A Song for a New Day - Book Review

 

A Song for a New Day

by Sarah Pinsker 

What is it about:

In the Before, when the government didn't prohibit large public gatherings, Luce Cannon was on top of the world. One of her songs had just taken off and she was on her way to becoming a star. Now, in the After, terror attacks and deadly viruses have led the government to ban concerts, and Luce's connection to the world—her music, her purpose—is closed off forever. She does what she has to do: she performs in illegal concerts to a small but passionate community, always evading the law.

Rosemary Laws barely remembers the Before times. She spends her days in Hoodspace, helping customers order all of their goods online for drone delivery—no physical contact with humans needed. By lucky chance, she finds a new job and a new calling: discover amazing musicians and bring their concerts to everyone via virtual reality. The only catch is that she'll have to do something she's never done before and go out in public. Find the illegal concerts and bring musicians into the limelight they deserve. But when she sees how the world could actually be, that won’t be enough.

What did I think of it:

This is a book that is hard to give a totally fair review. I read this while in my city the numbers of Covid cases were drastically rising (making it the hot spot of our country) because people were flaunting the rules. So reading about people who are painted as heroic rebels because they flaunt rules put in place for the health of everyone was... problematic.

(To be fair: this would probably have bothered me even in my Before, as I have always been one of the few people who would advocate for sick people to stay home! instead of going into work sick and infecting everyone around them.)

Anyway: this book was written before Covid times, and Pinsker (although still showing a lack of concern for the health of everyone) probably couldn't imagine something as serious as Covid actually happening. So I did my best to not let this part of the story influence my verdict on this book too much. 

All that aside this was a really cool story. The story switches between Luce and Rosemary. The first couple of chapters for Luce start in the Before and lead into the situation the world finally ends up in, while Rosemary's chapters are in the Now of this book. After a while their timelines fall together as well as their lives.

I liked both of them, but could understand Rosemary just a little bit more than Luce. Luce seemed to be selfish at times. Rosemary was more thoughtful and when she makes mistakes she tries hard to make up for them.

Health concerns aside I loved the worldbuilding and the overall atmosphere of this story. There are some really serious issues tackled in this story that make you think even after finishing the book. If the world state in the After had come to be by any other event than a super virus I would have been totally on board with Luce and her friends. Overall this is an amazing read though, and it will end up on my keeper shelves. And I'll keep an eye out for more by Pinsker for sure!

Why should you read it:

 It's a really cool near future read

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