Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for gifting me a digital ARC of this amazing debut novel by Dawnie Walton - 4.5 stars rounded up!
It's 2016 and Sunny Shelton, new editor of a music magazine, is writing an oral history of a 1970s duo who are rumored to do a come-back tour. Sunny has ties to the duo's past but as she does her interviews, she discovers things she never knew. In the 1970s, we meet Opal who grew up in Detroit and wants to be a star. When British songwriter, Nev, discovers her singing in a bar, he knows she is the one he wants to pair with. Nev's label, Rivington Records, is small town and desperate for a hit and the pair moves to NYC to become part of the music scene there, What happens at a promotional concert when Opal and Nev are scheduled to perform along with another Rivington band will change everyone's lives.
This is written in a style very similar to Daisy Jones and the Six - the story is told by way of Sunny's interviews with all the main and many small characters who had a part in the story. But this book tackles even more difficult topics. Taking place in the 1970s, we see through Opal's eyes all the racism that went on then and is still so relevant in the 2016 time period of the book. These characters are completely real - you can see them while you are reading this book. You will feel the injustice, the hurt, and be transported back in time. Bravo for an amazing debut that will definitely become part of today's conversation into racism, sexism, white privilege, and so much more.
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