Charlie loves music and she’s good at it, but she’s too afraid to sing in front of people. She spends most of her time alone playing guitar and writing songs. She’s dealing with the loss of her grandma and mom, and she feels like her own dad doesn’t know her. Her best friend Dahlia wishes Charlie would start standing up for herself and take risks once in awhile. When Charlie goes to her grandpa’s house, she expects another lonely summer pining for Dave, a boy who lives in town. Dave’s best friends are Rose and Luke.
Rose lives next door to Charlie’s grandpa and wants more than what their small country town can provide. Her biggest fear is getting pregnant, like her mother did with her, and being stuck in the town forever. She loves her boyfriend Luke, but she wants to get out and see the world and feels like he will hold her back. When Rose is offered a scholarship in the city, she doesn’t know how she will be able to convince her parents to let her go. She starts to formulate a plan when she sees Charlie arriving for the summer. Rose had always ignored Charlie in the past because she thought she was weird, but Charlie lives in the city and could be Rose’s ticket out. If Rose could live with Charlie in the city, her parents might actually let her go. Charlie is taken aback by Rose’s sudden interest in her, but it means spending time with Dave, and that’s exactly what Charlie’s been wanting.
I loved A Little Wanting Song. It was a great story about friendship, first love, loss, and growing up. Crowley writes in a beautiful lyrical way and I loved how she included songs in some of the chapters. The songs show insight into how Charlie is feeling, and how she views some of the people in her life. I liked how it was told in alternating points of view so you were able to understand both characters motivations and how the things they said and did affected each other.
Charlie and Rose seem to be complete opposites, but soon find out how much they have in common and they both are able to learn from each other. Charlie and Dave’s relationship develops slowly, but it was really sweet and I found myself rooting for them to finally get the courage to tell each other how they felt. This a book I could see my self re-reading and finding even more things to love about it.
- Author's Website: http://cathcrowley.com.au/
- Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
- Date of Publication: June 8, 2010
