The Sound of Us

It's Kiki's dream to get a full scholarship in music. Following the dream of Opera. Who knew that the camp would be so intriguing?

The Sound of Us, is full of Pop Culture references. It's quirky and I really enjoyed this story. Kiki has to learn a lot and strives to prove her parents wrong. Because she's known for not following through.. On pretty much everything. This story didn't go the route, I thought it was going to go. I really wanted the best for Kiki but she's a teenager. And teenagers aren't always great listeners.

There's some great character development and your able to see Kiki go from a girl who was just totally unsure of herself. To someone that decided to take control of her life. She is super talented. If there is a #2 it would be interesting to see what happens with Kiki.

Overall, I give this this story a 4. I did enjoy it but it didn't hold my attention and I had to keep going back. I feel this is a perfect YA for the YA crowd. There's a lot of lessons to be learned and the strength it takes to really become who you are supposed to be.

I want to thank Netgalley, Entagled Publishing, and Julie Hammerle for giving me a chance to read this book for an HONEST review....

First off the star process was a toss up between 3.5 and 4.5... I liked the story overall I just had slight issues with SOME of the characters....

So I liked Kiki in general there were some moments I just shook my head and was like girl you so need to get your confidence back! My biggest issue was Beth....IDK about you but....to me she was a complete butthead! I mean the whole jealousy thing ok...typical girl drama BUT to take papers that your best friend NEEDS and to purposely sabotage her chances with this camp...total bitch move. That being said, I understood why Kiki was wanting to "reinvent" herself and become more like the character in her favorite tv show.

The camp kinda reminded me a little of Big Brother meets Survivor I mean really the backstabbing and "mole" in the camp thing mad me laugh but I was proud of Kiki when she stood up to Kendra and called BS when Kendra was wanting to know hwo the mole was....

It felt like the author left it open for another book...so I am hoping I can find out more on if Kiki got to go to the college and be with Jack or what happened....

Received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

THE SOUND OF US by Julie Hammerle is a highly entertaining and emotional look at a girl named Kiki and her summer at a rigorous pre-college Opera program. This story hit particularly close to home for me as I attended Carnegie Mellon’s Pre-College program for musical theater in between my junior and senior year of high school. Definitely brought back some wonderful memories and dug up some of the less comfortable ones, as well. I didn’t study Opera, so I’m not sure if the strictness about not singing other kinds of music is actually a thing… We were always encouraged to explore all areas of music—but musical theater is a bit more of a melting pot stylistically.

The characterizations were spot on and the plot was well structured. The romance was sweet, but I’m glad this story was ultimately more about Kiki than just falling for some boy. He was a useful tool for showing what her journey was really about. Hammer beautifully wrote an inspiring coming of age story about not only finding yourself, but discovering what it is that YOU want—not what’s expected of you or what other people want for you. Highly recommend!

Love me some Entangled Publishing books - they have such a wide variety of books and I always seem to love them.

I admit that I thought that The Sound of Us would be way more serious - considering the subject matter - competitions, music, camp - but although i do wish there was way more angst, I thought that Kiki was an absolutely brilliant character who manages to be gifted and funny and enjoy all things music and tv related (although one is more owned up to than the other).

Hammerle has a wonderful writing style - down to earth and I love that she created a charming and smart and interesting female character (yes, it can be done!).

The story is interesting and I found myself completely in awe of Kiki. Loved this book

As a girl who was obsessed with the Disney move, Camp Rock , I was so excited to read a book about a music camp!

Now, this book wasn't quite like Camp Rock , but it still gave me Camp Rock feels.

I thought it was interesting that this book was focused on the opera. I don't know a lot about opera, so it was interesting to learn about that music genre. However, I did find myself getting bored with the in depth descriptions about opera and singing. I would have liked that to have been cut back a bit. I guess I like watching/listening to it more than reading about it? I think a lot of people will like how detailed the author was in describing opera training, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

The beginning of this book was a little slow, but it definitely picked up. The book became very fast paced and addicting. I liked that this book wasn't as predictable as most contemporary book are. Hammerle was able to keep me on my toes through out the book. There was a lot of drama in this book, which a tad ridiculous at times, but it kept the book interesting! I also really liked the themes of friendship and finding yourself weaved throughout this story.

I really liked the writing style of this book, mainly because the book was hilarious! Kiki, the main character, had me laughing out loud numerous times with things she said and thought. Her commentary through out the story was great. I loved her quirky and nerdy humor. I had such an easy time relating to Kiki. Kiki was passionate and endearing, which I enjoyed a lot. She was a little annoying and dramatic at times, but most teenage girls are! I know I was! I loved the growth she had in the book. Kiki became more confident in herself, and it was great to see that development.

The romance was definitely angsty. There was a lot of kissing and flirting, which was cute and fun to read. However, the romance did drive me crazy at some points in the book. I didn't realize it at first, but one of the romances involving Kiki was definitely felt like insta-love . I quickly became annoyed with how obsessed Kiki became with this one guy. They had some adorable moments, but as a whole, I was kind of over their relationship.

Overall, I thought this was a fun and entertaining story. There were a few things that annoyed me through out this book, but I liked it as a whole! I am excited to see what other books Hammerle will come out with in the future.

3 / 5 Fangs

*This ebook was given to me in exchange for a honest review. *

The Sound of Us by Julie Hammerle...I enjoyed this book, it was a fun read. Kiki was amazing, I felt like she was a real teenager. Kiki is off to summer music camp, with some romance and teenage drama, which kept your attention. I highly recommend this book to any YA romance reader. I was given a complimentary book by publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun, cute contemporary and I think it is the perfect summer read. The story follows Kiki who is at a music summer camp trying to earn a scholarship. I really liked Kiki's character as she was easy to relate to. She had a passion for TV and music and I could easily relate to that. I also loved how the author included the use of Twitter. Social media is used by so many people and I think by mentioning it in this book it made the story more realistic. I loved all the characters and the friendships that developed throughout the book. I especially enjoyed, seeing Kiki develop as a character. At the start she was lacking in confidence and I enjoyed seeing her confidence grow as the book progressed. I would love to read more from this author in the future.