you know that Sweden had a lively jazz scene in thes Alvar reminisces to his new friend Steffi, a burgeoning jazz musician who's bullied in her high school.
A sweet story about following your dreams and being true to yourself, Jazz enthusiasts will truly appreciate the story,
Thanks to Goodreads for the ARC, Superb YA taking place in Sweden, that brings attention to how isolating it can feel as a teen who doesn't quite fit in with their peers.
This novel also highlights the value of intergenerational friendships, jazz music, and the importance of being kind.
"Everyone you meet is fighting a battle of their own which you know nothing about" and this book does a brilliant job of demonstrating that truth from the perspectives of numerous characters.
Hmm. This is certainly interesting.
I must say, I'm quite unsure of how I feel about this one, On one hand, it's a fun, lighthearted story of standing out with all one's quirks and unique personality.
It's a feelgood story, It makes you feel dare I say it It makes you feel wonderful,
On the other hand, WONDEFUL FEELS LIKE THIS, unfortuantely, offers nothing new that I have not seen before.
This saddens me, it does, Because, really and truly, the synopsis offers something fresh and new and interesting, And does it deliver No, no, and yes, It's not fresh or new, but it did hold my attention, Somewhat. It honestly depends on whether you've read countless stories about fitting in despite bullying and finding your people.
If you haven't, then you might enjoy this waaay more than I did, But I've just seen too much of the same subject matter recycled 'round and 'round for this to stick out.
But let's talk some positives, shall we
The writing is quite beautiful.
Some descriptions made me pause and read over the sentence several times because the way the words are put together is uniquely arresting.
So, in terms of new and original material The writing style gets the points for that.
But. And, in regards to the writing style, there is a big but I must address, unfortunately.
stop giggling. I'm trying to review here, Sheesh. The sentences did feel, more often than not, quite choppy and disjointed, I would get the impression that several words are deleted or that the words are papermached over each other without rhyme or reason.
But, I do keep in mind that this book is translated from Swedish, So, I guess I could cut it some slack Yeah, Let's be fair.
The choppy writing did not affect my rating, so rest assured,
So, I realize I haven't talked characters yet, so allow me to, Steffi is an interesting character, One of the qualities that I like most about her is that despite being constantly put down by her classmates, she never lets go of what she likes, never changes or tries to change to impress them or get them to stop.
She simply tries to strengthen herself to defend herself, Not pressure herself into changing, Not force herself into the wrong mold, And I respect this very, very much,
Alvar is a pleasant surprise He is an old man nearingyears of age and a former jazz musician, and is basically Steffi's newfound role model and cheerleader.
Although, I must admit, I felt almost disconnected from Steffi's storyline and more invested in Alvar's flashback history.
Whoops.
So. Overall, WONDERFUL FEELS LIKE THIS is a light story and one that makes you feel wonderful sorry.
I'll stop with the cringey puns, Definitely recommended if contemporary feelgood stories and jazz history are your thing or your jam Because it's jazz and jazz is.
. no Nothing Sheesh.
But in all seriousness, I quite liked this one, Really.
Thank you, Flatiron, for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Plot:year old Steffi is a jazz aficionado and a school outcast.
She copes with her troubles by immersing herself into the world of jazz, One day on her way home from school she hears jazz music coming from a neighbors home.
It is there where she meets Alvar, an man in his eighties who is not only a jazz aficionado as well but a man who lived in Sweden during WWII.
As the novel progresses, Steffi and Alvar form a sort of friendship based on their love of jazz and where they tell each other their life stories.
To say I loved this book is an understatement, First off, the writing was absolutely fantastic Lovestam's writing style is extremely approachable to the reader, she makes you feel like you want to hear her story.
Only a few authors have held this kind of power for me so Ms, Lovestam pat yourself on the back!
Lovestam's story alternates between both Steffi and Alvar's experiences.
She manages to have two very different characters who are decades apart in age have two very distinct voices and very engaging backstories.
