NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

The setting for this book is late 2970s Jamaica. You're caught up in the events immediately after the last day of school and thrust into the lives of two friends. You're invited into their worlds, vastly different and the political upheaval that's occuring at the same time.

I hope one day someone will bring this movie to the big screen. The book does an excellent job of providing details that you can picture with your eyes open or closed. This is a song of hope, loss and love.

Historical sapphic romance is something we are not getting enough of in 2023, but Songs of Irie delivers where some readers may struggle with the stylized dialogue; I found it atmospheric and helped to keep the story grounded within this era of Jamaican history. The romance between the protagonists was enjoyable and over all the novel gives me hope for more POC wlw historical romances.

Actual rating 4.5 stars.

Even though Songs of Irie is about two fierce girls, this review is dedicated to sweet and bright ten-year-old Junior. He got me crying already in the second chapter and immediately nestled himself into my heart. Oh, Junior … Irie is the musical genius (those lyrics!), but you’ll always be my little star.
 
Imagine Jamaica in 1976. You probably know nothing, right? Think about Bob Marley. Think about racism, also between people of color. Think about beautiful lush hills with mansions where people are fairer skinned. Think about the ghettos where people are darker skinned. Think about shootings on the streets. Think about music telling your story. Think about people divided into two groups. Will they vote for the so-called communist party, or will they vote for the conservative party? Think about two friends, coming from different backgrounds, falling in love with each other while their country is on fire and falling to pieces. Think about all these things.
 
Sometimes authors really surprise me, which happened when I read Asha Bromfield’s debut Hurricane Summer. I might have doubted if an actress from Riverdale could write a good young adult story, and she proved me wrong. Her debut was surprisingly well-written. And her sophomore novel is even better. Both books are set in Jamaica. Both stories deal with racism between people of color. And both novels are on the darker side. But Songs of Irie, written in a dual POV, has this premise and tension that immediately draws you in and doesn’t let go.

Don’t expect this to be a romance. It’s a love story, but a gritty and harsh one. A few moments, I found the writing a little too telling, and that’s why I rounded my rating down instead of up, but boy, oh boy, this book is good. That ending … it made the tears prickle my eyes again.

First off, let me just say, the cover of this novel is absolutely gorgeous.

Now on to the review…

From the moment I read Asha Ashanti Bromfield’s Hurricane Summer, I immediately knew I was going to read absolutely anything she put out. I absolutely loved this book. From the historical references to the character growth and development, this novel was absolutely amazing.

This was an amazing sophomore novel, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Can we just give this cover a moment? I absolutely loved this cover. The story did not disappoint! The character development was phenomenal I enjoyed every moment!

The cover is what drew me in and I enjoyed how good the historical elements worked through the story. I thought this was a great job in creating a young adult historical, the characters were perfectly written and I loved how realistic the friendship was through this book. Asha Ashanti Bromfield has a great writing style and I enjoyed how well I enjoyed this read.

Oh my goodness, this book was utterly un-put-down-able! I was so pulled in by the story of Irie and Jilly that I couldn’t stop until I had devoured the entire story. Asha Ashanti Bromfield is a masterful storyteller and “Songs of Irie” was a helluva sophomore novel! I loved “Hurricane Summer”, but I really enjoyed this book better. I loved the introduction of queer characters into the mix, it really transformed the story for me. She really knows how to craft a story that engages and enthralls!

I absolutely adore Asha Bromfield so I had to pick this one up. It was historical fiction. Queer rep/Class struggles. It was so good.

Songs of Irie by Asha Ashanti Bromfield

400 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
Release Date: October 10, 2023

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Jamaica, Protests, Reggae, LGBTQIA+

The book begins in summer 1976 in Jamaica. Irie lives in the ghetto but attended an affluent high school on a scholarship. Her friend Jilly is light skinned from a wealthy family. Where Irie’s options for her future was limited, Jilly had Cambridge University and engagement to a politician’s son. The two young women were so different but found common ground through music. Their friendship is in the middle of the island revolution with an election looming in the coming weeks. Guns and shooting attacks are happening all around them. Irie uses the only weapon she has, her voice.

The book has fast but steady pace, the two major characters are developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view from different perspectives. It is a gritty book and the women put themselves in harrowing situations. Although there is a lot of violence, it is written with deep emotion making the reader feel a part of the story. If you like historical fiction or reggae music, you may enjoy this book.

When I die BURY ME WITH SONGS OF IRIE. I still need time to process the way this made me feel but what I know now is Asha might go down as my favorite authors of all time. Pure brilliance!

Songs of Irie follows two friends from different backgrounds who find themselves caught on opposite sides of civil unrest in 1970s Jamaica. The book switches between the perspectives of Irie, whose talent and passion for reggae music sets the plot into motion, and her best friend Jillian, the daughter of a wealthy and prominent conservative politician.

Throughout the book, Irie and Jilly's complicated relationship is tested by events beyond their control. The story confronts classism and colonialism head-on, and the author manages to walk the line between making Jilly a sympathetic character while still showing her complicity in the system. Meanwhile, Irie's love for reggae and hope for revolution is infectious. It's heartbreaking to see her endure tragedy after tragedy, and this book has some gut-wrenching emotional beats.

The prose was easy to read, and the pacing was strong. I flew through this book and didn't want to put it down. Most of the dialogue is written in Patois, except when Jilly is talking with her family and their wealthy political friends, which emphasizes the stark divide between her world and Irie's. My one critique is that some lines of dialogue feel too on-the-nose and expositional, as if they are being said for the reader's benefit rather than as something the characters would naturally say.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to fans of the genre who like stories with complex female characters and a strong sense of place.

Set in Jamaica in the 70's, this novel paints a portrait of an island going through their struggles and the political landscape of those times. Told through the eyes of two school friends you follow along as you take the journey with two young people on their wat to adulthood. While doing so you also learn what it is like to live on an island seeking freedom from colonialism. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Asha delivers another stunning and powerful depiction of island life. I read this book in 2 days and I was engulfed in the friendship of Irie and Jilly. School friends that have a connection through music although they come from two very different worlds on the same island of Jamaica. There is a strong pull amongst these two and this novel takes you through the meaning of friendship, the problematic politics in Jamaica circa 1970s and the struggles as well as the strengths in becoming your own as you enter into adulthood.