Easily one of the funniest read of 2017. Such a lovely coming of age books out there. I had so much fun reading Noteworthy. Its a book about friendship, music, be comfortable with who you are and enjoying life. A great read that I would highly recommend to everyone.

It's Pitch Perfect meets He's the Man. You know that hilarious Amanda Bynes movie. Just read this book now!

https://bibliophilefeminist.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/noteworthy-by-riley-redgate-review/

Guh! I freakin' love this book! First, I have to say upfront that I know less than nothing about acapella group and I have no musical talent or real interest. None of that affected my enjoyment of Noteworthy in the least.

I loved whole Sharpshooter gang sensible Mama, quirky Issac, focused Trav and sensitive Nihal being my personal favourites. And of course, there's Jordan (or her alias Julian). Jordan's a wonderful, relatable and likeable protagonist. She's trying her best, against stacked odds, and it's not that she's not good, it's just that her fellow students are better. So, she comes up with a scheme that sounds ridiculous but makes more sense the more she thinks about it. And why not? I completely followed the character's logic and it didn't seem at all unbelievable that she pulled the deception off for as long as she did. As I said, I'm not musically/ theatrically talented and theatre school would be my nightmare, but I definitely saw myself in parts of Jordon, and I think most readers will in one way or another.

The plot itself if pretty simple, but there were some lovely moments along the way. I loved the Sharpshooters secret hideout and the not-quite initiation. I loved the group's holiday retreat and the bitching over each other's driving, political interest or awful flirting techniques. I loved the escalating prank war with the rival all-male group. My only issue was that the sing competition itself and the outcome is a bit of a given, and the very last few chapters lacked a bit of punch. Otherwise, the plot moves quickly, providing a framework for the characters to shine upon.

Sweet without being saccharine, and relatable even when I had no idea what musical technique they were taking about.

Review goes up on my blog Foxes & Fairy Tales on 11 May 2017
https://foxesfairytale.wordpress.com/2017/05/11/review-noteworthy

An enjoyable, fun and entertaining book that is sure to appeal to my readers. It is on my purchase list.

DNF

Mini review:

I received this E-ARC via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Last year I had read and loved The Seven Ways We Lie. Naturally when I heard about this book I had to read it and immediately requested from Netgalley! Unfortunately this was not for me.

In the beginning I was really enjoying it! I related so much to what Jordan was saying. But then she set her plan into action and it went downhill for me. I found that there were some technicalities to her plan that wasn't cleared up and didn't make sense. And I just lost interest.

I do still recommend it.

Jordan Sun is a Junior at the Kensington-Blaine Boarding School for the Performing Arts. However, she's just been rejected from the fall musical - for the third year running. Apparently, it's something to do with her voice, she's Alto 2 and it's just not a good fit for the roles. The school then get's a mass email about auditions for the Sharpshooters, Kensington's elite acapella group. However, there is a problem. The Sharpshooters is an all male group steeped in tradition that is hard to change. Desperate to prove herself in the competitive world, Jordan dresses up as a boy and auditions, and it turns out, Jordan's voice is exactly what they were looking for.

Noteworthy is an original, fun, and compelling read. I've seen it pitched as She's the Man meets Pitch Perfect, which is a perfect comparison. Yet it had more nuanced discussions regarding femininity and masculinity, sexuality, social class and poverty, etc. However, I'd like to point out that other reviews have pointed out the lack of trans rep and lack of gender discourse, such as this review here.

Jordan Sun is a poor and underprivileged Chinese-American student at Kensington on a scholarship. She's talented but doesn't feel appreciated and doesn't feel entirely comfortable. I liked that there was a lot of social commentary regarding Jordan and her poor background, especially when it was in comparison to the privileged environment she was in, as she was surrounded by a lot of rich kids. I liked that we got to see that background because having poor characters is something we very rarely see in YA, and I'd love to see more of it. I loved the discussions of welfare because that's even rarer in YA and I loved it (even though it is different to UK benefits so I didn't fully understand it).

I also loved Jordan as a character as she was funny, sarcastic, and witty, and sometimes had trouble thinking before she spoke. I loved that, and she was a really refreshing character. Jordan is also bisexual which wasn't explored much and it still felt slightly heteronormative considering the romance wasn't present until Isaac found out she was actually a girl.

Even though there was a lot of male characters, Riley Redgate actually managed to make you care for them and made them fully fleshed characters. I loved Isaac, the fun loving bad-boy, and Trav, the serious musical director. I also loved both Mama and Nihal. The group really were a fantastically developed set of friends, supportive and fun who actually had meaningful relationships.

Overall, a hilarious and banter filled book that is a refreshing and fun read but also deals with some serious topics. Highly recommend.

After really enjoying Seven Ways We Lie, we were excited to see what the super talented Riley Redgate had up her sleeve next! Noteworthy is the perfect mix of fun and series and it should 110% be on your radar.

