We Are the Song
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A lush and beautiful fantasy set in a world where music is magic and the fate of many thrones lies with one girl…
“Excellent.”—Booklist
An Amazon #1 Children's Music Book at Release
Twelve-year-old Elissa has been raised in seclusion as a devotee of the Mother Goddess. She is a special child, a blessed child, a child who can sing miracles into being. Her voice can heal wounds, halt landslides, cure hunger—and even end wars.
But there are those who would use her gift for darker things. And when Elissa finds herself the farthest from home she’s ever been—along with her vain and jealous music tutor, Lucio—she will have to develop the judgment to decide who wants to use her song to heal… and who wants to use her song to hurt.
In this astonishing debut—perfect for music lovers—Catherine Bakewell presents not only a wholly unique musical magic system, but a sumptuous baroque world filled with soaring basilicas, gilded palaces, dazzling food, and snow-piled wildernesses. It is a world both beautiful and treacherous, with a fiercely determined girl blazing brightly at its center. Can a lone voice change the world?
“Spellbinding.”—The Horn Book
“Beguiling.”—Publishers Weekly
“Unique.”—BCCB
“Captivating.”—School Library Connection
“Enthralling.”—YA Books Central
“Alluring.”—School Library Journal
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Twelve-year-old Elissa is one of the goddess Caé's 12 chosen Singers, individuals whose voices possess bewitching power capable of healing wounds, invigorating crops, and stopping landslides through song. She travels her homeland, Cadenza, with her overprotective music tutor and composer, Lucio, providing aid and relief to the war-torn nation's citizens. During a stop at a royal palace, Lucio shows increasing disregard for his songwriting responsibilities and agrees to perform music with the potential to incur great harm, causing Elissa to question her role as a "mouthpiece of the goddess." Her role is further put into question when military leaders attempt to weaponize her gift. After a mysterious visitor emboldens Elissa to write her own musical spells—something Lucio disapproves of—she sets off on a harrowing journey to save Cadenza from ruin. The cast sometimes feel like vehicles for the story's events rather than fully formed individuals, making it difficult for readers to foster connections with the protagonists. Nevertheless, Bakewell's beguiling debut—brimming with high-stakes adventure, expansive worldbuilding, and a uniquely detailed magical system—steadily crescendos to a gratifying conclusion. Major characters cue as white. Ages 8–12. Agents: Devin Ross, New Leaf Literary & Media.
