When I was young, I devoured books by Tamora Pierce, Diana Wynne Jones, and other great female fantasy authors whose focus was on adventurous young girls, and this book reminded me so much of the feeling of reading those novels as a child. The concept, a world where music is literally magic, is so brilliant, and the cover art is just absolutely gorgeous. Bakewell's writing certainly has a musical quality to it that is a pleasure to read, and Elisse is such a sweet character, you can't help but root for her. I'm so glad to have read this book, and I recommend it for anyone looking for a little nostalgia, or for any young girl with an interest in fantasy.
Thank you to NetGalley, Catherine Bakewell, and Peachtree Teen for the lovely journey. This eARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

We Are the Song is a delightful adventure which will make music students feel smug at recognizing all the terminology scattered through- and everyone else wish they started music! The inner quest for the main character in finding her faith in the Goddess is threaded throughout the book, so this book will appeal to anyone who has ever struggled with faith-related doubts.

First, the cover! It's absolutely gorgeous and the first thing that drew me into wanting to read/review this book. For the most part, I really enjoyed this, it's beautifully written and I did enjoy this world and characters I just wanted something... more? But this is a middle grade book and I can see a lot of younger readers absolutely loving this.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I'll admit that I was captivated so badly by the wonderful cover of "We Are the Song" that I had to read it!
I also felt the need to read it because I love music, I love magic and I love music and magic linked together obviously. This book is so poetic and lyrical, it almost felt as I was listening to the music rather than reading words on words.

Caé Elissa, a twelve-year-old girl, is a devotee of Caé (as the notes C, A, E) and she is blessed by her because she is the Voice of the Goddess. Her voice is very powerful and through her singing she can heal people, give blessings and stop wars as well. Along her long and hard journey through the realms to spread Caé's voice and love, she is not alone: she has Lucio, her friend and Caé's Composer, she meets many people such as Veronica and Caé is always with her, even when Elissa cannot see her (but she feels her while singing).

I found this book very enjoyable, especially with Bakewell's description of the landscapes and with her beautiful writing in general. I really liked the importance the author decided to give to music and how music is the main focus. I also loved to see how Caé Elissa managed to grow wise and independent, while trusting her Goddess and the power she has given her (or better saying, the powers). Most things that happen in the book are predictable, but this isn't necessarily something bad!

My rating: 3.5!

'We Are The Song' follows Elissa, a twelve year old with a magical singing voice. Through her voice she can bestow miracles through the Goddess Cae. We follow her as she is learning who to trust and how to use and trust her inner voice. This story started so strongly for me. I was entranced with the story, the inclusion and power of music and Elissa's inner turmoil. I appreciated the way the 'bad guys' through the story justified using Cae's blessings, and how they twisted situations to make it seem like they weren't doing anything wrong. I think that's what's important, the enemies always think they're acting out Cae's wishes, even selfishly, it's easy to twist religion to support your evil impulses.
This book slowly went downhill for me. It started at 5 stars and I felt like by halfway through I was just, exhausted? I found myself not caring about the story, or the characters. Around the 3/4 mark is where the action really begins and I was so bummed to learn what could have been a whole series of Elissa finding all 12 singers was crammed into the last 100 or so pages. I couldn't bring myself to truly invest in the story anymore.

Thank you to Holiday House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

We Are the Song by Catherine Bakewell is a lovely middle grade fantasy set in a magical world of music. The story revolves around Elissa, who was separated from her parents when her musical powers emerged. Now, as a Voice of the Goddess, she travels the country with Lucio, a Composer, serving out Her will wherever they go. But what will happen when she's told to use her voice for bad instead of good?

Here is an enchanting excerpt from Verse One (Chapter 1):

"In Cadenza, my homeland, everything is flat and calm, covered in grass and clover.
I used to run through open fields, and Mother and Father would chase after me. We skipped rocks on a lake said to have been made from Cae's joyful tears when She created the world. Cadenza is full of stories like that; stories my parents told me with vigor.
Cadenza got its name from the Goddess, after all - the Place Where Cae Fell. And there were whispers, always, that Cae Herself had been seen there again."

Overall, We are the Song is an absolutely delightful middle grade fantasy that will appeal to fans of Tamora Pierce or Studio Ghibli. Although it's categorized as a middle grade novel, I think that it would fit in perfectly with YA, and I didn't realize it wasn't YA until I finished reading. One highlight is the unique worldbuilding and magic system. I was fascinated by the idea of Elissa being able to perform magic while singing. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of fantasy in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in May!