Jordan Sun is trying to get parts in her school’s musical theatre productions, but her range isn’t what anyone is looking for. Then Jordan sees an ‘member’s needed’ sign for The Sharpshooters, an all-male a cappella band, and knows that this is her change. So, she cuts her hair, adjusts her regular speaking voice and slips into the audition with no one suspecting a thing!

I really wasn’t sure how music was going to translate to the page. I’m not a very musical person, so even the most basic of music theory references is going to alienate me, and my experience of a cappella is limited to – as I’m sure most people’s is – the Pitch Perfect movies. However, I love a good music school setting – ‘Camp Rock’, ‘Raise Your Voice’ basically, whatever Disney churns out, I’ll probably be watching – so I was still excited to see what happened.

What I wasn’t expecting was the depth of these characters. Redgate takes everything to a more realistic level. Jordan’s family is struggling from some severe financial issues and everything could be taken away her at any moment. Jordan has also recently broken up with her long-term boyfriend, kissed a girl and liked it (🎶) so now she’s working out her sexuality.

IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH then Redgate uses Jordan’s cross-dressing to talk about the different standards for boys and girls concerning behaviour and expectations. It’s subtle though, which only makes it more powerful. Oftentimes, if you get the feeling the author is just ranting at you, it feels completely inauthentic to the story, but Noteworthy handles everything with care, and it’s only brought up because it’s what Jordan is thinking about.

There are a lot of boys in Noteworthy, and yet each of them managed to keep hold of their originality. EVEN BETTER they each have their own issues to do with sexuality, hospitalised parents, struggling with their faith. Seriously, not one of these characters fell flat. The group was diverse on so many levels and it made their conversations so fun to read.

Obviously, there’s also great banter and pranks which make things silly and fun in an otherwise heavy narrative. Basically, each character really held their own while also bouncing off of everyone else, and I loved it.

As I said, Jordan is coming to terms with her bisexuality, and things are only complicated more when she’s cross-dressing. It’s a very subtle exploration though, unlike Our Own Private Universe which was a mess, Noteworthy isn’t trying to educate readers about being bi, because for some people, like for Jordan, being bi doesn’t have to be a big deal. She’s not really up in arms about it, and I thought it was also really great to see a non-angsty LGBTQ+ story, much in the style of Simon Vs.

There is also a little romance towards the end of the story which was very cute, but I liked most of all how it wasn’t the focus!

Also, I’m not sure where to put this, but it needs to be said. I thought it was so important for Redgate to acknowledge trans issues in this book. Jordan is not trans, though she realises that secretly buying boys clothes and becoming someone else (for trans people they’re becoming their true selves) is something that the trans community deals with everyday. I don’t think you can have a light-hearted cross-dressing story anymore without properly acknowledging that some people don’t do it for fun, for some people, it’s their lives. I was wondering if it was going to come up and thank goodness it did! *round of applause*

Noteworthy exceeded all expectations and really solidified Riley Redgate as an auto-read author for us! The way she captures character is absolutely incredible, everyone feels so real and complex. If you like music, or if you just like really good contemporaries, then Noteworthy needs to be on your TBR. A well deserved 4 stars!

What do you do when you’ve been rejected yet again from a musical production and all hope of an acting career seems lost simply because your voice is more bass than beauty? Go undercover in an all male a cappella choir of course! Such is the conceit of Noteworthy, described by most as ‘Pitch Perfect meets She’s the Man’, which is a pretty decent summation of the novel.

‘In this particular show, even the so-called alto ensemble parts sang up to a high F-sharp, which seemed like some sort of sadistic joke. For those unfamiliar with vocal ranges: Find a dog whistle and blow it, try to sing that note, and the resulting gurgling shriek will probably sound like my attempt to sing a high F-sharp’

I laughed out loud at how utterly accurate this is, and there are many moments just like it that my fellow contraltos will find relatable beyond belief. In fact, if there’s one word I’d use to describe this book, at least for me, it’s relatable. Anyone who’s studied drama, attended a music school, has any experience of the cut-throat world of musical theatre, will understand exactly what Jordan’s life is like, and as a former musical theatre student and founder of my university’s a capella choir it felt like this book was meant for me.

I liked the way the experience of singing, especially a cappella, is portrayed in the novel – the emotional intensity, the passion and freedom and joy, as well as misery and frustration, is all conveyed beautifully in text, and honestly I would have liked even more of it on the page. As a bonus though you can listen to Riley’s own a cappella arrangements with the Noteworthy OST on soundcloud.

I also found Jordan’s confusion about her own bisexuality immensely relatable – at one point she’s asked ‘isn’t that something you just know’, and the fact she doesn’t was actually such a relief to me. Of course some people do ‘just know’, and that’s real and valid, but so is questioning and being unsure.

‘Where was the line, though? Did I want to be around her, did I want to be her, or did I want to be with her?’

I’m 38 and still have difficulty trying to understand my feelings if there’s a girl I like, and usually never manage to find an answer. If I had read this as a teen I would been reassured by Jordan’s uncertainty, and I hope other readers can view it that way as well.

