Twelve-year-old Rosie can see color when she hears music and she hears music when she sees colors. Her perfect “echoic” or audio memory mean that she is surrounded by constantly music, including in her thoughts. In the beginning of her story in The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler (Carolrhoda Books, 2024), Rosie is in the midst of a “break” from practicing her violin, and she’s hoping she can find what else defines her as an individual and what else she likes to do. The resulting summer at her grandparents’ house is full of exploring new hobbies, people, and experiences. There is also a strange new friend that seems remarkably familiar. . .
I really enjoyed Rosie’s story, her love of music, and the intimate look of what synesthesia might be, at least what it might be like for a musical prodigy. Rosie changes from the beginning of her summer to the end. It’s not just about finding things other than music to fill her time. She learns to listen and learn from others. She gains confidence in declaring what she believes and what she wants to do. It helps that the backyard shed seems to be a time-portal for meeting her teenaged mother. She learns from her in the process as well, for after all, her mother once was a teenaged girl.
Rosie, an only child, seems to be sinking under the weight of her parent’s expectations. Her mother’s life revolves around Rosie’s own genius ability with music. Although she loves music and still does, she’s tired of the routine and she misses her friend, Julianne, who is tired of waiting for Rosie to be available to talk and get together. By glimpsing her own mother at her age, she begins to see that she has misunderstood her mother and that her mom is worth getting to know. I love that this wasn’t a true time travel book, and yet it had an aspect that let Rosie get to see a different perspective. I love that it is a relationship story, a grandparent story, without sentimentalism. I love that the book explores the culture and religion of her family in the midst of other considerations.
I love that Rosie determines that many other things are important to her, even as she tries new things. I don’t want to give up the story. But I do want to add a comment on one element of symbolism I like is that, like the violin is the star of the orchestra, the viola is the harmony. Rosie is looking for a chance to be a tweenager (the harmony), not the star for a time. The Color of Sounds shows great character development with seamless plot development as well. I highly recommend it.
