All Our Pretty Songs
*Starred Review* An enigmatic, nameless narrator and her best friend, Aurora, have known each other since birth. Their mothers lived together, carrying on their intoxicated party lifestyle until Cass, the narrator’s mother, decided to give it all up when the girls were young and raise her daughter soberly, making a small living as a fortune-telling witch and taking in Aurora whenever the teen’s home got out of hand. Now 17, the narrator and Aurora mirror each other, light and dark: Aurora is a flighty and sweet contrast to the narrator, with her surly demeanor and goth style. But when Jack, an adult guitarist, comes into their lives, their differences come to a head. Jack and the narrator fall in love, while Aurora plays games with Jack’s scary boss, a man named Minos, who eventually convinces Jack to leave the small Northwest town for fame in California—and Aurora goes along. McCarry’s beautifully rich narrative is as smooth and seductive as Aurora and Jack can be, effortlessly dropping references to authors from Rousseau to Block. Goths and romantics both will eagerly await the second installment of a planned trilogy to find out what becomes of the girls, Jack, and the other well-drawn players in this magic-tinged cast. Grades 9-12. --Francisca Goldsmith--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.