Going by the vibrantly illustrated cover I expected this to be a cheerful comedy, and while there’s certainly some humour, there’s an undercurrent of melancholy permeating the book which makes Jordan’s introspection and navel-gazing – about her life at school, her parents, breaking up with her boyfriend – all the more compelling and believable. I thought the way she learns to move on from her ex was quietly powerful, allowing herself to reminisce and compare life before and after, but not letting that loss define her. I didn’t like however the typical high school bullying subplot being perpetrated by a closeted member of a rival choir; we’re meant to be sympathetic because of pressure from his father to act a certain way, but the fact one of the few gay characters was such a stereotype (and needlessly cruel to Jordan’s compassionate friend) was offputting.

‘If girlhood felt frustrating, and boyhood felt freeing, did that say more about girlhood, boyhood, or me?’

This line hit me right in the gut; as someone who is probably cis, but perpetually questioning whether I am or if I’ve just been conditioned to believe so, I think about this a lot. But Jordan knows who she is, and never truly questions her own identity, except in fleeting moments like this one. Which is actually one of the issues I had with the book – there is a singular mention of ‘appropriating trans identity’ while preparing for her role as Julian, but other than a brief wrestle with cis guilt it isn’t really brought up again. There were many passages where I felt uncomfortable, especially towards the end, imagining how the plot would have changed and characters reacted, if Jordan had been trans or genderqueer instead of using a ‘social disguise’ for ‘avant-garde theatre’. Since Jordan is not, and never claims to be trans or non-binary, it should be a moot point, but I would have liked a little more awareness in text as to how these situations would be viewed if she had been.

Noteworthy is not a book without problems, but if you’re a music lover, and especially a frustrated, always-the-sidekick-never-the-lead alto like me, you’ll probably find a lot to enjoy and may want to sing its praises too.

What's better then a contemporary book about musicians? I'll answer that, nothing.
Noteworthy is a book about Jordan Sun, a junior at Kensington, a fine arts school. She's struggling with the musical theater world, due to having an odd vocal range for a female, not quite high enough for the standard female character. When an email goes our looking for a new member for the Sharpshooters, an all male a capella group, she decides to just for it, dressing herself as a guy to audition. The Mulan of the music world.
This book gives a look at what someone will do to succeed. Jordan doesn't let rejection from the musical theater community knock her down, she does what she must. It's always nice to see a character being so motivated.
The characters are so loveable, all of the Sharpshooters have their own distinct personality traits. Yet they somehow still melded together to form a familial group.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
Thank you to Netgalley for getting me a digital copy to review.

Noteworthy is like a super fun movie-musical-comedy in book form that completely subverts your expectations.

The book centres on Jordan Sun, a Chinese-American theatre student who is constantly turned down roles because of her uniquely low singing voice. So when her school's all-male a cappella group are searching for an eighth member, she cross-dresses with the hope that she might finally get the recognition she deserves.


Things I liked:

- I love theatre-y things. I'm a low key theatre nerd so all of the music talk really worked for me. Also I LOVED listening to some of the songs that the author wrote for the story. They aren't necessary to enjoy the book, but they're a fun addition and the author is such a good singer (I still have The Clockmaker stuck in my head).

- Jordan has a really distinct voice that was great to read. She's awkward and a bit of a loner, but really relatable, and her sarcastic sense of humour really shaped the story.

- The book deals with a of key issues including discovering your sexuality (over the course of the book Jordan realises she's bisexual), race and stereotyping (Jordan talks about how people presume things about her family being Asian), coming from a working class background (Jordan's family struggle to pay for bills), and how boys are taught to hide their feelings (there are a lot of instances where the boys get really confrontational and fight rather than address the issue, which is something Jordan realises they are taught by adults). And that's just the tip of the iceberg.


Things I didn't like:

- I didn't really buy into the group dynamic for quite a while. I didn't connect to the other characters until halfway into the book and they didn't all stand out on their own to me.

- I didn't care for the romance. This is a huge 'it's me, not you' thing because I normally don't care for contemporary romances, and it felt like a lot of it was focused on Jordan trying to get over her ex. I think it's valued - but it just wasn't for me.

- I hated how long the lie went on for. I anticipated it, but I was hoping for a greater discourse on how female altos are treated like the blurb suggested, and to a greater extent, how girls are treated when they don't fit into the mould. But the story didn't really focus on that. So the whole point of Jordan cross-dressing kind of lost it's meaning for me.

- There was a bit of talk on gender, but not much. This links to my previous point of Jordan cross-dressing feeling a trivial. It was a little uncomfortable to be reading about a struggle trans people go through from a cisgendered point of view without even a trans side character to highlight the issue.


It's always weird rating a book 3 stars because the rating means different things to different people. For me, 3 stars is still a positive, and I did really enjoy Noteworthy. It addresses so many things that I think young people need to be reading about, plus the story is a lot of fun.

