The Lucy Variations
Published by Hachette Audio
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. The right people knew her name, her performances were booked months in advance, and her future seemed certain.
That was all before she turned fourteen.
Now, at sixteen, it's over. A death, and a betrayal, led her to walk away. That leaves her talented ten-year-old brother, Gus, to shoulder the full weight of the Beck-Moreau family expectations. Then Gus gets a new piano teacher who is young, kind, and interested in helping Lucy rekindle her love of – on her own terms. But when you're used to performing for sold-out audiences and world-famous critics, can you ever learn to play just for yourself?
National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr takes listeners inside the exclusive world of privileged San Francisco families, top junior music competitions, and intense mentorships. The Lucy Variations is a story of one girl's struggle to reclaim her love of music and herself. It's about finding joy again, even when things don't go according to plan. Because life isn't a performance, and everyone deserves the chance to make a few mistakes along the way.
A Hachette Audio production.
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Reviews for The Lucy Variations
77 ratings12 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brilliantly written, masterful storytelling.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucy Beck-Moreau had a promising future as a concert pianist and was gaining fame in the musical world until she quit after her parents and grandfather lied to her about her grandmother’s death so Lucy would be more focused on her music. Now, she is in regular school and everyone instead expects her ten-year-old brother, Gus, to be the star of the family. When Gus gets a new teacher, he encourages her to go back to piano, not for her family but for herself and the music. Going back to music involves the possibility of a forbidden romance, distancing herself from her family, and losing her friends, but finding the music inside of her might be worth the risk.
The Lucy Variations captures a wide spectrum of emotion. Lucy’s emotions are varied and real, and so are the emotions of other characters, particularly Gus and how she still loves him even though he is jealous and angry. The family drama feels realistic and just as frustrating for the reader as it for Lucy. It explores a teenage girl’s attraction to a teacher and a married man in a mature way, showing that some relationships won’t and shouldn’t work out. Lucy learns through these that what she thought she wants is someone to support her passions and interests, but she has to do things because it’s what she wants to do and not because someone else approves of it. Because of this and other reasons, Lucy grows up a lot in the course of the story and has a great character arc. This book is perfect for those who are looking for something that’s a little different from a lot of contemporary books, focusing more on decisions of who you are rather than outside circumstances and relationships. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is the kind of book that you wish wouldn't end. You like the characters (although they are human and flawed), you like the plot, and there's music! What more could one want?
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eight months ago, fifteen-year-old Lucy Beck-Moreau walked off the stage of an international piano competition in Prague, and she hasn't touched a piano since. Lucy was on a trajectory to become one of the greatest concert pianists in the world, but when bad news from home caused her to take a second to think about her life, she realized that she wasn't enjoying piano any more. Now, Lucy is settling into her normal life as a privileged teen -- but can she really give up piano completely? Enter Will, her brother's charismatic young piano teacher. Will and Lucy become friends . . . close friends . . . and Will encourages Lucy to play once more, this time for herself. But can Lucy's family accept Lucy doing piano on her terms?I spent the bulk of this book thinking "Oh, this is not a good idea, this is really not a good idea," as Will and Lucy grew closer and closer. The author did end up taking that relationship in a direction that I did not expect, and I thought it made for a stronger ending than I was anticipating. But this book is really more about Lucy's personal journey back to loving piano and music again. I'd recommend this book to music lovers and anyone who has been in a highly competitive situation and questioned whether it was worth the stress.I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by the author. She did an adequate job, and there were some nice touches in terms of production quality, such as snippets of the music referenced in the text playing under the narration.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Had to read this book in one sitting. This is the first book I have read by Sara Zarr and was a bit worried by the mixed reviews. But I loved it! Why? I don't know really. Could be because I love music, could be because I would like to learn to play the piano. Despite the fact that I do not know how, I really related to the happiness and feelings Lucy had when "becoming one" with the piano.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lucy began studying piano as a small child, and was performing competitively into her teens when she suddenly walked off the stage at a major competition. Her grandfather decided that since she had quit, she was quitting forever. But now, her brother has a piano teacher who helps Lucy realize that she wants to perform again.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I liked Lucy Variations, but I will say that it is not quite what I expected. I did like that there was depth to the secondary characters and I saw a lot of different ways the story could have went, that ultimately I probably would have liked better. But I did like Lucy, I saw that she grew a lot and figured out how to stand up for herself, that her family couldn't dictate what she loves and what she can do. She went through some hard times to figure that out, but the journey was worth it in the end. Her best friend Reyna wasn't perfect, but I think it gives a good portrayal of what it really means to have a friend in high school, you will not always see eye to eye on every issue, and they might be annoying with their issues sometimes, but news flash, so are you. I also liked Carson. I think that there was a bit of build up there, and I wish that it would have went there romantically instead of going the bad choice route again, but I see the reasons why Ms. Zarr wrote it how she did. Family is a big issue in this one, and it is one of the main focuses besides music of course. They are not ideal in some aspects, but they are together, and they are willing to (eventually) learn from their mistakes, and work things out together. My favorite was the relationship with Lucy and Gus, her little brother. The protectiveness, loyalty, understanding and playfulness all drew me in and I wanted another scene with them. They bicker and ultimately have a big argument, but they still love each other, and at the end of the day are bro and sis. I also liked their dad, he wasn't traditional to speak of, and he is the only non-musical in the family, but he can also see things in a way that the others can't because it wasn't always a way of life for him. It was well paced and kept my attention, and although I did feel the ending was a little rushed, I liked where it ultimately went and the place it left Lucy in. The writing was powerful and it all tied together to make a beautifully crafted story. Even with my wishes for her to fall for a different character, I still can't deny the draw of the story as is, and how a romantic interest within reach could have really set her eyes of what she wants to do now with her life. Bottom Line: Like the concept and most of the execution, do wish it would have taken another path romantically.