This is a wonderfully written historical mystery novel. It's full of intrigue that will keep the kids turning the pages.

Duet by Elise Broach is an enrapturing, unique story about music, friendship, history and birds — especially goldfinches. If you like unusual stories told from the perspective of animals, you’ll enjoy this one!

At face value, this is a story about a boy and a bird that learn to recognize their own abilities and rely on their shared strength to accomplish things. Even more than that, though, there is a celebration of the beauty, artistry, and near magic of music and musicians. Of their instruments. Broach addresses the way that the same song played by the same artist may sound different with different instruments. Composition affects resonance which can become important with instrumental music. It was cool to see that explored in any book, much less one for children. And that exploration as well as the historical mystery involving Chopin is explained with enough detail to be interesting without ever becoming overwhelming. There's enough tension and mystery to keep the reader engaged but nothing that will become too much for sensitive kids.

Overall

I’ll admit, this doesn’t seem like the style of book I would pick up, let alone enjoy, right? There’s no stabbing or sarcasm (well, maybe a teensy bit, but hardly any) and certainly no dragons or necromancy. Which is . . . weird. Do books like that even exist?! Apparently. Ever since I read and loved Pighearted by Alex Perry, though, I’ve decided to try to rediscover the “heartwarming contemporary” middle grade genre. And I have to say, I haven’t been disappointed.

Duet is a heartwarming middle grade story from the point of view of a bird. It’s part love letter to music, part mystery, and part coming of age—for the boy and the bird!

I’m not a very musical person, so I was a little worried about the fact that this book was entirely about music, but . . . I sort of loved that aspect of it? So weird, because I didn’t think that’d be the case. I learned so much about music, and it was very interesting. The big focus of this book is Chopin, who of course I knew about in passing, but I didn’t know there were so many juicy details about his life. I’m also not sold on animal points of view in middle grade, but I definitely want more books like this, told from the point of view of cheeky little birds!

My Thoughts

- You don’t need to know or understand music at all to enjoy the musical theme of this book . . . but if you do, you’ll probably love it even more! As I said, I don’t know a whole lot about music other than it exists and I’m really bad at it. So I’m always leery about picking up books that have a heavy music theme, because I always worry it’ll be hard for me to get into the book. So not the case here! I really enjoyed the musical aspects of this book and thought they were really interesting. I learned some new things, too, and didn’t feel like it was a dissertation on music.

- This story is one-third about a little boy named Michael who is discovering his love for Chopin, one-third about an old man whose sister’s death is rekindling reminders of how much he misses her, and 100% told from the perspective of a music-loving goldfinch named Mirabelle. Now, if you’re thinking that a story from the point of view of a bird is going to be dry and boring, think again! First, I absolutely loved that Mirabelle is a goldfinch, purely from a selfish perspective, because my grandparents always had goldfinches at their feeders outside their kitchen windows and oh the nostalgia! Second, Mirabelle is a very cheeky goldfinch with troubles of her own, as her mother is about to have new babies (which she’s convinced will replace her and her brothers) and she’s discovering her own love for music along with Michael. I’m generally not one for animal point of view books, for whatever reason, but I really enjoyed the way Broach did this. Plus, I learned quite a bit about goldfinches, too!

- This book heavily focuses on Chopin, so if you’re not familiar with him as an artist in general (like me), prepare to learn some fun new facts. I actually loved this aspect of the book. At the end of the book, Broach talks about the true facts included in the book, and I was so surprised to find that so much of it was accurate! I knew of Chopin, of course, but I never really considered him a person of interest to me personally. After reading this book, though, I’m very curious about Chopin! I think I’ll probably read more about him now, because I hadn’t realized his life was so interesting. I also am aware of, like, three Chopin pieces, but apparently he wrote dozens of pieces, which I hadn’t realized. While I was reading the book, I listened to the pieces Michael was playing, and I feel like I’ve discovered a side of music I was unaware of.

- Duet has layers within layers, and while this is a book about music and a goldfinch and a little boy learning the piano, it’s also an ode to the love between siblings, even estranged siblings, and how sometimes it’s too late to say the important things. Even though it’s a secondary storyline, this is the one that broke my heart the most! Mr. Starek, who is Michael’s music teacher and the old man whose house Mirabelle has her nest out of, recently lost his sister. They had been estranged for years, even though it’s clear that Mr. Starek loved her. While the book doesn’t delve into this too much, it’s such a poignant storyline that really hit me hard in the feels. Especially since part of the distance between Mr. Starek and his sister stemmed from the fact that she was a hoarder and he felt helpless to do anything to help her.