Having loved Riley Redgate's incredible debut, Seven Ways We Lie, last year, I was so eager to read her second novel, Noteworthy. And it was so good!

The story revolves around the a cappella octet, the Sharpshooters, but this story is less about music and more about friendship and identity. For the past two years of school at Kensington-Blaine, Jordan has been wrapped up in her boyfriend, made him her whole world, and so now they've split up, she realises she doesn't actually have any friends at school. She feels like she's not good enough, musically, because she has never made it into the school musical because her voice, for a girl, is too deep. Desperate to do something, to prove to herself, the school, her parents - who don't really want her there, and what's the point of staying if the school never allows her into anything? - that she is worthy, she disguises herself as a boy, names herself Julian Wang, and auditions for the Sharpshooters. Once she gets in, she's able to show she does have talent, that she does have what it takes. But more than that, she finally feels like she fits somewhere. These boys that she thought of as arrogant and up themselves are actually pretty cool, and they become friends, and she suddenly starts to feel like she belongs.

It's the relationships she builds with the guys in Sharpshooters that are one of the main focuses of the story. Laid back and cool Isaac, president of the a cappella group and class clown. Sensible, intense, focused Trav, the musical director. Excitable and awkward Marcus. Erik, who thinks he's cool. Good looking, rich-kid Jon Cox and warm but teasing Mama, best friends, but chalk and cheese, who's playful musical arguments provide some of the humour. And quiet, calm, steady Nihal. Jordan tries hard to keep her distance, make it just about the music, about aiming for winning the a cappella competition, which will mean going on tour with superstar a cappella group Aural Fixation, but the guys draw her in. She thought these guys thought they were above everyone else, but they don't. They're just normal guys, with their own stories and their own problems, and as she gets to know them, Jordan can't help but warm to them all, to care. It makes lying about who she is really difficult.

Which brings us to the second focus of the story; identity. Noteworthy really looks at gender roles and norms. Jordan isn't trans, but as Julian, she's discovering ways of being that felt closed off to her as Jordan; a confidence and self-assured-ness that isn't quite within reach as Jordan, the right to take up space ad not try and make herself smaller, both literally and personally. As Julian, she feels more like her true self than who she is when she's Jordan, like she's been putting on an act her whole life, but as Julian she finally gets to just be. But she also discovers the limits that masculinity puts on guys; how they're supposed to just take things and "man up", an almost aggressive drive that some feel they should have, to do absolutely everything - anything - to make it. Because how are they men if they don't? It's so interesting!

What I also loved about this book is how aware Jordan is of claiming space that isn't hers, using something to her advantage, when for others, this is their every day lives. There's a moment when Jordan is looking up online how to better hide her small bust, and comes across a website with tips and advice for trans men, and she's filled with guilt. She's not trans, she's cross-dressing, she's acting (almost, considering she feels like like herself as Julian), and there's a part of her that feels that what she is doing is wrong, in regards to trans people and what their everyday life. There's another moment where the group thinks she - Julian - is gay, because of something she says when drunk. And she allows them to think so, as it helps with her disguise, and it's easier than explaining, but again, she knows she's not gay, and by lying by omission, she knows what she's doing isn't right. Even though she's just discovering she's bisexual, and could tell the truth about that and not have it ruin her disguise, she allows them to believe she is a gay man, and again, it's space that's not hers. It gets so much harder for her as time goes on, because she likes these guys, they trust her with their secrets, and she's lying to them.

This book is so diverse! Really, I love how diverse it is. Jordan is Chinese-American, and she's just discovering she's bisexual. Nihal is Sikh, Isaac is Japanese-American, one of the secondary characters is gay, and Jordan's dad is disabled. Class is a huge aspect of this story, too; Jordan is at Kensington-Blaine on a scholarship, and there's absolutely no-way she would be able to attend without it. As it is things are seriously tight, due to the expense of flights to and from the school and paying for textbooks, and so on. Jordan's family have always been poor, with her parents working such awkward hours that she barely saw them before she went to Kensington-Blaine, her father working nights, her mother working long hours - longer as Jordan got older. Her parents have skipped meals in the past, to make sure she got to eat. And not long ago, her father fell seriously ill, and his health insurance couldn't cover it, so they're trying to pay that off, as well as just trying to get by. When her mum loses her job, the family has to go on benefits. They are really, really struggling. So it's understandable that her parents are worried about her never getting any parts - what are they paying the money for the flights and textbooks for if Jordan never gets anything from the school?

Even though her family is poor and it's a huge worry, this is Jordan's normal. She doesn't know any different. And it's contrasted so well, when, during Thanksgiving break, the Sharpshooters go to Jon Cox's house. Jon Cox's family are extremely wealthy, and his house is pretty much a mansion. It's so unlike anything Jordan is accustomed to, the wealth that the house so obviously shows the Cox family has is shocking to her. Jon Cox is embarrassed by Jordan's jaw-dropping shock, but she thinks about how this - the big mansion, the shiny sports car, the designer clothes, the money coming out of his ears - is his normal. Jon Cox is aware that others don't have as much as him, though, and he's always offering to pay for things, like meals; he's generous with his wealth, though not in a charity way. And he's a nice guy, you know? The money doesn't make him feel he's above anyone else, it's just something he has. It's just a startling contrast to Jordan, seeing how different their lives are.

