Description
This song has a grace note, a tiny note that's there for embellishment but can easily be ignored, not played. Tonight, I add it in - just because. We can all do with an extra note of grace.
Grace Dalfinch is a talented violinist who longs to play contemporary music in bars, but her mum forbids her. James Crux is an aspiring street artist who promised his dad he wouldn't paint in public until he's finished school.
When Crux witnesses Grace's impromptu performance on a deserted tram, he's inspired to paint her and her violin; and when Grace stumbles across her portrait in a Melbourne alley by an anonymous street artist, she sets out to find its creator. Grace Notes is a debut YA verse novel, set in one of the most locked-down cities in the world - Melbourne, 2020.
Review
Written from the perspective of both Grace, who dreams of following in her grandmother’s footsteps and being the lead violinist for the Australian Symphony Orchestra, and Crux, who is a talented street artist.
Grace’s lawyer mum expects nothing short of perfection from her daughters and will not tolerate her youngest daughter, Grace, putting all of her hopes in the field of music.
Crux practices his art on the garage wall and in the garage. His Dad supports him, but doesn’t want Crux doing graffiti and getting in trouble with the police. But when Crux meets a graffiti artist in action and decides to help him, it turns out Crux’s art is so good that he is soon working with a group who are commissioned to create street art.
When Crux sees Grace's performance he decides to add an image of Grace and her violin to the huge wall artwork that he is working on, that has been commissioned by the government. The idea of the artwork was to inspire people through the pandemic by depicting front line workers, but Crux knows the importance of art too, and so he decides to add her to his artwork anyway, not knowing it will change both their lives.
Set during Melbourne’s lengthy COVID lockdowns, this is a beautiful and easy to read verse novel about the impact of lockdown on a community. We see how art can help people through hard times, and the importance of it in our lives. We see the fear and death caused by a pandemic, and the different ways people deal with unusual and challenging situations. It is a terrific verse novel suited to all teenagers aged 13 and older.
Reviewed by Rob