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A few months ago, I literally dreamed that I was at the ALA Annual Conference and got an ARC of this book. I love Sara Zarr. I love books about performance. And I particularly love books about music performance. I am here to report that this book did not disappoint. It was everything I hoped it would be!!Fifteen-year-old Lucy quit music after what happened at the music competition in Prague. She was a star. Some might call her a prodigy. People knew her name. She was going places. But she walked away from the piano that night and hasn't touched the keys since.She's also felt crippled by guilt since that night. Guilt over "throwing away" her career. Guilt over disappointing her mom and her overbearing grandfather. Guilt over wanting a different life when so many people would kill for her talent. But when her grandfather hires a new piano teacher for her little brother, Lucy slowly begins to rethink her choice. Did she walk away from music because she truly didn't love it anymore? Or were there other reasons? And is there anything more important than following her heart? Sara Zarr... I love her. She's truly a master of contemporary YA and Lucy's pain over leaving her music was palpable at times. Zarr GETS IT. Lucy felt entirely real to me and I absolutely believed every character in this book. Highly, highly recommended for fans of contemporary teen, especially if you dig music or performance stories. Readalikes: This book made me think of a book I LOVED when I was in middle school: Mozart Season by Virginia Euwer Wolff. It's aimed at a slightly younger audience, but would be a good choice for tween music fans. 12-year-old violinist Allegra spends her summer preparing for a prestigious music competition and trying to figure out where she wants her music to take her.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was an okay coming-of-age story about a child prodigy. I found most of the characters rather hard to like, especially Lucy with her continual whining and her inappropriate relationships with older men. However, having learnt the piano myself for 17 years, I did enjoy all the musical references throughout the book, but there was certainly nothing memorable about it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sixteen-year-old Lucy Beck-Moreau had a promising future as a concert pianist when she made the decision to walk away and not play at her scheduled performance in Prague. She was disenchanted with her structured life, which was dominated by her Grandfather and his big plans for her future career. So following the incident in Prague she didn’t play the piano for an entire year. Her younger brother Gus becomes the focus of her Grandfather’s plans and soon there is a new piano teacher, Will, who begins readying Gus to make his first showcase performance. He has been hired to tutor Gus, but Will also knows about Lucy’s talents. Will and Lucy become friends and Will tries to persuade her to start playing again.The book provides good advice to the reader through Lucy to make sure that you are doing something in your life that you enjoy and that you are doing it for yourself rather than because someone else wants you to do it. In other words, have the courage to be yourself rather than what someone else wants you to be. Lucy also finds that family and friends are an important part of her success. I considered the book to be an average read. It may be a more appealing book for someone with a love for music performance.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lucy Beck-Moreau is a sixteen-year old piano prodigy from a musical family headed by her domineering grandfather, who manages their careers. Her ten-year-old brother Gus is currently the focus of the family’s attention, since Lucy abruptly walked off the stage in Prague before a performance eight months earlier. When Gus gets a new piano teacher, Will, whom Lucy finds attractive and charming, she starts to rethink her decision to stop playing. But Lucy is intimidated by her grandfather, who told her that when she quit that night, she quit forever.Discussion: A number of things didn’t gel for me in this book. The story centers around Lucy’s big meltdown in Prague, when she walked off the stage. What caused it however, as I saw it, was a totally unnecessary revelation by her father. I don’t see why he couldn’t have waited until after her upcoming performance, since he had already procrastinated about telling her. Moreover, ever since then, everyone blamed Lucy instead of the father. It didn't make sense to me.Secondly, Lucy is all over the place with inappropriate behavior; her constant crushes on older men, whether married or not, as well as her occasional irresponsible drinking, insouciance, vacillation, and self-centered view of the universe. Okay, she is 16 and she has been treated like “an entitled brat” (as her grandfather says) her whole life, but one might think the reason for presenting Lucy this way is to show her growth. In the end, however, she learns particular truths about particular persons, but overall? I didn’t see any epiphanies on her part about her personal behavior. The only thing she does seem to learn is the importance of choosing what she wants to do based on her own wants and needs and not those of her family. But that wasn't much of a stretch for Lucy; she was pretty self-oriented already.Finally, some of the plot threads were just dropped. They weren't critical, but why include them if they go nowhere?There are, however, positive aspects to the book, too, besides Zarr's great talent for teen dialogue and characterization. First of all, the title of the book is perfect - it couldn't have been better. I also liked how, whenever a chapter departed from the main theme to reveal a flashback, it was called Intermezzo. Finally, I appreciated the music list appended to the end of the book written by "Lucy."Evaluation: I’m a fan of Sara Zarr; I think she has great insight into the minds of teenaged girls and she writes well. But I didn’t like the main protagonist of this book much. Nor did I think that everything in the story fit or displayed the narrative arc one might have expected.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Zarr does it again. She is a master. All her books should be read by everyone, teen and adult alike.