Noteworthy is just incredible. It has so much to say on so many different things, while still telling a story that feels true and important. It's such a gorgeous, gorgeous novel! With Noteworthy, Redgate has further secured her place as one of my favourite authors, and she has most definitely become an auto-buy author. Such a wonderful story!

Thank you to Amulet Books via NetGalley for the eProof.

I absolutely loved this book! First, it features one of my favorite tropes; girls disguising themselves as boys to go after something they want. And second, it has a diverse cast of characters that I completely adored. Our protagonist, Jordan Sun, attends this elite boarding school for the arts; but because she doesn't fit any of the roles she auditions for, she never gets casted. That's when Jordan decides to take matters into her own hands, disguising herself as Julian in order to audition for her school's most popular a cappella group, the Sharpshooters. I loved this group of boys, but my absolute favorites were Isaac and Nihal, who grew the closest to J. I loved reading the lyrics of the songs they were performing and it was amazing getting to listen to the songs come to life on Riley Redgate’s website! Overall, this book was fun, inclusive, and aca-mazing!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I was expecting more from Noteworthy given the premise and the adorable cover, but it was still a really cute and enjoyable read. Jordan is in her Junior year at Kensington and just lost out on another role in a school musical due to her low voice and her less than feminine appearance. Jordan is discouraged, but she's not giving up, especially when she sees that the campus all-male a capella group needs a new member with her voice range. Cue the crossdressing!

Noteworthy is pretty slow paced, since it takes us through an entire school semester. Jordan goes from a nobody who can't get a role, to someone with friends and a sense of purpose. I loved that the author addressed that Jordan disguising herself for three months isn't going to be easy. She has to flatten her chest, purchase boy clothes on her tight budget, and cut her hair since a wig can shift or fall off to become Julian. Jordan doesn't just throw on a t-shirt and try to sound like a dude. She puts some effort into her disguise and does research.

Although, I found her extra efforts to be feminine while she was Jordan strange. She puts on extra makeup, gets a long wig, and starts wearing dresses and heels. If she didn't look this way before, wouldn't it draw more attention to her to do it now? I get that she wants to look even less like Julian, but her reasoning didn't make sense. And she interacts with exactly zero characters as Jordan, so it wasn't like there was anyone to notice the changes. It isn't explained until the very end why she's been alone for two years, so it bugged me for much of the book. I did like the reason though, since it's nothing that I've read before.

Noteworthy also talks about sexuality and gender identity a lot. Of course, while dressed as Julian, Jordan gets treated differently than she does as Jordan. She's much more aware of the way she moves in order to blend in. I found it interesting how she says she feels more free and more like herself when she's Julian, but not that she believes she's a boy or even any gender that isn't female. There is a brief discussion of how what Jordan is doing and feeling is different than being transgender, but nothing substantial. Jordan also discovers that she's bisexual, but since this isn't a romance, it isn't focused on too much although there is kissing.

I enjoyed Noteworthy, but it was a lot more serious than I thought it was going to be. Not that that's a bad thing. It just seemed like it was going to be this fast, fun, and funny story about a girl infiltrating a male dominated world and blowing them away. It kind of does that, but it's more about Jordan figuring herself out.

Noteworthy is a really good story with lots of challenging ideas. While the plot is straight forward—girl poses as a boy to successfully audition for an all-boys A Capella group—the issues around this pretense make it complex and smart. It doesn’t hurt that Redgate populates her book with an eclectic group of secondary characters, and describes Jordan’s surroundings in exquisite detail. With all the attention to the buildings of this posh elite school for the Arts, and the weather of the passing seasons, the story is slow paced. But it’s all the better, as readers not only ponder Jordan’s decisions and subsequent consequences (both good and bad), but also appreciate her reasons for doing them as more is revealed about her history, her dreams, and her reality.

Jordan Sun becomes Julian Zhang (her real-life cousin) because her singing voice is difficult to categorise. It’s often (read always) not suitable for the parts being offered the females in the theatre faculty, where Jordan has secured a scholarship. She works so hard to fulfill her academic requirements, but her parents, financially strapped and burdened by medical debts, only see that she doesn’t appear in any of the school performances. Frustrated by this failure, she auditions for the Sharpshooters, truly believing she’ll be able to sing with them, helping them to win an exciting competition (for the opportunity to be backup group on a European tour), and not get involved with the other members at all.

Yeah, right.

