Becky Cohen is completely miserable. Everywhere she goes she’s made fun of. Will Becky ever learn to stand up for herself? She’s mocked at school, gym class, and even at home in her family’s apartment. She’s mocked the most at violin lessons by her teacher and peers. Becky dreams of being a professional violinist, but because of her stage fright she never performs well. Things start to look up for Becky when the apartment’s handyman, Mr. Freeman walks into her life. At first, Becky is still failing everything. Gradually though, things start to get better for Becky. Mr. Freeman is teaching her so many things about the violin, friendship, even life. She’s making friends, doing well in gym, she’s even signed up for a violin scholarship competition, yet violin lessons are still torture because of her stage fright. Becky decides to quit going to lessons even though she has the competition coming up. When her hardworking mother finds out about her not showing up at violin lessons, she loses everything: her violin, violin lessons, and contact with Mr. Freeman. Can Becky speak her mind and get everything she’s lost back? Will Becky win the violin scholarship? Find out in this novel by Pedro De Alcantara.
I liked the theme because it has a very good lesson, which was that you need to learn to speak your mind. The plot was a little slow. The characters, especially Becky, were very relatable. I liked this book.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 8
Reviewer Age: 12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Fayetteville, PA USA