Had some initial issues with the formatting initially but once I was able to read it this was an enjoyable book! It was nice to see religion being explored this way. The world building was generally easy to follow so it’s a nice fantasy introduction. However, I wasn’t a fan of the main character in this one! Overall, I liked the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In WE ARE THE SONG, music is magic, and that magic is wielded by the Voices of the Goddess Caé, who is the creator of the world and life itself. Bakewell's writing is beautiful, poetic, and lyrical, which is perfect as music is central in this story.

What I liked about this book:
-It is a hopeful story about the power of peace, love, and nonviolence--everything that religion *ought* to be, but often isn't.
-Positive queer and nonbinary representation in secondary characters, where their gender identity and sexual orientation weren't their single defining characteristic and personality trait
-Unique magical system

What didn't sit well with me:
-As someone who is working through religious trauma, I was a bit put off by the overzealousness, fanaticism, and blind faith of the followers of the Goddess, and it reminded me of the personal hurt that I'm currently working through. Though, I do appreciate the picture she was trying to paint in that, much like in the real world, many people in power try to use "religion" and "faith" for their own purposes and ends, often to the detriment of those around them, most notably the poor and marginalized.

2.5 ⭐️
I couldn’t push through to finish this book. The world was intriguing to me but there was nothing plot or character wise that kept me going. The author’s writing is really beautiful and poetic. I’m sure that will appeal to a lot of readers but it wasn’t for me.

This novel had me so engrossed that I couldn't put it down! The first few chapters were an excellent way to get a foothold in the musical magical world, and then it jumped right into the book's conflict and important story themes. I thought it did a good job of having Elissa seem like a child but also making her seem like she had a great deal of commitments and people who push her in distinct ways. I also like how this book ended with a bit of a cliffhanger.
Thank you for the ARC!
3.75

4/5 Stars

We Are the Song is a unique middle grade fantasy in which music is magic. The main character is one of only 12 Singers who can work miracles through song. But not everyone wants to use these powers for good, especially in a country torn apart by war.

I really enjoyed this book and ended up reading it in one sitting. The main character was really sweet and I was very much rooting for her. I also really loved some of the side characters, and felt like they were really well characterized and described and felt fleshed out no matter how short their appearance was.
Furthermore I really enjoyed the writing style, especially the descriptions of nature and the music in the book.

The only negative thing I can really say about this book is that it was a little predictable, but it's a middle grade, so I was kind of expecting that and it didn't bother me too much.

I definitely recommend this book, especially for fans of middle grade fantasy and I'll keep my eyes out for more books by this author.

Thank you Holiday House Books and NetGalley for an eARC of We Are the Song by Catherine Bakewell. We Are the Song is a delightful upper middle grade fantasy in a world where music is magic! 12-year-old Holy Singer Elissa can heal, transform, and bring joy with her voice… but can she learn to listen to the Goddess for herself? I am blown away by how lovely and insightful this book is, covering topics of gifts/callings, self-trust, and how even those who love us can (sometimes inadvertently) manipulate us to what they see best. The descriptions are so cinematic, and I want to hear all of these musical compositions.

Absolutely beautifully written! I chose it because of the cover and went in with no expectations and was not left disappointed.

Fantasy books are either a hit or a miss; you'll either fall in love with them or despise them. That is, in the vast majority of cases. We Are the Song is surprisingly in the middle, however I'm leaning toward making it my entire personality.

This book didn't get off to a great start. I became bored while reading this book, thus it took me a long time to finish it. However, after I got to the middle of the book, I was completely engrossed and couldn't put it down. I finished the second part of the book in one sitting.

As a result of my father's influence, I've always been a tremendous music enthusiast. That's what intrigued me to this novel in the first place. The title, the cover, and the summary all drew me in to read this book. Despite the fact that I didn't love it, I can confidently state that it did not disappoint.

I found the main character to be really stereotypical. Despite the fact that she is like every other middle grade protagonist, I adored her. Then there's the typical betrayal trope. We Are the Song is a standard middle-grade story with a musical twist.

The literary style, like the theme, was wonderful. It was poetic, which pleased me because lyrical writing is difficult to master, especially when creating a middle school novel.

In general, I like this book. I believe that fans of music, great writing, and the ideal balance of plot and character will enjoy this book. I also recommend this book to anyone who are new to fantasy because the world building isn't as difficult to follow.