If we’ve learnt anything from Glee, [insert country of choice] Idol, or School of Rock even (ha! Love that film), it’s that a group of singers-slash-musicians will always bond, will always become close, (and then get jealous, start fights, break up, get back together for the music, make money, then – but never mind all that), and as she gets to know the other boys, we see her, for the first time, really think through the implications of this charade. It’s serious, and begins to impact on other aspects of her life, but we completely understand why she persists. She now belongs. She feels part of something, and suddenly she’s more confident, standing up tall, and owning her talent. There is a physical change, as well as a positive shift in her mental attitude.

The other Sharps are multi-dimensional, even if we don’t learn as much as some as I would like (Trav, what’s your story, big guy?) We come to know earnest Eric, politically astute Marcus, sensitive, generous Nihal, and best buddies Jon Cox and Mama, and with Jordan, fall a little bit in love with the enigmatic Isaac Nakahara, and slowly, the book morphs into something more than just Jordan’s story. These boys have a lot to share, and it makes perfect sense because they become significant in Jordan’s life. It is increasingly impossible to keep her secret. She doesn’t want to lie to them. Her strong moral code fights with her need to achieve what is now not an impossible dream. It’s delicious drama.

Jordan’s commitment to the part of Julian is evident when she cuts off her long hair, hides away even more from her classmates, and blends in with the other Sharps. It’s a realistic integration, and when one of the other groups, the Minuets, start a pranking war, Jordan is all in. There’s a nice bit of tension here, with serious Trav ordering the boys to not engage, and Isaac, bold and righteous, refusing to bend. I found some of the actions really questionable, and I wanted justice for the Sharps--why not go to their faculty sponsor? Some other adult? But of course, as in these matters, it’s up to the teens to sort out the mess. But it does get very messy by the end. Very.

The issues that plague Jordan include obvious ones, such as betraying the Sharps—will they forgive her? And the school’s reaction—will they expel her? Trough to more complicated—by dressing as a boy, is she dishonouring genuine trans kids, who experience discrimination just trying to be their true selves? This interior dilemma is articulated well, and although it doesn’t dissuade Jordan from continuing, it weighs heavily on her mind. When a girl kisses Julian, what does it mean that she’s turned on? Could she be bi-sexual? Another illuminating moment after which she isn’t any clearer on her sexuality, especially when she follows the kiss by drunkenly flirting and making a pass at Isaac, which he immediately spills to the other Sharps, after which they conclude Julian is gay. It’s so confusing and complicated, but Redgate keeps us following along. We are never confused or put off by events or actions, because we believe Jordan’s frustration, and we accept her self-questioning, and actually, we applaud her for it, and believe she will find answers (they take a long time to come).

By the last section (all beautifully named by musical tempos), I was delirious with worry about Jordan’s discovery. I couldn’t see how Redgate could pull it all together, but of course she does. The resolution is even better than I imagined, and I believed every minute of it. I haven’t spent any time talking about Jordan’s Asian ethnicity (#ownvoice), or her family’s real struggle with poverty. Set against a background of white privilege and wealth, Jordan’s awareness of social strata is another welcoming consideration. It’s excellent to see a different sort of kid being portrayed—one with artistic ideals and talents, and who fights tooth and nail, despite overwhelming odds. I also didn’t go into detail about the flashbacks to Jordan’s life before, with a boyfriend, who on leaving school dumped her unceremoniously. Michael was someone who she gave herself over to completely, and is now left solitary. It’s part of the reason the deception works, which is a poignant thread running through the novel.

Look, I loved this book a lot. I hope it reaches many hands. And I will keep an eye out for more books by Riley Redgate. Highly recommended for readers who love their main characters intelligent and stubborn, who like their romance on the back burner, and their friendships at the forefront. It’s basically a school story, but one that will have readers running off to YouTube to watch back-to-back A Capella performances by groups with terrifically punned names. It’s also an ensemble piece, much like the Sharpshooters themselves—a perfect blend of voices, coiling around each other lifting, rejoicing, and complementing so that all the elements of story—voice, setting, plot and emotion—work in harmony (too much here? Probably).

Copy provided by publisher via Netgalley and read with glee (squee). Released on 2nd May.

A+ diversity, which is one of the most important deciding facts when recommending books to my students.

Loved this. Think Pitch Perfect meets She's The Man.

But this book is way more than just a fluffy story about a girl with a contralto voice who attends a performing arts boarding school. A girl whose voice shuts her out of the typical female musical theater parts. A girl who decides to cross-dress as a guy and audition for an all-male acapella group so she can have her chance on stage.

Noteworthy doesn't just use crossdressing as a plot device, it uses Jordan's stunt to take a hard look at gender roles, stereotypes, and expectations, the spectrum of gender and sexual identity, and also class issues.

Highly recommend this one!

OMG Y'ALL. THIS WAS SO GOOD. LIKE ONE-OF-THE-BEST-CONTEMPORARIES-I'VE-EVER-READ GOOD.

Noteworthy starts with this line:

“Monday Morning was the worst possible time to have an existential crisis, I decided on a Monday morning, while having an existential crisis.”

Ok but how can you not be 10000% SOLD on a book that starts like this???

