cover image A Little Wanting Song

A Little Wanting Song

Cath Crowley, Knopf, $16.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-375-86096-6

Told from alternating first-person perspectives, this musical coming-of-age story, originally published in Australia, quietly captures the private emotions of two girls. Charlie's father has completely withdrawn since the death of her mother, and after a close friendship ends, Charlie's only refuge is singing and guitar playing. In the country, where she and her father go every summer to stay with Charlie's grandparents (though her grandmother recently died), Charlie is drawn to Rose, who has shunned her in the past. But Rose, part of a tight trio with Dave and her boyfriend, Luke, is chafing miserably in her small town. When Rose gets a scholarship to a science high school in the city, she can think of only one way her mother might let her go: through Charlie. Their relationship begins on this false premise but takes both girls to new places, with Rose connecting to her own vulnerability and Charlie finding strength, as well as romance with Dave. Interspersed between the girls' chapters are the songs Charlie writes. Even secondary characters are fully realized in this touching exploration of friendship and its transformative potential. Ages 14–up. (June)