To add authenticity to Alvar's backstory, Lovestam weaves in parts of Swedish history and describes in intricate detail how it was for Swedes during one of the most difficult times in European history.
As I am not very familiar with Swedish history, I found those parts of the novel to be extremely fascinating.
In addition to their backstories, we really get to see Alvar and Steffi's friendship blossom from being complete strangers to each other's closest confidants.
Watching their unlikely friendship emerge one was of the most heartwarming aspects of the book, This really demonstrated to me just how much we can learn from each other only if we open ourselves up to meeting new people and learning from our past.
While this novel it not without its faults sometimes Lovestam does not always smoothly transition from one backstory to another and some of the bullying that Steffi encounters is described in painstaking detail, it is overall worth the read.
This is a sweet story about a teenage girl befriending an old man, and their mutual love for jazz.
The story deals with going your own way, following your dreams and passions, and not giving up when met with difficulty.
Having the courage to be yourself and treating others with respect and kindness is a major theme in this novel that tells two different, yet similar, stories about a girl in a small town in modern day Sweden and a young man in Stockholm in thes.
Jazz music is the centre about which the story revolves, and I could almost hear the music while reading.
I highly recommend this book! This was an interesting novel! I enjoyed the incorporation of jazz history throughout and at the end, as jazz doesn't seem to be too popular among youth these days I say as ayear old, haha.
Honestly, I'm not sure how I felt about the contrast between the loveliness of moments with Alvar and the horrible bullying Steffi experiences at school.
It was a great juxtaposition, but it was also disheartening, Yes, Alvar teaches Steffi to be the bigger person and to not say things to make the situation worse.
. . but do the bullies ever get dealt with, Yes, there is so much that influences a person to act the way they do, but I just felt that storyline was never resolved.
Steffi's bass was so badly broken, she suffered emotional abuse from these individuals, and she was also basically catfishing the main bully online.
So . not sure how I feel about that, Overall, I found Steffi and Alvar's relationship to be sweet and caring, and I really like the jumping back and forth between the past and present.
The only other thing I can think to mention is that I wasn't too thrilled with the author hinting at Alvar's death so often.
. . especially because he doesn't even die at the end! It's like unnecessary stress for Steffi and the reader.
DNF at
I am just not able to wrap myself around this one, The time period keeps switching randomly and it is so hard to follow, I have just lost interest in this book, Not for me, unfortunately. The writing This was such a wonderfully written novel! I loved the style of writing Lövestam used.
It was such a neat experience, switching between Steffi and Alvar present and past, I really, really enjoyed how we got to 'go back in time',
The characters I ADORED THESE CHARACTERS! Both Steffi and Alvar were so honest and real.
Like, i feel like i could reach out my hands and touch them, that's not weird. I really admired Steffi's ambition, and I loved how downtoearth Alvar was, Steffi's character developed so much throughout the book, and she really seemed to grow as a person.
I found myself wishing that i could go be a part of their story multiple times throughout the book!
The lessons that can be learned There was so many things that can be learned from this book.
Wonderful Feels Like This is a story about chasing your dreams, ambition, bravery, true friendships, and so much more.
The plot To be honest, i'm not entirely sure what the plot was supposed to be.
There was some minor plot twists, i guess you could say, but nothing major seemed to happen.
But this doesn't bother me much, becauseas most of you know I care more about the characters in a book than about how well the plot was executed.
Now, why did I give it,instead of a full, you ask
The pacingAs much as I adored the writing, it felt very slow paced.
Sometimes it just felt like i was trudging along with the story, but other times i would fly through chapters.
The ending Okay, so i have a love/hate relationship with this ending, I would've loved it all around if we got more resolution, It felt like the
author forgot to go back to some parts of the story, if that makes sense
Wonderful Feels Like This was a beautiful read, and one i highly recommend to anyone.
Please keep an eye out for when this novel hits shelves in March!
Huge thanks to Flatiron Books for sending a copy to me in exchange for an honest review!
Full review posted on thelovelyshelf.
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