Noteworthy just managed to get so much so right: character voices, character development, character dynamics, representation, writing style—THE WHOLE SHEBANG. I will get to all that shortly, but I think by far the most standout feature of this book is Jordan's voice. It just blew me away, and as much of a platitude as that is, I truly mean it. It's at once hilarious and somber, brazen and insecure, grounded and emotional. The word that keeps coming back to me to describe it is AUTHENTIC. Frankly, I'm not really sure that I can tell you exactly what I mean by "authentic." It's a hazy word that's very much subjectively used and understood. For me, it's more of a I'll know it when I see it kinda thing. And what I saw when I read this book was authenticity, plain and simple. There is no other word I can think of that encapsulates Jordan's voice as much as "authentic."

While we're on the subject of Jordan's voice, I think another thing that will (hopefully) strike many readers when they read this book is just how relatable Jordan feels. Again, a very subjective word. I'm always wary when people throw around a word like "relatable" because what's relatable to you might not necessarily be relatable to me, or anyone else. However, I think many—if not every—readers will be able to see at least a small part of themselves in Jordan. Personally, it's been so long since I've connected so strongly to a main character.

So many passages from Noteworthy had me internally screaming YES YES YEEEEESSSSS. Here are some passages that personally resonated with me:

“Femininity had always felt inaccessible to me—my best attempt at it had always been putting on makeup and pretending to be more patient and graceful than I actually was, mostly for my mom's sake. Sometimes in middle school, feeling awkward had become my default. Because I wasn't patient. I wasn't graceful. I was prematurely tall, I wasn't skinny, I wasn't pretty, and I didn't care about any of it as much as I was supposed to. Square peg, meet round hole.”

“Kensington, probably because it was an arts school, was such an overwhelmingly liberal place when it came to social issues—I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have that sort of opinion around campus. Or anywhere, really. It was a strange thing to have an opinion on somebody else's existence.”

“There is no world where 'you're wrong' is an acceptable answer to 'this hurts.'”

“It was downright depressing, the lengths it took to feel special when you wrote yourself out on paper. All As? Who cared? That was the standard here. Some shows, some activities? Big deal. How were you changing the world?
Sometimes, when I wasn't too busy, I wondered why we had to change the world so early.”

Honestly, I could just go on and on and on. The words speak for themselves.

I think Jordan's brilliance as a character is indicative of not only how well Redgate has written her, but of her writing abilities more broadly. Redgate just gets it; I don't know how else to put it. She writes characters that feel so damn real, not to mention SO GLORIOUSLY TEENAGE-RY (that may or may not be a word I made up for my convenience). There are a lot of gems in the YA genre—Noteworthy being one of them—but there are also some YA books that get teenage voices horribly wrong, like cringe-worthy levels of wrong. But the tight-knit, ridiculously lovable squad that Redgate introduces us to in this book is just perfect. (Some might even say Pitch perfect...ha get it because it's a book about a capella and singing and...I'll just escort myself out.) By the end of the book this group of characters just felt like family.

When I say I loved all the characters, I mean I loved all the characters. There is not an undeveloped or flat character in sight in this book. All of them have their quirks and mannerisms and distinct personalities and experiences and it was all just wONDERFUL. The Sharpshooter guys reminded me so much of my own squad of friends and how comfortable and dumb and happy we are around each other. And don't get me started with the group texts. There were a lot of laughs uttered by yours truly while reading those texts.

Speaking of laughing, this book is sorta funny. And by "sorta funny" I mean VERY FUNNY. Redgate really knows how to achieve that delicate balance between being serious and light-hearted. Noteworthy is not serious enough to be a Sad Book, but it's also not fluffy enough to be a Happy-Go-Lucky Book either. Like I said, it strikes a perfect balance between the two.

Onto the representation. Lemme give you The Rep Rundown for Noteworthy:
- Jordan is Chinese-American and bi, and the representation for both of those is ownvoices (YES!). Her family is also poor and her dad is paraplegic, and those are experiences that Jordan reflects on a lot throughout the book.
- There is a Japanese-American character, a black character, a Sikh character, a dyslexic character, and a character with anxiety. (I think I've covered them all but I might've missed some.) One thing I'll mention is that while a lot of the representation was explicit, some of it was kinda vague. I didn't even know some characters were POCs until I read others' reviews.
- Since Jordan cross-dresses in order to get into the Sharpshooters, an all-male a capella group, there's also a lot of talk about trans experiences and how they differ from Jordan's experiences.
- Plus so much amazing discussion about gender roles and fitting in and not fitting in and how all of that takes its toll on a person.
- Basically, there's A LOT OF REP IN THIS BOOK, and it made me really happy to see that. Redgate obviously put a lot of effort into respectfully representing these identities, and I think all of that really comes through in her book.
(- okay this isn't representation but I just had to mention that one of the characters has a man bun!!!! man buns are very rare to find in a book ok!!)

