The other Sharps are multi-dimensional, even if we don’t learn as much as some as I would like (Trav, what’s your story, big guy?) We come to know earnest Eric, politically astute Marcus, sensitive, generous Nihal, and best buddies Jon Cox and Mama, and with Jordan, fall a little bit in love with the enigmatic Isaac Nakahara, and slowly, the book morphs into something more than just Jordan’s story.

There is a physical change, as well as a positive shift in her mental attitude. She feels part of something, and suddenly she’s more confident, standing up tall, and owning her talent. It’s serious, and begins to impact on other aspects of her life, but we completely understand why she persists. If we’ve learnt anything from Glee, Idol, or School of Rock even (ha! Love that film), it’s that a group of singers-slash-musicians will always bond, will always become close, (and then get jealous, start fights, break up, get back together for the music, make money, then – but never mind all that), and as she gets to know the other boys, we see her, for the first time, really think through the implications of this charade. Frustrated by this failure, she auditions for the Sharpshooters, truly believing she’ll be able to sing with them, helping them to win an exciting competition (for the opportunity to be backup group on a European tour), and not get involved with the other members at all. She works so hard to fulfill her academic requirements, but her parents, financially strapped and burdened by medical debts, only see that she doesn’t appear in any of the school performances.

It’s often (read always) not suitable for the parts being offered the females in the theatre faculty, where Jordan has secured a scholarship. Jordan Sun becomes Julian Zhang (her real-life cousin) because her singing voice is difficult to categorise.

But it’s all the better, as readers not only ponder Jordan’s decisions and subsequent consequences (both good and bad), but also appreciate her reasons for doing them as more is revealed about her history, her dreams, and her reality.

With all the attention to the buildings of this posh elite school for the Arts, and the weather of the passing seasons, the story is slow paced. It doesn’t hurt that Redgate populates her book with an eclectic group of secondary characters, and describes Jordan’s surroundings in exquisite detail. While the plot is straight forward-girl poses as a boy to successfully audition for an all-boys A Capella group-the issues around this pretense make it complex and smart. Noteworthy is a really good story with lots of challenging ideas. Noteworthy by Riley Redgate Published by: Amulet Books

Final draft riley redgate