Name: Moth's review of Noteworthy by Riley Redgate
Item: Noteworthy
Rating: 4
Author: Moth

Riley Redgate

It's the start of Jordan Sun's junior year at the Kensington-Blaine Boarding School for the Performing Arts. Unfortunately, she's an Alto 2, which--in the musical theatre world--is sort of like being a vulture in the wild: She has a spot in the ecosystem, but nobody's falling over themselves to express their appreciation. So it's no surprise when she gets shut out of the fall musical for the third year straight. But then the school gets a mass email: A spot has opened up in the Sharpshooters, Kensington's elite a cappella octet. Worshiped . . . revered . . . all male. Desperate to prove herself, Jordan auditions in her most convincing drag, and it turns out that Jordan Sun, Tenor 1, is exactly what the Sharps are looking for.

Noteworthy

Soha

Moth

The writing itself was pretty amazing. I found it really well done and almost lyrical in it's own right. I didn't find much to really critique because I was too busy highlighting some of the more beautiful phrases, the end of the book even more so than the rest. I loved the diverse cast of characters, how music could be found in the writing, and the friendship between the characters. The friendship in this book was probably my favourite part. I think it would have been even better without a relationship happening and just kept a good friendship mostly because it would have made this book stand out more than others. I'm still craving a book that chooses friendships over relationships, but alas this only gave me a little of it but added a relationship that I'm only so-so about. I'm also a bit so-so with her figuring out her sexuality but it not really mean anything. She could have not and nothing would have really changed the story. If anything, she could have bonded with the other gay character, but she doesn't do that. It's not a coming out story, or really anything with her being bi other than a small mention of it. I think it could have been used to help patch her relationship with her friend because she never lied about not being gay when she's bi. Instead, she sort of just buries it too. To me, it just doesn't make sense other than trying to put diversity into a story but not think anymore about it. It might be the only thing in the writing I don't like, just because it feels sort of half done.

(Full Review On Blog)

Jude Moon

I really really enjoyed this book!!! However, I wasn't able to get into the story as much as I would've liked to, and I don't know if it's because of the book or because of me, but sometimes I felt like I was watching the characters interact from too far instead of being close to them (I don't know if I explained myself correctly ajksdknd).

Apart from that the representation felt super natural, which I truly appreciated, and the characters were as flawed and genuine as any of my friends in real life. Also, Isaac and Jordan's relationship was so heartwarming to read about I swear I could explode from cuteness because of them.

Overall, I highly recommend it!!

9/10

It's the start of Jordan Sun's junior year at the Kensington-Blaine Boarding School for the Performing Arts. Unfortunately, she's an Alto 2, which--in the musical theatre world--is sort of like being a vulture in the wild. But then the school gets a mass email: A spot has opened up in the Sharpshooters, Kensington's elite a cappella octet. Desperate to prove herself, Jordan auditions in her most convincing drag, and it turns out that Jordan Sun, Tenor 1, is exactly what the Sharps are looking for.

Emelie

It was indeed a mix of "she's the man" and "pitch perfect".

I did LOLed many times during this book but I think my expectations were too high for this book so the story just felt mediocre most of the time! Unfortunately!

sophia n

*4.5 stars

during my hunt for more bi leads during 20biteen (and during my whole life, tbqh) i found this randomly about it sounded right up my alley. and i was RIGHT.

i expected this to be light fun, what i didn't expect was for it to be so funny, witty, smart, genuine, AND real, and i can't stop thinking about it. i can't remember now why i rated this 4 stars instead of 5 tbh ... i'll probably read it again soon and come back to complete these thoughts lol.

Nicki

There were so many things to love about this book! It was a nice and easy read that was perfect to kick start my progression into reading more like younger, unemployed me would have done. I don't want to follow the cliches of what made me immediately know I  was going to enjoy this books but I mean I'm only human....

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

The first freaking line of the book. Like hello? Yes, I too can relate because I have a crisis every Monday morning when my alarm goes off at 5:45 am. 

I have read Seven Ways We Lie by Ms. Redgate previously, so I was going into this book somewhat excited, especially given the fact that I really quite enjoy gender-bending story-line and anyone who knows me knows that one of my favorite Korean dramas of all time is The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince.  The first line captured me in an instant and then I kept wanting to read more as the story unfolded. I was enamored by the fact that we had a triple minority MC. I was especially happy because REPRESENTATION. (True Story: Showed a friend of mine the book and she finished it immediately because she's an Asian who also identifies as bisexual.)

It wasn't only that the MC was a diverse individual, but so was everyone in the acapella group. I don't think I've ever read a book where there was a Sikh gay character who wasn't only mentioned once and then forgotten. I'm truly impressed. I was very pleased with Jordan's introspection. Usually, when a story revolves around gender bending we don't often hear any mention of trans people and the fact that Jordan thought about what she was doing in respect to trans people was wonderful. Jordan was bisexual. I enjoyed that the author didn't make it seem like Jordan needed to prove that she was bisexual.

 All I understood about sexuality was its uncertainty, discovering your way through yourself day by day, stepping tentatively, hitting on some term that seemed to fit and hoping it stuck.  


In conclusion (it's like i'm writing a really bad essay hehehe), I quite thoroughly enjoyed this book. I never found myself to be frustrated with the MC (honestly a first) and I didn't find the book to drag in some parts. The only thing that may prove to be challenging is the fact that it is heavily musically influenced. Luckily, I was in a choir for a third of my life!

Flavia Louise

4.5 stars
This was absolutely amazing.
I had high expectations and they were met.
The writing is extremely charming.
On page discussion of bisexuality.

A New York Public Library 2017 Best Books for Teens selected title! It’s the start of Jordan Sun’s junior year at the Kensington-Blaine Boarding School for the Performing Arts. Unfortunately, she’s an Alto 2, which—in the musical theatre world—is sort of like being a vulture in the wild: She has a spot in the ecosystem, but nobody’s falling over themselves to express their appreciation. So it’s no surprise when she gets shut out of the fall musical for the third year straight. But then the school gets a mass email: A spot has opened up in the Sharpshooters, Kensington’s elite a cappella octet. Worshiped . . . revered . . . all male. Desperate to prove herself, Jordan auditions in her most convincing drag, and it turns out that Jordan Sun, Tenor 1, is exactly what the Sharps are looking for.

Sheila

This was a fun read! Jordan was a great character, & her humour shined through, in a book that I think most would have expected to be ridiculously geeky a capella fanfiction. Definitely a twist on the theme of learning what it means to be a girl in this world we live in.

celeste

After hearing non-stop about this book, I decided to give it a shot.
It was refreshing to read such a different contemporary YA book for a change, because even though it is a light-hearted story, it includes discussions of important issues like gender identity and sexuality, among others. The story focuses on Jordan and her struggles to find her place in the school she goes to. Disappointed at the fact that she can't get a main role in theatre plays like she always wanted, one day she decides to dress as a boy in order to try out for the auditions of an acapella male group. To be honest, I wasn't that into the plot of acapella since I know nothing about music, but the characters and their interactions, especially Isaac and Jordan's, made up for that. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a YA contemporary that doesn't involve the usual tropes or plotlines.

Abi Baker

oh my god so this book is basically pitch perfect meets she’s the man with a bisexual mc!!! perfect

Soha &
Noteworthy by Riley Redgate

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Noteworthy by Riley Redgate