Description
'In a few months, the four of us will be elsewhere, doing other things, and this chance we have now will be long gone. We won't get a redo. We won't get another shot at changing the very course of our existence.'
Eva writes intimate, personal songs. She wants to make it as a musician, but after three failed attempts at the Triple J Unearthed High competition, she's ready to give up on her dreams and focus on graduating high school.
Until Cooper Hunter, fellow muso and Eva's long-time crush, convinces her to try again - this time, with some help.
Cue the band: Eva, the indie-folk singer-songwriter; Cooper, the charismatic rock guitarist; Ant, the mellow, metal-head drummer; Ruby, the broody, opinionated bassist. And in the background is Mim, the aspiring documentary-maker who's filming their rehearsal.
Five people who have nothing in common but music. Will it be enough?
Set over an emotionally and creatively charged weekend,
One Song is part music doco, part The Breakfast Club as five teenagers face the pressure of recording the most important song of their lives.
Review
Eva is a singer-songwriter who has previously unsuccessfully entered the Triple J Unearthed High competition three times. So why will this time be any different?
Before covid, Eva briefly went out with Cooper Hunter, a gorgeous guitarist who comes from Australian music royalty, and she is secretly still madly in love with him. So when Cooper suggests that they form a band and enter the competition together, and that they use his Dad’s studio to practice, she agrees. Eva is singing and on keyboard, Cooper is lead guitarist, the moody Ruby is on bass guitar and the super-talented Ant is on drums, and there's Mim, who is recording everything for her media project.
But when the time comes to record, and they lock themselves away for the weekend to get the track down before the deadline, everything unravels. Turns out bass guitarist Ruby actually hates the song Eva has written. Cooper hits on Mim. Mim is smitten with Eva. The power goes out. And the list of problems goes on … Can they possibly get any song done in time, let alone one good enough to win?
With themes of working as a team, the music industry, love from different viewpoints, and exploring life in a post-covid world, this is a great story. The characters are in Year 12, and it does contain swearing and a bout of drinking that is certainly in context in the setting, making it best suited to readers 15 and older.
Reviewed by Rob