Okay, bear with me here. Last point I promise. I wanna talk about one more thing: the writing style. I don't think it's ethereal or beautiful or stunning, and I don't think it's a fault that it isn't, because those kinds of styles are not what this book needed. Instead, Redgate's style is stripped down, but never plain, emotive, but never saccharine. Like most things in this book, it strikes a perfect balance between being straightforward, comedic, reflective, and heart-warming.

Oohhh and also all the songs featured in this book are actual songs that Riley Redgate wrote!!! How cool is that?? As if we needed more proof that Redgate poured her heart and soul into this book. You can find the songs here (https://rioghnach.bandcamp.com/album/noteworthy-ost). They're really good.

I know I've said this before but I'll say it again: Riley Redgate gets it. And I think Noteworthy is the biggest testament to that. I wholeheartedly loved this book in all its endearing warmth and camaraderie. I can tell you now that you will want to read Noteworthy when it comes out (ON MAY 2ND!! VERY SOON!!). Give it a chance, because I really don't think you'll be disappointed.

4.5/5 Stars

After hearing mention of Noteworthy by Riley Redgate a couple of time from trusted author recs, I took a shot and requested the title. Thank goodness I did! Noteworthy is a wonderful contemporary full of heart, soul, and singing. Set at a performing arts high school and featuring a diverse group of students, Redgate definitely hits all the right notes with Jordan's story.

Jordan is a Chinese-American teen with a low female vocal register that keeps preventing her from getting roles in plays. She's the perfect fit for an unique all male a cappella group called the Sharpshooters. There's Trav, intense and anxious and Isaac, outgoing, always the center of attention. The bickering best friends Jon Cox and Mama and Nihal, the artiste. It's rounded out by two freshman finding their way in Marcus and Eric. Seeing their insecurities and concerns made them all the more real and complex.

Plus there's the singing! A capella has always been fascinating to me and I'm glad to see a story on the page about it. Yeah there's been shows and films like Glee and Pitch Perfect but books always translate better for me. It brings an added element of competition and highlights the originality of combining voices to create one full sound. There's a certain dynamic needed for this music and imagining eight unique voices coming together is absolutely amazing.

As an own voices novel for both the Chinese American MC and bisexuality I was happy to see such open, honest dialogue. Jordan's experience with bisexuality is one of questions and uncertainty but that's never the sole focus of the narrative. Redgate also highlights the difficulties of being poor and how one event can throw even working families into upheaval. It was authentic, raw, and really hit at the heart.

Overall Riley Redgate's Noteworthy was a surprisingly delightful contemporary full of depth, emotion, and voice. The characters especially Jordan feel so authentic and I was entirely too invested in all of their stories. Even the a cappella was done well and didn't overshadow the narrative. I absolutely recommend this one to everyone regardless of your feelings on music.

I *almost* didn't read this. I wasn't sure if it would be too cutesy for me, or focus more on musical technicalities than I have the attention span for. But it was SO GOOD. I had so much fun reading this book! For me, it's another Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

Humour is extremely subjective, but this is exactly the kind that speaks to me. I was tentatively reading a few chapters of my arc to get a sense of whether this book was for me or not, and I just couldn't stop laughing. Normally, books that people describe as "laugh-out-loud funny", I don't take literally. It's not like the reader is sat chuckling like a moron as they turn the pages. But, as it turns out, that's exactly what I was doing here.

The story is about Chinese-American Jordan, a scholarship student at her fancy east coast boarding school for the arts. After facing rejection after rejection for musical parts because of her Alto 2 range, she makes an impulsive decision: disguise herself as a boy and become the newest Tenor for an a capella group - the Sharpshooters.

Noteworthy is the perfect mix of important social commentary AND absolute hilarity. The author's writing is strong as she explores privilege, race, wealth, sexuality and gender identity. Jordan discovers her own bisexuality over the course of the novel, and also considers the parallels between her crossdressing and being transgender - then proceeds to dispel the myth that the two are the same, and acknowledge her own privilege. Jordan is not trans; she is a cisgender girl who struggles to fit into the narrow confines of femininity.

The book also considers the ugly truths of healthcare and insurance, when it comes to Jordan's paraplegic father - the many ways the U.S. system fails its poorer citizens.

The thing is, though, the serious issues pair so well with the humour. This is not a depressing book. At all. It's a lovely warm novel about the kind of friendship that feels like family. The Sharpshooter characters are so realistic and lovable; so memorable. And did I mention that I found it really funny?

I laughed, desperately tried to keep the sound deep, and it came out as a strangled sort of hurr-harr, horf! noise. The sort of laugh a cartoon dog would have.
"Um," he said. "Are you okay?"
"Yep absolutely. Yes. Just something. Caught in my throat."

***

A slight pressure worried at the back of my head, and the blindfold fell from my eyes. I blinked rapidly, praying my eyebrows hadn't smudged. Thank God I'd used enough setting spray to freeze a ferret in place.


Just... great writing, great characters, important issues and lots of fun. I'm so so glad I read it. Noteworthy is an absolute pleasure to read.