Singing All the Way Up

*CWs at the End

“Sometimes it hurt to be chosen.”

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGallery for providing me with this ARC!

Singing All the Way Up follows a young girl, Laura, through the highs and lows of her childhood years after an alleged alien abduction causes her to become famous. The book examines her interpersonal relationships and trauma as she descends further and further, both into and away from the spotlight.

One thing I’m going to say right up-front: I would not describe this book as horror. I recognize that horror is subjective, and maybe, in some ways, this book would fit the bill. In my opinion, I think that the genres should just be general fiction and sci-fi, if you want to avoid people ranting and raving about the lack of spooky scenes. That said, I do think horror readers will like it regardless. I know I did.

Honestly, I really loved what this book did. I’ve always wondered about the kind of people that would use their child as a cash-grab, and I think that, in the future, Laura’s story will hit closer to home with some of our young “family” influencers. Much of the story appears dubious on the surface, until you remember how many kids out there are getting milked dry by predatory talent agencies and money-grubbing parents on sites like TikTok and YouTube. A few minor errors here and there, a rather lackluster expository ending, and the realization that the story itself is remarkably short are what keeps me at four stars.

The prose is nice. Simple but fluid. It’s not the most beautiful writing I’ve ever read, but it doesn’t need to be, either. Fast-paced readers will enjoy this book; however, haters of the oxford comma will not.
I was rather shocked to discover that the story was written in the first-person view, as it has been an exceptionally long time since I’ve come across a book that utilized that type of narrative. Thankfully, Laura is our only narrator, so it never becomes confusing. Likewise, the characters are very easy to keep track of. There’s only a few that are really important, and they’re distinct enough to remember as individuals. There are a few minor spelling and grammatical errors, nothing egregious. Mostly through the omission of a word or a spelling error. It didn’t destroy my reading experience, but it was noticeable.

One thing that I imagine will be controversial is the over-abundant inclusion of real-life UFO and cryptid sightings. To begin with, I thought it was a fun addition. It adds a layer of reality and history to the book, and makes the story seem more like an autobiography and less like a work of fiction. Each chapter has such a tale, and they reflect or intertwine with the overall theme of the chapter (my favorite was the comparison to the changeling). That said, those that want to focus on the actual plot of the book will not enjoy this; you could skip over these stories completely and lose absolutely nothing, which means that the storyline itself is actually quite a bit shorter than you might believe based on the page count alone. That’s the only reason I became a little annoyed by the sheer amount of stories included, even if I understood why they were there.

I also imagine that some people will come out furious by the ending and by Laura’s actions. While I didn’t mind that, I wasn’t a huge fan of the moralizing, Sparknotes synopsis-style final chapter. I don’t think Laura needed to explain what the book was about to us, or why she did what she did. I know this is kind of a new trend where authors succinctly tie up the book’s themes so people who don’t get it can understand what they just read, but frankly, I think that should be kept to discussion forums and book clubs. It just seems weird and out-of-place on paper. It felt awkward, disjointed. It took me out of the otherwise engaging narrative that, at times, had my jaw dropping to the floor.

Overall, I really loved this book, and I was surprised to find that this is Stephanie Sanders-Jacob’s debut novel! She’s a pro already. I am excited to read more from her in the future.

CWs: Child abuse, child neglect, non-sexual grooming, terminal illness, animal, spousal, and parental death, mentions of rape and murder.

3-3.5 stars

This was a pretty good and easy read. It was a fairly relevant topic (or will be soon, in the very near future). I know a lot of people dont like first person narrative but I do, and I think it worked well with this story.
I hope to see more from this author, as this was pretty good debut!

This is an excellent novel about truth, lies, and how one incident can consume a life, losing yourself in the process.

Laura was abducted by a UFO as a young girl. Though she has no memories of the event, she is coached by her father, given all the details, and he uses it for profit. But was she really abducted or is it all a manipulative lie?

This is the crux of this book. And it paints a sad heart wrenching portrait of Laura as she grows up. This incident, true or not, has consumed her entire life. The feeling that she might be a fraud haunts her and nobody is willing to tell her the truth.

This novel is beautifully written and you will feel for Laura as certain things come to light and, eventually, the truth is revealed. But at what cost? And will it even matter after a life spent being seen as a saviour by some and a freak by others?

I wouldn't classify this as horror, per se, but it's so well told and so effective that it doesn't matter. It's just a fantastic story that you'll relish and talk about once you've finished. I definitely recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this new book in exchange for an honest review.

Stephanie Sanders-Jacob debut novel, Singing All the Way Up, was an interesting read for sure. I love the author's note, speaking on the author's own experiences with aliens/UFOs. The story follows Laura, a young girl who was abducted by aliens and then spends the remainder of her childhood and early adult years being the provider for her family (brought on by her fame) and dealing with the uncertainty around her abduction from the start.

I loved the first 30% of this book and I liked the depictions of real-life alien/UFO encounters at the end of each chapter, though it did start to drag on a little bit as the novel progressed. I did start to lose interest a little, towards the middle, but the ending started to pick up again. I think I would've liked a little more time spent with the traveling show and some more character development in those relationships. Like it was fascinating, so I wanted MORE of it - you know? The writing was great and the descriptions were rich. I wanted more from Laura and her relationships (or perhaps the lack thereof ). Great work on this debut!

What I loved:
- Coming of age story all can relate to
- Fantastic writing and a unique plot
- Added vignettes at the end of each chapter all about ufo encounters
- Themes of belonging, truth and acceptance
What I didn’t love so much:
- Really I only wished I could read more about Laura and what happened next!
Steph is definitely an author to follow and look out for in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this new book in exchange for an honest review!

This was honestly an interesting read. I enjoyed going through everything Laura went through. The emotions were truly a Rollercoaster. She goes through so much being an abductee and at such a young age she's being constantly manipulated. Money truly is for the greedy in this book.

Is Laura a monster? No. She's had no real help dealing with her problems nor her trauma. It's created serious problems for her and a very interesting character to follow. Her emotions are very valid as you progress through the book.

I truly loved reading about the sightings, aliens and different cryptids. I honestly had no idea there were so many interesting stories out there like this. Some were funny, startling and others were ok. Of course more are still coming in today.

With how the book went it wasent exactly horror but I think people will still enjoy it nonetheless.

Once again thank you for letting me review and read this book!