Echo

I saw Pam Munoz Ryan had written a new book called Echo, so I put it on hold at the library. (I really like this author.) I couldn't figure out a good way to explain a summary of the book, so here is the summary from the School Library Journal: "A mouth harp (aka harmonica) becomes the tangible thread that connects the stories of three children: Friedrich, a disfigured outcast; Mike, an impoverished orphan; and Ivy, an itinerant farmer's child. Their personal struggles are set against some of the darkest eras in human history: Friedrich, the rise of Nazi Germany; Mike, the Great Depression; Ivy, World War II. The children are linked by musical talent and the hand of fate that brings [the] harmonica into their lives. Each recognizes something unusual about the instrument, not only its sound but its power to fill them with courage and hope. Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy are brought together by music and destiny in an emotionally triumphant conclusion at New York's Carnegie Hall."

This was a well-written and engaging book. I feel like I really liked each separate story of the three kids and maybe would have preferred to hear each child's full story rather than the partial stories that were then interconnected in the book. I read this book a month ago so have already forgotten anything else to chime in, but it was a good one. :)

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)