A Thousand Perfect Notes

edit: 3.5 stars

✨ You can read my full, spoiler-free review on my blog! ✨

It is quite possible that this is the fastest I have ever completed a book. 

My Thoughts: 

Is my heart broken? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely. Did I cry? No, but I came thisclose. 

First, I would like to note that this book was just about everything I expected from C.G. Drews, based off of her blogging style at Paper Fury and other reviews I have seen online. A Thousand Perfect Notes was engaging, sad, and a bit violent. I came into this book with expectations and they were met pretty nicely. However, judging by the negative reviews I have seen about this book, I will say that if you have no history at all with C.G. Drews, then maybe it would be hard to know what to expect from this book. I read and loved this book because I knew what I was getting into, and it was exactly everything I needed to read at the moment. 



I read this Contemporary after months of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, so it was refreshing to come back into the real world for a bit. I had tried to read ATPN a couple of times before, but I was just not in the right headspace. However, when I picked it up again on May 29th, I quickly finished it in only two sittings, which is something I haven't done in a long time. After the first chapter, I found myself attached to fragile Beck and precious little Joey, and I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next. 

The writing style is a bit quirky and different, and again, I expected nothing less from C.G. Drews. Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not! But I could also see why some people might not like this. Either way, I actually enjoyed the writing style, and I think it contributed to grabbing my attention and allowing me to finish the novel so quickly. 

The plot by itself was interesting and not predictable. I had characters to root for, a villain to boo, and wishes and dreams to hope for. I laughed, I teared up, and I was sad throughout the course of ATPN. It was a bit of a rollercoaster! 



However, during the climax of the story, I felt like I was expecting a little bit... more? Like, I had heard so many things about how crushingly sad this book was, that I really expected to be absolutely crushed. And I was not! I liked it, but I was not smooshed like a butterfly. I came out just fine. 

There were also a few small scenes that I felt were perhaps a bit rushed. The character building was generally good, but I think I wanted to learn more about Beck's history, his upbringing with Joey, what he remembers about first learning to play piano, and the Maestro's background story. There were definitely a lot of emotions going on in this story, but maybe not enough background explanations. I wasn't confused or anything – I just wanted more. 

Overall, I liked ATPN very much, and I only regret not reading it sooner! 

My thoughts about characters: 

Beck: I just felt so sad for Beck and his conflicting situation. I wanted to cry for him, and I wanted him to have everything he couldn't have. There were a few times when I didn't understand why he was making certain decisions, but overall, he was a good main character. 

Joey: For the first few lines, Joey was a bit annoying... but I quickly came to love her. I wanted to protect her cuteness as much as Beck did, and I really enjoyed seeing her interactions with basically everything. 

August: I don't know, I think I wanted to know a little more about August. She was funny and cute, and an unrelentingly good friend to Beck, but I wanted to know why. By the end, I was very attached to her, but she could have had a little more background information as well. 

The Maestro: 

~Full review here on The Bent Bookworm!~A Thousand Perfect Notes is for anyone who needs a story of hope in darkness, of relief from oppression, of happiness out of pain and sorrow. Not being melodramatic, either. TW: mental and physical abuse, parental neglect.He wouldn't be kissable. He's piano keys and crumpled music trapped in his soul. Not kissable. Kickable.Excuse me while I go bawl my eyes out. This book just tore open my soul. I haven't wanted so badly to protect and take care of a fictional character in a long, LONG time. Let me try to put all these feelings into words.Beck's story is one of the harshest I've read in the YA genre, and the first I've felt it really necessary to post a Trigger Warning for. My heart was bleeding by the time I finished, and trust me – I tore through this book in about two and a half hours. I was just so desperate to see what happened to him!Beck is not perfect. He sometimes acts in ways that perhaps are not the epitome of kindness and definitely not politeness. But he carries so much pain...mental, physical, emotional. And on top of all that he is ALWAYS HUNGRY. It kills me to think of anyone being really, truly hungry – not just the hangry we all like to joke about when our regular mealtime gets off kilter, but honest-to-god hungry because there isn't enough food and nowhere except maybe the trash to get it. All my mama bear instincts just want to go on a rampage for the person who would do this to their children.If people cut him open, they'd never accuse him of being empty. He's not a shell of a pianist – he's a composer. Cut his chest and see his heart beat with a song all his own.Part of the conflict is that while Beck's mother uses music to contribute to his abuse, Beck has his own musical talent inside him – one that she belittles and says is worthless, but that is desperate to break out of him.Then there is Joey. Wild, free spirited, painful Joey, the little sister that Beck would do anything for – be anything for – if it meant being able to protect her. Regardless of the personal cost to himself. He sees himself as weak for being unable to stop his mother's abuse.The Maestro – Beck's mother – is a loathsome, vile person. I had such a deep anger boiling in me towards her at the end of the book, I wanted to reach through the pages and physically rescue Beck and Joey myself. Perhaps tripping the Maestro down a very tall flight of stairs in the process. Sadly, while she may SEEM to be a bit over the top, there are far too many people just like her, and even more who are willing to inflict the kind of emotional and mental abuse she deals out to Beck, without necessarily the physical.August is amazing. While I can see many of the typical “manic pixie girl” characteristics in her, she is still very much her own little quirky self. I loved the repartee between her and her parents, who are awesome in their own right. Yay for having a healthy, loving family to contrast Beck's horrible mother with!The ending was satisfying, but still heartbreaking. I am very upset that there is not a sequel planned. 🙁This might be the most incoherent review I've written yet, I'm just so in my feelings about these characters.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+—————————————–This book completely broke my heart. RTC.