Anchor Books, Division of Penguin, Random House LLC

By the end of chapter one, this book had me by the throat because it turned into a mystery.  The young hero, Rayquan McMillian, is not complaining about his lot in life as a Black boy, but his love of playing the violin is all he can see in his future beyond high school.  However, everything and everyone seems to be against him.   When, as a boy, he asked his high school music teacher for lessons like the White kids got, his teacher, walking away replied “Why?”.

Here we have the emotional story of a man who has loved the violin since a boy but is not appreciated by his immediate family of Black people except for his grandmother, Nora, his aunt Rochelle, and one college female Black administrator who is professor of music at her university.   But the White world is not prepared to accept him because he’s Black.   “Look at his skin, hair, clothes.   He couldn’t possibly like or play classical music.”  His mother insists that he not waste time pursuing music, but work at Popeyes or the local grocery store. 

And, when his family, at the demand from his grandmother, finally listens to this high school young man play her violin (handed down through generations) from her great great grandfather for the first time on an instrument better than his rented one from school, even he had to admit that he had made the right choice as a Black man to pursue the violin as a career.   This chapter made me cry.   I think every one of us has had a situation when others don’t have faith in our abilities. 

His grandmother’s violin turned out to be a Stradivarius, worth millions.   More conflict developed from the Marks family, descendants of the original slave owners, once the real value of his grandmother’s relative’s violin came to public attention.  You can guess the trouble they caused.

Reading Slocumb’s book was like being there in every one of his character’s adventures—some great, some horrendous.   I enjoyed this book more than any monthly book our book club read in the 2 years I’ve been a member.   Never have I come across an author who can make you see and hear what Ray is playing on his violin, who so envelops you in the beauty of Ray’s playing.  I’ve always loved to hear a violin which is able to interpret any emotion. 

Although the book made me angry, too, I had a hard time putting it aside so much so that I finished the book in 3 days.  I learned a lot about what classical musicians had to go through—from local competitions to international ones.  It is an exciting book full of detailed characters.

 Quote from the book by Whoopee Goldberg:

“We’re here for a reason.  I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.”

Submitted by Rosa L. Griffin