Review: Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson

Book Description:

What is the soundtrack of your life?

After living in twelve places in eight years, Calle Smith finds herself in Andreas Bay, California, at the start of ninth grade. Another new home, another new school...Calle knows better than to put down roots. Her song journal keeps her moving to her own soundtrack, bouncing through a world best kept at a distance.

Yet before she knows it, friends creep in-as does an unlikely boy with a secret. Calle is torn over what may be her first chance at love. With all that she's hiding and all that she wants, can she find something lasting beyond music? And will she ever discover why she and her mother have been running in the first place?

Source: Kim Culbertson (Thanks!)

My Thoughts:

Calle was always packed before she even unpacked, always certain that she and her mother would not stay in a city long enough for it to be considered home. She knew that everything was not permanent, aside from her mom and their constant moving. But in Andreas Bay, she might have just found a good reason to stay, to keep her life going without the issues of fitting in again and being the new girl.

Culbertson did an awesome job in showing readers what life really was about. At some point, it was hardly about the constant moving at all. It was all about Calle – who she was and who she could be. It was about discovering the truth, learning to accept that her life was not perfect and finding the answers to her questions. The writing was so beautiful, easily reflecting whatever emotion Calle was feeling in the subtlest ways.

I loved the format of Songs for a Teenage Nomad. It was unique and very personal. I loved the idea of a song journal and I have to admit – I am starting my own song journal too. The incorporation of music in the novel was something effective. Through song types, we got to see glimpses of the personalities of a wide range of characters who were all distinct and real.

The plot was great. This one was unpredictable most of the time. It had me shocked and surprised. There was a fair amount of sadness and longing – longing for truth, longing for friends, longing for a father, longing for a home and longing for a steady life - in the pages. The book was a collection of memories, questions and musings of a teenager. It was a fit novel that captured almost everything a teen could think and feel.

Songs for a Teenage Nomad is an enjoyable contemporary read that I truly loved more and more with every page and every song. Beautifully written with an awesome cast for characters and an unpredictable plot with constant teenage questions and thoughts that will appeal to teenagers and music lovers. It was a journey with Calle through the best and worst, sweet and bitter, experiences.

Rating: