and didn’t seemed forced.