Thanks to NetGalley for allowing an arc - all thoughts and opinions are my own.



If Silvia has one fan- I am that fan.
That is all.
Her first published book is definitely not as dark vibes as her newer ones, but it’s neat to see where someone has come from.

I saw the title and summary of this book and was fascinated. The idea that magic and music were so closely entwined, added to the fact that the bulk of the novel is based in the 1980s, an era I identify with and remember well, really appealed.

Meche, Mercedes, is a 15-year-old girl living in Mexico City, she is somewhat isolated with a small close-knit group of friends and her family life is less than ideal, with parents who don’t love each other. So, the discovery of magic in the music she listens to and loves is perfect.

However, with great power comes great responsibility, as the saying goes.

This book has a bit of The Craft about it, with Meche in the role of the misguided and power-hungry Nancy Downs. When things stop going the way she is sure they need to, her friendships begin to fail, and she turns to the magic becoming destructive, angry and dangerous.

This book swiftly moves between the present day (in this instance 2009) and the past (1988), when Meche returns to Mexico after years away, to bury her father, who abandoned her and her mother in 1989. As much as I loved the past and present storylines, I found that they didn’t meld as well as I would have expected them to. There is something about the way that the two timelines worked together that made the present-day storyline feel unnecessary.

I think that had the book started with the present and then gone back to the past and stayed there until it naturally moved through the timeline it would have flowed better.

That having been said, the writing was beautiful, the characters rich with life experience, pain, pleasure and growth, and the moments based in the 1980s were wonderful to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Rebellion for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Signal to Noise is a semi-dark magical realism story about music and friendship. Meche is a deeply uncool teen in 1980s Mexico City, but she loves vinyl and hanging out with her equally outcast friends. When the trio discovers they can do magic with music, things start to take a dark turn. In alternating chapters, we meet Meche as a grown woman, a successful software developer who lives in Norway. She's returned to Mexico City to deal with her father's affairs, and her past confronts her.

Like all of Moreno-Garcia's work, this is mesmerizing, magical, and as far as you can get from generic sci-fi/fantasy. I had more trouble with Signal to Noise because, in many ways, Meche is far less sympathetic than most of Moreno-Garcia's protagonists (who themselves are certainly not perfect). But that complexity gives the story its meat, and it made me reflect what I might have done with magical powers as a 15-year old.

Rereading the book several years later, I focused more on the disintegrating relationship between Meche and her father and the weighty, onerous task of going through her father's apartment. There's a parallel drawn between Meche's father, an abject failure by most accounts, and Meche herself. They are very different— Vincente dies alone and nearly penniless while Meche is an apparent success in her overseas software career— and yet so similar. Both are captivated by music and surround themselves with it to the detriment of their relationships. Meche, in many ways, is not just going through her father's old possessions— she's going through the motions that a distant relative or former friend would do with her own apartment.

I'll read anything Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes, and enjoyed this story of music and magic, That said, Signal to Noise is less honed and gripping than her newer works, probably because this is a re-release.

I went in with a lot of hope that this book would be unputdownable and I wasn’t disappointed! It was slow at first but it picked up and was awesome

A new version of an older book of Moreno-Garcia focuses on magic in a city. Teens discover how to cast spells and one must deal with her memories when she returns years later for her father’s funeral.

I didn’t feel the same magic I’ve felt in other of the author’s books before. It didn’t draw me in quickly like others, especially Mexican Gothic, did.

Rating: 2.5/5 (rounded to 2)

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Angsty 15-year-old Meche discovers that there is magic in music. Together with her friends, Daniela and Sebastian, they use it to cast spells to maybe change their social outcast status. However, nothing good can happen when an angry teenager wields that much power...

If this sounds like The Craft, it's because it is. But with some very nice songs sprinkled in between (my compliments to the chef). I was not fully convinced by the magic in this book and, overall, it made me quite sad. The main characters are faced with bullying, illness, difficult family lives, unrequited love, poverty, domestic violence, sexual harassment, and alcohol addiction. And when they discover magic, they naturally take shelter in that.
I liked that the book was written from the perspectives of multiple characters, but I did find all of them rather depressing. Perhaps it was my fault for seeing terms like "magic" and "music spells" and assuming this will be more upbeat and exciting. I think this was quite a dark and realistic take on what would happen if a bunch of teenagers suddenly discovered they had magical powers.

The book alternates between Mexico in the '80s and the present (2009), where we see what became of the teenagers, who are now in their late 30s. The 2009 storyline was in the background and did not add much for me; I could have done without it. Lastly, I found the ending to be quite abrupt and I don't think it matched the tone of the story. Apart from that, although I have not highlighted many quotes, I can't complain about the quality of the writing. I would not say this book was bad; it just wasn't for me.

Set in Mexico City in two timelines 20 years apart, Silvia Moreno-Garcia tells the story of three friends and how power and pride come between them. I loved Mexican Gothic, so I jumped at the chance to request an ARC of the author’s reissued debut novel.

