Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway: Saved by the Music by Selene Castrovilla

Saved by the Music

By: Selene Castrovilla

Pub. Date: May 17, 2013

Publisher: ASD Publishing

Source: Blog Tour

I received this galley in exchange for an honest review.

The last place fifteen-year-old Willow wants to spend her summer is on a run-down former coffee barge, which her aunt is converting into a floating concert hall. In Saved by the Music, Willow thinks she’s alone until she meets Axel, an older teen who lives isolated from the world on the sailboat docked nearby. An unlikely romance sparks as the two grapple with their darkest secrets and bond through shared pain and laughter. It is a summer where music must do more than just soothe the soul.

I was not expecting to enjoy this story as much as I did. When I read the synopsis, I was intrigued but as I started reading I realized it was going to be like every other book I read where the boy and the girl have secrets they must overcome. I was going to stop reading, but something told me to continue, and I am so glad that I did! Yes, the story has been done before, but Saved by the Music is so beautifully written with many plot twists that I did not see coming.

After Willow's mom chooses her boyfriend over Willow, Willow moves in with her Aunt in Queens. It is there where she meets aloof Axel. It was very hard trying to figure this guy out! One minute he was sweet, the next he was acting weird. When you finally think you understand him, he completely surprises you. I really didn't think I was going to like Axel, but it was hard not too. He is living with a terrifying secret that has completely messed him up, and it is hard not to feel for him and what he holds inside. I am so glad that through their friendship, both of them were able to deal with the things that have happened to them in their pasts.

I loved Aunt Aggie! It is hard to find quality adults in YA, but Aggie was supportive and there for Willow in a way that before Axel, no one ever had before.

I could not turn the pages fast enough to find out what would happen with Willow and Axel. Even though the book was short, just under 200 pages, I cared deeply for these two. Selene Castrovilla can pack a lot of punch in only a few pages and definitely play with your emotions! Saved by the Music comes highly recommended!

About the Author: 

Selene Castrovilla is an award-winning teen and children’s author who believes that through all trends, humanity remains at the core of literature. She is the author of Saved By the Music and The Girl Next Door, teen novels originally published by WestSide Books and now available digitally through ASD Publishing. Her third children’s book with Calkins Creek Books, Revolutionary Friends, was released in April. Selene holds an MFA in creative writing from New School University and a BA in English from New York University. She lives on Long Island with her two sons. Visit her website www.SeleneCastrovilla.com for book excerpts and more information!

Author links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads

Click here to find out more about the Saved by the Music blog tour!

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway