I'm Glad I Did
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4.4 • 11 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Mad Men meets Nashville in this debut mystery set in 1963, written by Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Cynthia Weil.
"I loved everything about I’m Glad I Did... Not just brava, Cynthia. Bravissima!!"
—Carole King, multi-Grammy winning singer-songwriter of Tapestry and author of the New York Times bestseller A Natural Woman
New York City, summer of 1963: JJ Green is a born songwriter—a major problem, since her family thinks the music business is a cesspool of lowlifes and hustlers. Defying them, she secretly takes an internship at the Brill Building, the epicenter of a new sound called rock and roll. When she finds a writing partner in Luke Silver, a boy with mesmerizing green eyes, JJ believes she is living her dream. They’ll even be cutting their first demo with legendary singer Dulcie Brown.
But soon JJ’s dream is shattered by tragedy, and she must navigate a web of troubled pasts, hidden identities, and tangled secrets—before it snares her, too.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Grammy-winning songwriter Weil makes an impressive YA debut with this period novel set against the rapidly changing music industry of the early 1960s. Sixteen-year-old JJ Green dreams of being a songwriter, and opportunity knocks when a music publisher in New York City's Brill Building offers her a three-month gig as an assistant. Unfortunately, her successful parents want her to follow in their footsteps and study law. They allow JJ to accept the position on one condition: if one of her songs isn't recorded within three months, she "has to give up this crazy songwriting thing and never mention it again." JJ embraces the challenge but is sidetracked by charismatic figures she meets at her job: a mysterious, green-eyed boy; her estranged Uncle Bernie, whose shady music business dealings have made him the black sheep of the family; and a once-famous blues singer, whose violent death leads to startling discoveries. Showing both the bright and the dark sides of the music business, Weil crafts an enticing tale of a sheltered teenager's induction into a world where ambitions and morals are repeatedly tested. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
What a wonderful story
A thoughtful and intelligent mystery that keeps moving forward with purpose and doesn't show is cards too early. A real delight.