- This book is just full of really poignant, hard-hitting quotes that I absolutely loved. Choosing which ones to share was hard, because the writing was *chef’s kiss* It’s a really hard thing to pull off, but Broach manages it. The book is simple on the surface and very easy to follow with a plot that’s engaging but doesn’t seem too deep or complicated. The writing itself is also deceptively simple. Yet, there were quite a few lines or passages that I had to read twice because they stopped me in my tracks with they cut right to the heart of things. It’s a very quotable book.

4.5 stars

Duet is told through first-person narration from the point of view of a female goldfinch named Mirabelle. That’s right, a bird. I thought it was going to be weird reading from this perspective, but it actually worked really well. The plot follows Mirabelle as she befriends a young boy who is taking piano lessons in order to prepare for a Chopin music competition. As the relationship between them grows, the reader is introduced to several fun facts about birds (of all kinds) and music (including musical history). As an adult, I thought these incorporated facts were absolutely lovely. I can imagine that this is one of those books that is enjoyable and educational for parent and child alike. Also present in the narration are also several lessons about the joy, pain, and sacrifice that comes with loving and being loved.

The book was marketed to me as a middle grade mystery, but I’m going to go ahead and say it’s a middle grade contemporary. There were a few mini-mysteries thrown in, but not enough for me to say that it entered the mystery genre itself. Regardless, this is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone interested. The only reason I took away a half star was because there is a point in the story where the characters decide to disobey the law, and it’s portrayed as a good thing. I’m not sure that’s the right message to be sending to a young and impressionable audience and I think it could have been problematized a bit more.

Elise Broach has given us so many and such different middle grade books. If you aren’t familiar with her, there’s definitely a book of hers for every kind of reader.

This was perfectly described as “A bird, a boy, a musical mystery.” Exactly! Michael is an 11 yr old gifted piano player who is not happy about his having to take lessons from Mr. Starek – an old man. But Michael’s surpassed his other teacher, Emily, and she took from Mr. Starek. Living in a tree near the piano room is a family of gold finches, one of whom, Marabelle, begins singing with Michael as he plays Chopin. The two encourage each other to sing/play as they never thought possible.
When Mr. Starek’s sister dies, the trio (or quartet if you include Marabelle) discover a treasure amidst her house of items filling every nook and cranny. A treasure that could change all of their lives.

This adorable story is told from the perspective of Mirabelle, a goldfinch, who lives with her two brothers and their mother. Mirabelle loves to sit by a man's window because he is a music teacher and plays the most beautiful music on his piano. But the man has been sad lately. His sister died and he can't seem to get back to the piano. A mom brings her son, Michael, to take lessons but Michael is angry because his dad isn't around much and he really likes the woman who is his music teacher. All these disparate voices come together to tell a lovely story about Chopin and working together. It's a fun story for kids who like music.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Duet

Author: Elise Broach

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, contemporary, music, biography-like

Publication Date: May 10, 2022

Genre: MG Contemporary

Age Relevance: 8+ (death, animal violence, sickness)

Explanation of Above: There is death mentioned very briefly and sometimes vaguely in this book. There is some animal violence displayed in a little bit of a cartoonish manner in the book. Sickness is also mentioned briefly.

Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books

Pages: 304

Synopsis: A musically gifted bird, a piano-playing boy, and a real-life mystery involving three artistic geniuses

Welcome to the world of Mirabelle, a young goldfinch who loves to sing and dreams of becoming a musical star. She lives with her family in the backyard of a piano teacher, and she is quickly intrigued by Mr. Starek's newest pupil. Michael Jin is an eleven-year-old keyboard sensation, but lesson after lesson, he refuses to play. With the prestigious Chopin Festival looming at summer’s end, how will he be ready in time? Mirabelle is responsible for Michael’s breakthrough—to her own astonishment, she sings the Chopin piece he is beginning to play at the piano. It is their first duet.

Thus begins a secret adventure that will take Mirabelle and Michael further than they ever imagined—in music, in friendship, and in solving the mystery of a lost piano that could be worth millions. A house full of treasures holds the clues. There, Mirabelle, Michael, and their friend Emily will make an important discovery that links the great composer Frederic Chopin, the trailblazing author George Sand, and the French Romantic painter Eugene Delacroix.

