"Art and Soul...the day my gal left me" I can't hear this title without thinking about the words to Heart and Soul duet that my sisters and I played on the piano growing up!
This is my second book my Ms. Cherry and I can say that I won't stop reading her work until I've read it all.
She writes stories that are outside of my usual favorite flavors. I love smut and I love older characters. This had none of those things and really the main reason I decided to read it was because of the author's [book:The Air he Breathes} which was brilliant!
This is the publisher's summary: "I had always been the invisible art student in high school. Passed by. Glossed over. Unnoticed. Now I was Aria Watson…that girl.
After one bad decision, and being labeled a slut, I was no longer unseen. I was the whore. The ignoramus. The tramp.
I would never be invisible again. Particularly to Levi Myers. He was the odd boy with the beautiful soul who accepted and understood the broken girl inside me.
Falling in love wasn’t the plan. But how could I resist his promises of hope? Of forgiveness? Of a future I had stopped dreaming of?
We were shattered. We were scarred. We were something strange and beautiful. We were two lost souls holding on to the only thing that could keep us together.
Each other.
The summary doesn't give away much, so I can't really discuss the plot without spoiling it. So, this is what I will say:
Aria and Levi (great names) are two young people who are wise beyond their years. They are both in the midst of very difficult situations that will require them to make even more difficult choices. And just like you can't really have beautiful art without soul, as the book progresses it becomes increasingly clear the potential of each of their respective gifts is magnified when they are together. Whether it is the creation of a school project or just giving comfort to each other as they face their difficult circumstances, Art+ Soul = Magic.
As I said at the beginning of my review, this is not my typical genre. In fact I don't really like YA/NA stories. The characters tend to be immature and I can't relate to what they are experiencing. But Ms Cherry has created characters that defy that stereotype - they are compassionate, strong and oh so very wise. I gobbled this book up. I finished it in an afternoon and when it ended, I just wanted more. I want to know what life will bring these two. I want to see the masterpieces I can imagine they will create together.
If you have any doubts because of their age or any other reason, put them aside and prepare to have your heart swoon, race, crack, soar and cheer. This more of a wave of emotion than a roller coaster, though and when it ends you'll be invested in these characters and they will stay with you.
