The Beauty That Remains

Description:

Music brought Autumn, Shay, and Logan together. Death might pull them apart. 

Autumn always knew exactly who she was: a talented artist and a loyal friend. Shay was defined by two things: her bond with her twin sister, Sasha, and her love of music. And Logan has always turned to writing love songs when his real love life was a little less than perfect.

But when tragedy strikes each of them, somehow music is no longer enough. Now Logan is a guy who can't stop watching vlogs of his dead ex-boyfriend. Shay is a music blogger who's struggling to keep it together. And Autumn sends messages that she knows can never be answered.

Despite the odds, one band's music will reunite them and prove that after grief, beauty thrives in the people left behind.

My Thoughts:

It seems like there is too much teenage death in this society, as in this book. Granted, none of the dead teens was killed by a school shooter, but there are three characters who tell the story of three dead teens. One died in a single car crash, one committed suicide and one died of cancer. However,
I actually tried to finish the book, fell asleep and dreamt about one of the characters. That is always a sign of good writing.

Woodfolk switches characters for each of the chapters, so it is like listening to three different albums at once until I finally realize that no, I am listening to the same album, through different entry points and it is not until I am almost finished with the album that I realize what the music is trying to say.

So what is it saying? Grief is heart breaking in many different ways. Time is different, interventions are different, healing is different. Perhaps the music brings the different characters together in the end, but the beauty that remains is not the music, but the acceptance by those left behind that it's ok to live.