Four Seasons

December 13, 2010
Divided by the seasons of the year, like Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, this coming-of-age novel traces a year in the life of a promising young pianist enrolled in a prestigious program at Juilliard. Ally, the daughter of a famous violinist and a former opera singer who now sings in New York City bars, has been playing piano since she was four. Now at age 12, she's having doubts about whether she wants to continue on the arduous path to become a great musician. Zalben (Leap) insightfully conveys her heroine's conflicting feelings about music—she regrets not having the time and freedom to pursue other interests and talents, like math, or spend time with her nonmusician friends—and what Ally is up against, dealing with harsh criticism from her compassionless teacher and fearing her parents' reactions if she quits piano. Offering an insider's peek at the competitive world of gifted young performers, where the pressure to be perfect can become all-consuming, this intimate story shows how one middle schooler survives by listening to her heart. Ages 10–up.

January 1, 2011

Approaching her 13th birthday, seventh grader Allegra Katz begins to wonder if she really wants to spend her life playing the piano. How can she tell what she really wants, and how can she disappoint her parents and her teacher? From an unsure spring to a disastrous summer music camp and a breakdown in the fall through gradual recovery during the winter, Zalben charts a year in the life of a musically and mathematically precocious New Yorker in four chapters, each opening with an appropriate quotation from a Vivaldi sonnet. A fascinating and complex character, Ally puts demands on herself nearly as impossible as those of her unforgiving teacher. She lives in a world full of people under pressure: Her parents are professional musicians, everyone in her private school is "gifted" and, at Juilliard, she sees students much younger with burgeoning professional careers. Only her best friend Opal and first boyfriend Bradley model alternate paths. A surfeit of descriptive detail provides some relief from Ally's intensity and may well attract readers curious about her cosmopolitan world. (Fiction. 10-14)

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May 1, 2011

Gr 5-8-Allegra Katz, the daughter of professional musicians, has played piano since the age of four; nevertheless, she's rethinking her choice to make music the center of her life. Ms. Pringle, her longtime teacher at the Juilliard Pre-College, criticizes her constantly, and Ally finds her lessons totally stressful. She keeps her unhappiness to herself; however, while attending a high-powered summer music program, she finally descends into a depression that eventually sends her to a psychiatric ward. Understanding parents, a loving grandmother, and supportive friends encourage the girl to focus on the kind of music that speaks to her and help her to find her own creative way. The pressures of a conservatory education are realistically portrayed in this journey of self-discovery. Divided into the motifs of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Zalben's plot is both well developed and appropriately paced, and the book's quotations (taken from sources ranging from Pythagoras to Philip Glass) allow readers to anticipate the events within each chapter. Ally's romantic interests, her disagreements with her parents, and the ups and downs of middle school emphasize that, despite her precocity, she is very much a normal adolescent. Ally and her mother, a frustrated opera singer, are the best-developed characters, each of them undergoing significant changes in the course of the novel. Other figures, however, such as the all-loving grandmother, the uptight music teacher, and the true-blue best friend are fairly one-dimensional. Nevertheless, they all contribute in some way to Ally's growth as a person. While the musical details will appeal particularly to those with similar interests, the novel will find a general audience among readers who will identify with Ally's creative angst.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, The Naples Players, FL

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2011
Grades 6-9 Just thinking of giving up the piano makes me break out in hives. Big fat red ones. But I think about it all the time. Allegra KatzAlley Cat to her mother, just plain Ally to her friendsis struggling to decide whether music is really worth giving up her Saturdays with BFF Opal and just being a regular kid. As Ally moves through Juilliards precollege program and a Vermont summer music camp, Zalben explores the life of young, gifted musicians who are yearning to experience more than music and who must negotiate with parents who push in typically high-achieving fashion. Zalbens peripheral characters are just as compelling as Ally. Yes, her parents are controlling, but they are loving and dimensional, as are acerbic and demanding Miss Pringle, the archetypal music teacher, and Allys few friends, who provide sparks of joy, occasional jealousy, and support. Pair this memorable title with Virginia Euwer Wolffs classic celebration and acknowledgment of the challenges and opportunities of growing up gifted, The Mozart Season (1991).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)