I can't believe I'm saying this, because I normally hate cities, but this book has me wanting to take a trip to New Orleans! It's a story full of music, art, and magic that highlights the culture and diversity of one of the most unique cities in America.
"Don't you know there ain't even no such thing as grown ups? They're all just old kids, pretending."
Perilous Graves, aka Perry and his younger sister Brendy live a comfortable life in Nola with their parents. Their beloved grandfather Daddy Deke and their best friend Peaches live right across the road, and the great Doctor Professor has even appeared from the clouds to perform on their street. What more could they ask for?
Nola is a magical city, and it's most powerful form of magic is music. Doctor Professor, or Fess, for short, has been enlisted from on high to power the city with his music, and composed 32 songs in order to do it.
Now, he travels throughout the city, performing and energizing the citizens, and breathing life into the city itself.
"Magic and music the same thing. Music is what keep Nola hummin'. It's what makes her the city she is."
Next, we meet Casey Revel, a former graffiti artist who recently moved back to New Orleans after years away. He is thrilled to reunite with his cousin, Jaylon, who is still active in the graffiti scene. Jaylon shows Casey his latest projects: a mural that seems to glow from within, and 3D art that seems to stand off of the canvas or wall itself.
Much to Jaylon's dismay, the art still must be anchored to an object, but he is working to change that and make art that is solely independent from a surface. Art that can take on a life of its own.
Of course, Casey thinks this idea is insane, but can't help but remember a mural he painted before he left New Orleans: Bee Sharp, standing over her arch nemesis The Hanging Judge.
One day, the mural changed, but not as though someone had painted over it. It was like The Hanging Judge just got up and left.
"Maybe it's because we leave pieces of ourselves imprinted on the air—or, in y'all's case, on paper or on walls—but what if what we make is powerful enough, we can be suspended Between before fading completely."
When Doctor Professor approaches Perry and Brendy, he was hoping to find Peaches. You see, Peaches isn't exactly a normal little girl. She has super strength, can leap hundreds of feet into the air, and can throw her voice from any direction.
Apparently, Fess needs her help.
Perry and Brendy offer to relay the message, and Fess explains that nine of his most powerful songs have been stolen, and without them, the city can't survive.
How does one steal a song, you ask? Well, much like what Jaylon is attempting with his art, these songs have taken on lives of their own and are now more like a living being than a song. So really, it's more like they've been kidnapped—but who would do that, and why?
When Perry and Brendy return home that night, eager to relay the message to Peaches, they find their home in a state of chaos. Daddy Deke is missing, and Perry is sure there's a connection between him and the missing songs.
So, Perry, Brendy, and Peaches set out on a mission to find Daddy Deke, track down Fess's missing songs, and save the city from The Storm.
Dodging floating graffiti tags and P-Bodies (people who are addicted to walking through the tags so the paint clings to them and alters their bodies, sometimes irreversibly), they hitch a ride with a very polite zombie to the Dead Side of Town, where Mr. Larry helps them figure out where to start.
"Not everybody live in Nola in love with Nola, you heard me? Hate is the mirror image of love, and it's a powerful thing."
Casey gets a call from Jaylon, telling him that he's finally figured it out. However, when Casey arrives at Jaylon's studio, he finds nothing but a smoking pile of debris. The building has been blown to bits, and Jaylon is nowhere to be found.
Naturally, Casey takes the assumed death of his cousin hard, but it inspires him to get back into his own art. He realizes he must be losing it when he finds sketchbooks he doesn't remember buying, filled with sketches he has no memory of doing, but that doesn't stop him. When he has a conversation with Bee Sharp, alive and thriving, Casey starts to become aware of a hidden, parallel city within New Orleans where music is a form of magic, graffiti tags float through the air on the breeze, and the dead may not actually be.
He knows exactly where Jaylon is.
"There ain't no such thing as normal people. Anybody pay attention to anything know that."
Overall, I really loved the concept for this book. It was a unique story that kept me engaged, but it was hard to figure out what exactly was going on at times.
The perspectives jump around a lot, which I normally don't have an issue with, but in this case it was a little difficult to follow. A few of the characters seemed flat to me, but they were likeable enough that it wasn't really an issue.
My biggest gripe is that there were so many questions left unanswered by the end. I'm still not entirely sure what happened at certain points, but the author may have intended for it to be left to the reader's interpretation.
I really enjoyed how much culture there was to the story, and that it highlighted the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, and even Hurricane Betsy back in 1965. I loved the diversity of the characters and the vernacular the book is written in, and the dialogue between the characters flowed well and felt very natural.
I think Alex Jennings did an amazing job, especially for a debut novel, and if you're looking for an engaging, profound, and magical read, I think you'll love it too.
"Mebbe being strong don't mean being able to hit the hardest. Mebbe being strong means standin' up even when there ain't no hope of winning through strength of arms, you dig?"
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts if you've read this book, or if you've added it to your TBR list after this review! Be sure to join me on Discord so we can get to know each other and talk about all things books.
'•.¸♡ Happy reading! ♡¸.•'