lizpatanders

When I marked Virtuosity as to-read on GoodReads some time in May of 2011, I didn’t give it a lot of deep thought. I figured I might enjoy it because I play the violin and hey, the cover is really pretty. Turns out, I was able to read an ARC of this one through Teen Book Scene. Virtuosity is a beautiful, poignant, heart breaking and hopeful novel to add to your must read list.I read Virtuosity over the course of 48 hours, which is very fast for me. The was only willing to stop to sleep, eat and do chores. I had to know how Carmen’s story ended.Martinez’s debut automatically earns brownie points in my book for its original premise. While there are a lot of teenage musicians in young adult literature, I haven’t read about many who are classical music professionals. I know some people are tired of reading about wealthy teens and their problems, but I admire Carmen’s desire to reconnect passion and music.What sent me head over heels in love with this book, however, was the writing. Martinez’s writing is incredibly poetic and enchanted me every step of the way. She has a gift for finding the perfect images to pair with her descriptions of music and rhythm. It seemed like every five pages I was stopping to write down a quote I loved because the imagery was so incredible.No matter what I write, I’m not sure if I can convey how much I loved this book. There are some reviewers who like to use the phrase “well-crafted” to describe novels they love, and that is absolutely true of Virtuosity. Yet in this case, every plot point and every word is expertly crafted. Virtuosity made me want to pick up my own violin and start playing again. Martinez has written an exceptional debut, and I will be clamoring to read any other books she publishes.