A fast-paced, history-rich mystery will have young readers hooked as they root for boy and bird in this beautifully told novel, full of emotion and suspense.

Review: I liked this book alright. The book contains a bird MC, which is probably the first of that I’ve read in a bit. The book does well to show the healing power of music and it’s a good little biography-like book on Chopin, a famous pianist, Sand, an author, and Delacroix, a painter. The book is fun and has good character development. The story is simple and sweet and would make a fun bedtime story to read to little ones or a good beginner book for younger middle grade readers.

However, I did think the book was a bit too slow for me personally and it was weirdly formatted. The book is like part biography, with a lot of info dumps about Chopin, Sand, and Delacroix, and part story about this bird and her love of music, but also a side story plot with the humans and their own issues. The stories didn’t really mesh well together in my opinion and there was just a lot going on. The plot is also really loose because of this.

Verdict: It was good.

Y'all I was not prepared for the endearing friendship element to this middle-grade mystery. The POV is from Mirabelle, the goldfinch. She tells us this story of Michael and her unique perspective really gives a fresh approach to telling this story. I adored their friendship and the multiple tidbits that make up this story. We are learning throughout about music, facts about composers like Chopin, and additionally facts about goldfinches.

Altogether this little mystery, friendship, and musical elements are mixed to create a magical and endearing story where the pacing is on point, the educational bits are weaved as well as a composer writing a masterpiece.

I would highly recommend this story to anyone, but especially to those who love music. As a piano player myself, I found myself reminded of how much I miss my piano!

Well what can I say about this wonderful book but first off I want to thank you to TBR Tours & Beyond for giving me a spot on the tour and to the Publishers for sending me an E-book Arc.

Our main character is actually a Goldfinch called Mirabelle and the whole story is told through her eyes. I thought it was a clever idea and wanted to see how the story would pan out.

I also found the book very educational and found the classical music of Chopin running through the book as a nice touch and I even searched the internet as I really was not au fait this kind of music and I actually enjoyed what I listened to.

I can't believe that one little book could have so many different facets which come together to make in my view a memorable story and so there was no doubt in my mind that it deserved 4 stars. I am very interested to see what Elise does next.

A perfect blend of Friendship, Adventure, History and Uniqueness! The author narrated the story eloquently from Mirabelle's pov which made the story easy going, fun and delightful to read. Mirabelle is a great lover of Mr.Starek's piano lessons and never misses chance to peek through the window.There she got the glimpse of Michael, a piano prodigy and Emily, a passionate piano lover. Mirabelle has shown how perspective can change opinions. Michael was someone she thought was rude but ended up realising, "Everyone is allowed to have a bad day once in a while and it would be terrible if I based my whole opinion of the boy on that one bad day."

Michael, Emily and Mirabelle the goldfinch became an absolute group who ventured to discover Plyel where Chopin, a famous composer, made his masterpieces. With nearly perfect narration, it will draw the attention of classic music lovers, keep them hooked and satisfy everyone alike. I found myself searching for masterpieces on Youtube throughout the reading journey. It's unputdownable once you've started it. I will definitely suggest my fellow booklovers and non booklover friends to check it out to fall in love with the magical world. For me, it was a perfect read after a stressed day.

🌞 My Favourite Quote 🌞 :

"For the first time, I wonder what it would be like to really, really love something that you knew you would never be great at."

I really loved that we get the point of view from Mirabelle our goldfinch friend, who becomes a muse for Michael as he excels his piano playing.
This has a great rhythm to it which goes along with its theme of music.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I have read (and loved!) several other books by this author, so I jumped at the chance to read her newest book, Duet. And I was not disappointed! This delightful story about a goldfinch who becomes a muse for a piano prodigy is just the right mix of mystery, suspense, and a special friendship.

Taking readers on a journey that focuses on the friendship between Michael, a piano prodigy preparing for a big competition, and Mirabelle, the goldfinch who can sing along to his masterful playing, the author seamlessly weaves into the book facts about goldfinches, composer Frederic Chopin, author George Sand, and painter Eugene Delacroix. An excellent author’s note at the end gives the reader just enough information to follow the research rabbit trails for more information about all three creative geniuses.

This clever book is expertly paced with an enchanting rhythm and would make a lovely read aloud for any reader!

Many thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Net Galley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.