Despite the magical setting and premise, the book’s characters are realistic and never fully overcome their flaws, which is something I enjoy about this author’s novels. I could see this being a good movie or limited series adaptation. The novel centers on a major falling out between friends, and I felt that part was rushed. Even 20 years later, it seemed like the other two friends were two quick to forgive (trying to avoid spoilers here but it does involve physical harm). I also wish we would have leaned more about the magic and how it works from Meche’s grandmother.

Thanks to Rebellion and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘Signal to Noise’ is a young adult, dual time period set in Mexico City following Meche, an outcast with tumultuous family relationships and a love for music. Her and her two best friends, Sebastian and Daniela, start to experiment with magic, and divides in their friendship begin to appear as a result…

This was a fluid read - I was able to get through it quickly and it was certainly an interesting premise, but I did feel the execution was weak. Meche as a main character is intolerable - her abuse of her powers, though interesting initially, became increasingly frustrating to read due to her refusal to accept she has ever done anything wrong. The writing of the magic wasn’t super strong or anything particularly unique - and the rest sort of felt like your standard YA high school novel.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc

I really expected to like this book more than I did. I think this author is a mixed bag for me. I've read some of her stories and loved them, I've read some of her stories and did not like them at all.

This one fell flat for me. The characters are flat, the setting is flat, the plot is flat. It just felt very underwhelming and as a whole underdeveloped. For example, I felt like the only way the portions that are set in the past were reflected to us was through a multitude of references to bands, and not much else.

I didn't find much that felt relatable with the characters.

The plot is slow and I never quite got the point of the story. There wasn't a sense of urgency, nor a connection to the characters' desires or motivations.

It has the elements for teenage angst and coming of age with a sprinkle of magical realism. And it is set against two different time periods, where we could potentially see how the events unfold and how the characters have changed over the years. Except, I just didn't really see any of that.

I didn't experience the depth that I felt this story had the potential for.

There are no truly defining activators in the plot, nothing that is driving or pulling us along.

I didn't feel it, didn't connect to it. I wasn't moved.

I don't have much to say about this one other than it being a bland experience for me. My memory of it is as unremarkable as how I felt while reading it. Maybe that's harsh, maybe I'll be the minority with these feelings, maybe it's just that this isn't the book for me. Either way, I unfortunately can't say I'd recommend it.

I’ve read three of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s works before, so when I requested for this book’s ARC and got approved, I was so thrilled to read yet another masterpiece of hers. As usual, she never disappoints.

Signal to Noise shines its light on three friends who discovered a powerful magic within music. In 1988, Meche, a headstrong teenager, only has Sebastian, Daniela—both as awkward as her—and her vinyl records to keep her company. Everything seems to be possible when they learned how to cast spells through music: rise from their statuses, find love, and every social prerequisite the youth wants. Yet in 2009, two decades after being away, Meche returns to the city for the funeral of her father whom she never wanted to hear from ever since, and eventually runs into Sebastian, whom she swore never to see again. What was once home revived memories of her childhood that she thought—and wished—she forgot. So what happened back then?

Set against the backdrop of Mexico City and divided in two timelines, the novel participates in the usual magical realism discourse: the repercussions of too much power and the price of pride. The interesting title begins to manifest its purpose a few pages in: perhaps in simpler engineering terms, a signal-to-noise ratio is used to compare the desired power or signal with the unwanted source or noise. How far would these teenagers go for the power they wish to wield? And how grave shall the consequences be? With this, I thought the move was brilliant.

On the other hand, the author’s writing is nuanced and natural; the pace is reasonable, the characters’ personalities are rational despite their irrational behavior, and the dialogue is realistic. I was also amazed with how Silvia effortlessly switches from one limited point-of-view to another, making the reader understand both the characters’ thoughts and the situation they were in. The mysterious conflict was intriguing from beginning to end, and the protagonists’ relationship towards each other is not “sappy” as Silvia would call it (lol). Rather, it pragmatically depicts how love and friendship can be fixed or ruined by power (in literal and metaphorical sense).

Overall, I enjoyed reading it so much that I’d like to make a playlist of all the songs/artists/albums mentioned in the book (more so, I hope there’s already someone who did that). What a remarkable way to tell a story about nostalgia, especially on music!

Thank you Rebellion Publishing and Netgalley for making this delight possible.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

I started reading Silvia Moreno-Garcia's novels last year and I'm already a big fan, so you can imagine my exitement when I got the opportunity to read her debut novel in view of its new publication
Despite its style being different from the one I am used to - again, this is her debut and I read mostly her newest novels - it did not disappoint

The alternation between past and present, with scenes from pov of different characters and not only the Mc, Meche, was great and gave the reader the possibility to see various situations and the different ideas the characters had, with all of them believing to be in the right but then unknowlingly ruining the lives of the others (except for Daniela, she was a precious angel)
And it also captured the reader, who is soon curious to understand why and how Meche and Sebastián's changed so drastically considering how close they were in the flashbacks. Soon we enter in this particular relationship, who was complicated since the beginning but still worked because despite their differences they knew they couldn't live without the other. It was nice to see throughout the novel how despite every quarrel they had, when a real problem occured they were always ready to help each other. But it was also a bad relationship, in a certain way a toxic one, something that a good talk would have helped easing but they both were too stubborn to do that and really let down the guard, which I can totally understand considering they were fifteen (if you read Normal People by Sally Rooney then you know what I mean)

