“Virtuosity” by Jessica Martinez

As oft-stated in this blog, I’m not always a huge fan of romance.  This book avoids most clichés by being about something altogether different.  Carmen is a virtuoso violinist.  A child prodigy, she has been performing as long as she can remember.  At 17, she has won a Grammy and has been accepted to Julliard.  Her future is nearly assured – all she has to do is win the top prize in the prestigious Guarneri competition.  One problem – her European counterpart is also competing.  And he is good.  And cute.  And British (they are always British, yes?)  Stifled by a mother-manager who she calls “Diana” instead of “Mom,” this is a young woman with ~~issues~~.  Having a performing background myself, I was stressed reading this book, my heart racing with every minute of pre-performance nerves that Carmen suffers through.  “The boy,” in this case Jeremy, is not Carmen’s savior, but perhaps that critical piece of the puzzle that allows her to save herself to some degree.  (BTW, the book opens with a section from the end … but not the absolute end, so don’t be assured that you know what is going to happen …)  The writing is good without being great.  It’s clean and clear, the kind of prose which is highly accessible to most readers.  I’m not sure that I would have been as pulled into the story had it not been for the performing element, which was so real it gave me anxiety nightmares (yeah, you try auditioning for 65 casting directors with a 90 second monologue).  The mom/manager behavior is also a little reprehensible and gave the story a touch of depth as that was explored.  It’s simply a very “palatable” book.  My one and only complaint – yet again – is that the girl on the cover art is clearly *not* Carmen, as she describes herself.  Such is the trend.  The book will undoubtedly move, and it should.