The Secret Song of Shelby Rey presents the unexpected coming-of-age story of Shelby, who has faced considerable hardship. At eighteen, she is navigating homelessness after her mother, struggling with addiction, asks her to move out. Compounding this, Shelby has lived with the grief of her father's suicide four years prior. Since then, she has also carried a unique ability: upon touching someone, she hears their deepest truths expressed in song. Often overwhelmed, Shelby finds solace in listening to her father's music. Following an incident on a bus, Shelby is connected with a social worker named Jaclyn. Jaclyn offers Shelby a temporary place to stay with her and her husband, Dr. Gibson, while Shelby considers her next steps. Meanwhile, Dr. Gibson's patient, Zac Wyatt, a member of the popular rock band Grounder, is on his own journey of self-discovery. He is striving to find his individual voice, separate from the band's established sound and their songwriter, Stanford.

When Shelby and Zac's paths cross, an undeniable connection forms. Shelby can perceive the music within Zac, drawing out the melodies he has been searching for. Zac, in turn, looks beyond Shelby's outward quirks, appreciating her intense passion and inherent musicality. Despite this promising beginning, both carry their own challenges. Shelby has never experienced a stable relationship, and Zac is still deeply entrenched in his rockstar lifestyle. Told through alternating perspectives of Zac and Shelby, the narrative immediately drew me into their individual stories. The characters are distinct and richly developed. Shelby's voice is portrayed with a lyrical and deeply emotional quality, conveying her raw and honest feelings. Zac is depicted as a character pulled in numerous directions, desperately seeking authenticity. Their meeting leads Zac to believe he has found his muse, while Shelby feels she has finally found someone who understands her unique experience. However, their seemingly perfect pairing is tested as Shelby discovers Zac is not the creative force behind Grounder, and that he may be exploiting her talent to advance his own career. Filled with music, romance, the complexities of addiction, compelling characters, and a sense of endless possibility, The Secret Song of Shelby Rey is a thoughtful and surprising exploration of self-discovery.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.​

​Carly Klein is sixteen and she feels as if her life is falling apart.  She's not a fan of her all girls school and then for the summer she is sent across the country to a lame camp only to come back and find out that her parents are divorcing and her best friend, Lauren is moving away. Carly's mother is a therapist who can't seem to see what Carly is going through. Instead, Carly likes to break into her mother's office when she is out and read through her patient's notes.  Carly becomes obsessed with one of her mother's patients, Daniel.  Daniel is a student at nearby Columbia and is blind.  After receiving the bad news about her parents and Lauren, Carly decides to make the obsession with Daniel a reality.  Answering an advertisement from Daniel for a reader, Carly becomes Serena and becomes close to Daniel pretending to be a college student at Barnard. However, when summer ends, Carly keeps up the charade.  As the lies compound, Carly's life becomes much more complicated than she ever imagined. 

Becoming Carly Klein is a complex, young adult coming of age novel. Based very much in reality, there was a lot in Carly's life that spun out of control due to the lack of a parent figure that was able and willing to listen to her. Carly's mom being a therapist added to the irony of this.  Throughout the story, I had to keep reminding myself that Carly was only sixteen as she seemed very immature in her actions and decision making, but was dealing with very mature issues.  Being set in the early 1990's in New York City did help with imagining a sixteen year old doing all of these things by herself.  Carly's growth throughout the story took a circuitous route.  At first, I thought she just wanted to play catch-up with Lauren.  At camp it seemed like Carly had almost made peace with her situation and was making other friends, just to fall apart again when she came home.  For the rest of the summer, I enjoyed seeing Carly flourish while volunteering at the hospital and getting a job on her own, despite her underlying deception in her relationship with Daniel.  Ultimately, the narrative requires Carly to confront her choices, mend relationships with her parents, and discover where she truly belongs.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.