I'm glad Meche's character didn't change much throughout her life abroad and we got to see why she was like that and what events in her life brought her to be like that but also, in the end, her trying to understand more about other people around her, thanks to memories, old songs, old friendships and unfinished books. I guess she will always be the sort of bitchy friend whit harsh comments every now and then but I know that now she will try to be better for those who have always stayed with her and maybe remembering the relationship she had with her father and how clueless she were abouth his life wven tho she thought she knew everything. Her development was good and full of good premises, and I'm happy to know she got to live it alongside Sebastián again, with a more open mind (and heart)

One thing that didn't satisfy me enough though, was the magic in this novel and how it was presented. I wish the magic process had been analysed and explained more, it started a bit too fast and it seemed like they didn't question it enough, even tho lately in the novel we have some hints and "rules" from Meche's grandmother.

But despite everything, even if it is a bit rough in certain parts, I enjoyed the reading (and the pining) a lot and I recommend it fully

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

signal to noise follows meche as she navigates friendships and familial relationships during two separate timelines.

the characters, especially meche and sebastian, are delightful to read about. in the flashback scenes, they are very much teenagers figuring out who they are and where they belong, whereas in the present-day scenes, they (especially meche) are young adults who still haven't quite come to terms with their pasts. the relationships in this book are definitely the strong suit. all of them are handled with care and seeing how these relationships have evolved over twenty years was realistic and nuanced.

the fantasy element was a bit underdeveloped for my liking and i would have liked to have learned more about magic from meche's grandma. i also found meche's corruption arc and the reason for the fallout to be rushed as compared to the rest of the book.

overall, signal to noise is a powerful coming-of-age magical realism novel that handles the complexities of friends and family well.

3.75 stars*

First off I want to say that I love this author and Mexican gothic is one of my favorite novels of all time but this book was missing elements that I love from this author, since it was her debut novel I’m not surprised as people learn and improve over time.

My main issues in this book were the characters and the “genre”. The characters to me all fell flat, I feel like their personalities weren’t devolved well and they just fit into odd stereotypes. I also couldn’t tell you the genre of this book, there was magic, romance, family struggles, revenge, music, and more and it just felt like too many boxes trying to be checked at once.

Overall though the story was nice, I liked the setting and I liked the characters enough I just wanted more from them. I still love this author and recommend all of her books!

This is a reprint of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s debut novel. We all know Moreno-Garcia can write well which is perhaps the only good thing about this book. The writing is vivid and atmospheric, and gives you a realistic Mexican feel. As for the plot, it was just breadcrumbs from a coming-of-age YA teenage friendship/love story mixed with magical realism. This might sound wholesome but it wasn’t. The story was a tedious exaggeration of a teenage love story which was stretched way too far to the point of a migraine. There was so much redundancy that it literally pained me to continue reading and I was on the verge of DNFing this book more times than I could count. The characters were under developed and annoying; the plot was flat and there was nothing happening. It was basically a pretty two dimensional picture of three kids in Mexico. No layers, no development, no depth.

I wanted to like this, and if this wasn’t written by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, I would’ve left this unfinished.

Thanks to Rebellion, Solaris and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

1.5/5🌟 (rounded up for the love of Silvia Moreno-Garcia).

Overall, I enjoyed the book but I just don’t feel like the ending was earned. The adult characters don’t really talk and nothing seems resolved at the end.

Signal to Noise reads like a TV series in all the best ways. Three teenaged friends discover they can perform magic to get the results they seek, even if the results don’t last forever.

The story spans over a decade as Meche returns to Mexico City to bury her father and happens to meet up with her high school friends Sebastián and Daniela.

The story rolls out in non-linear details volleying between now and then. And all of this weaves together with a vinyl soundtrack.

This might be my favorite Moreno-Garcia novel. Meche, Daniela, and Sebastian are great friends in high school and they begin to dabble in magic. Their magic is woven into songs on vinyl…and each thing they do has the perfect theme song.

The story is dual time lined; in the 80s and now-ish when Meche returns to Mexico upon the death of her father. It becomes clear quickly that there has been a disruption in the friendship of the high school friends, but the reader doesn’t get to see the full picture right away.

Coming -of-age and using classic magical themes, this book was well done by Moreno-Garcia. It is surprising to me that this was her first novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion for the opportunity to read the ARC of this wonderful rerelease!

Signal To Noise was not in my favorite books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I really enjoyed the magic system and the unique take on music. I did not find the main character very likeable. Overall it was a quick and light read.

Thank you Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review

i enjoyed the story in general, i feel like it was a bit underdeveloped in some ways, specially the setting, but i liked the magical realism and the characters. great cover change.