Great 👍 cover. Beautiful writing and almost lyrical. Beautiful 🥰 dialogue and descriptions. I loved the characters and world building. Great page Turner.

I am conflicted because there are elements of this book I really enjoyed, but also some I could have done without. I haven't read many books with a strong focus on music, so I thought that this was an interesting read because of that. What I didn't like, however, though this is subjective, is the equally as strong focus on religion.

Let's get into the details.

 
WRITING:

I don't have much to say about the writing besides the fact that I thought it was well-written and easily digestible. I like the dedication the book took in making sure to imbue as many musical elements as they could, as the author labelled the chapters as verses instead. My only other comment would be that there were some spelling mistakes but this is an ARC, so they may be fixed.


PLOT:

We follow Elissa, a Singer, and her conductor, Lucio, as they travel through the lands offering miracles in exchange for donations during a time of war. Their journey takes a turn as Elissa learns that her faith and obedience to the creator, Caé, isn't as simple as she was taught.

This book is on the shorter side, and while I did enjoy the story, I don't think the author did the best they could do with the space they had. It took over half of the book to pick up the pace, or for anything substantial to really happen. Even by then though, not an awful lot happens in this book, and some of the choices made I thought were a bit extreme for the tone of the book.


WORLD-BUILDING:

As I said in the introduction, I tend to not enjoy books with a strong religious focus, because it generally never brings good things. And, that does happen here as religion was used as an excuse to get what you wanted, even if what you wanted was morally wrong.

This takes place in a world that has a matriarchal religion based around Caé, the creator. In life, you are given one of three roles under the monasteries - Singer, Conductor or Scholar. Like these roles, all roles were thought to have been given by Caé including one of high status like rulers.

This is where things got murky for me, and rulers were able to get away with anything because they ruled through Caé, and by disobeying them you would be going against Caé. Needless to say, I was not a fan of all the manipulation in this. I will admit though, the history lover in me would have liked to know more about the Scholar's.

Moving onto the magic system, one comment I have is that, while it is interesting, would be that it is very convenient. Similar to word magic, what you sing will come to pass. There are repercussions put in place though, as the more you sing the same song the weaker it gets.

On a final note, I appreciated the small details in this that were used to distinguish the different cultures.


CHARACTERS:

Elissa is very naïve and is too trusting of strangers because of her occupation, and that got her into bad scenarios several times. She also struggles a lot with her faith in this book, rightfully so, which I thought was done well enough.

Lucio was a bit more frustrating to read about because of how faithful he was. He had no issue sweeping things under the rug because everything that happened must not have been wrong because Caé had to have ordained it. Bit ironic considering the fact that this is set during a war... He was kind of manipulative and not the big brother figure Elissa needed, and I don't think he got the proper redemption his character needed.


CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:

This was a pretty decent fantasy story. Was it perfect, no, as many standalones are not, but my enjoyment of the story managed to at least take over my very strong dislike for religious elements and manipulation?

We Are the Song is a wonder fantasy where music is magic! Music can heal, heat, and transform. This new imaginative world of fantasy fuels the book and builds a wonderful story. The characters are very dynamic and through the course of the book are able to come into their power to try to heal their broken world.

This book captured me so much that I couldn't put it down! The first few chapters were a great introduction to gain footing in the musical magical world, and then it rode right into the conflict and main plot points of the book. I think it did a great job of really making Elissa sound like a child but also real like she had lots of responsibilities and people pulling her in different directions. I also appreciate how there was a bit of an open ending on this book. I could easily see a sequel taking place after the 12 years were up or leading up to the 12 years, but this book also has an ending where if it were the only title I feel like it would be alright. The ending was tied up neatly.

The cover is absolutely breathtaking!
The prose lyrical and brilliant!
Perfect for middle-grade fantasy lovers!

The novel is set in a world where music is the foundation of everything magical and it certainly delivers an optimistic tone about self discovery, growth, and faith.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me an ARC of We Are the Song in exchange for an honest review.

It was the cover that drew my eye first, then the title. I'm glad it did. WAtS was beautiful in a poetic way and the concept was so unique. It's the type of story that could have fallen flat, but despite a moderately cliche start, Bakewell more than lived up to the potential.
The prose was not as refined as it could have been and the format delivered to my kindle put random spaces in words. "Verse O NE" and often put a random letter on a line all its own, made me pause more than I'd have liked, I'm sure the publishers will hopefully fix those before publication. The story was nonetheless enjoyable and suitable for all ages.