I had high hopes for A Simple Song by Melody Carlson. Why? It's about theater and following your true passion - topics I hold in high regard. Unfortunately, however, it did not meet my expectations - mostly because of some major errors in the writing. THE PLOT The plot was really original, and I quite enjoyed it - especially considering my theatrical background. What immediately sucked me into this book was the brilliant plot. It's quite hard to find just the right words to advertise your book, but I feel Carlson and her publicity team hit the spot. Katrina Yoder has the voice of an angel and loves to sing, but her strict Amish parents view singing as a sin. Katrina’s best friend, Bekka, is convinced Katrina should try out for American Star, a televised singing competition. Katrina resists the temptation until her father’s health worsens. He desperately needs a surgery that her family cannot afford. Katrina decides she must go against her parents’ wishes to win the money needed to help her father. But how will she handle herself as an Amish teenager out in an English world? My only plot-related critique is that there were no major plot twists! Honestly, if this book was a roller coaster, than...  And my reaction to that roller coaster?  I mean honestly. I'm sure we all can agree that books are 100 times more interesting when they have actual plot twists. Right? THE WRITING The writing of A Simple Song also bothered me. Sure, it was okay, but to me it just didn't seem to flow. And even that wasn't my biggest problem with the writing in the book. My biggest problem with it was that it tells, but doesn't show. For example, take this passage:

Although Daadi never owned the acreage, they all called it the family farm. But because Uncle Willis, born to Daadi's first wife, was ten years older than Daed, he had taken over managing it several years ago. Still, they called themselves partners, and up until the tractor indecent 10 years ago, Daed had always worked hard. Now he always felt bad that he was unable to do his "fair share," but, fortunately, Katrina's older brothers, Drew and Cal, were both strong and fit and seemed to love agriculture.

 Additionally, I found the pace very slow at the beginning. It took me 100+ pages until I really got into the novel. Up until that point, I was almost about ready to set it down. THE CHARACTERS The characters were probably the novel's only saving grace from causing it to go into my dreaded pile of 1-starred books. Fortunately, the characters in A Simple Song were pretty solid - they seemed fairly 3D (okay, fine, 2.5D), and I found it fairly easy to connect with them. From the beginning, I immediately liked Katrina. She stood up for what she believed in, and she was an overall good person. I enjoyed how she followed her true passion and how loyal she was to her family and friends. The supporting characters, such as Breezy, Tyler, and Cooper, I didn't feel such a strong emotional connection to, but they were still strong, well-developed overall. But would I recommend A Simple Song? In all honesty, yes. If you're able to look past the novel's flaws, you will definitely find a brilliant, beautiful, inspirational story that teen girls will devour - a story about following your dreams and standing up for what you believe in. However, more critical readers should definitely be wary of reading this tale. All in all, a solid 2.5 stars. I'd recommend it to fans of singing and realistic fiction stories - especially ones like Piece of My Heart. Happy reading!