This was an incredibly well written, emotional, keep you up all night until you finish, heart wrenching, breath taking Novel in Verse. It was written in the same vein as Tiffany D. Jackson's Grown, however, it has a twist you don't see coming. A novel full of diverse characters, focusing on a hot topic of today: abuse of power, the price of fame, and the ripple effects it can have on you and those you love. Lesson to be learned from this novel: be careful what you wish for... ( )

Thanks to @scholasticinc and @coloredpagesblogtours for the gifted copy.

Muted by Tami Charles is a timely and necessary read that illuminates the dirty, secret side of the music business and how it preys on young girls of color, steals their dreams and eventually their innocence. The industry perpetuates the impossible beauty standards, fatphobia, violence against women and promotes low self esteem and self hate of being a Black and brown girl in a white washed world. The story is ripped from the headlines but the message will hit you like a ton of bricks. Once I started reading I could not tear myself from the pages. This book grabs you by the throat and suffocates you with raw emotion. You want to yell. You want to scream. You want to do anything to warn Denver of the danger that lies ahead. The ending left me in shambles and I was sobbing unconsolably. I was utterly devastated and my heart literally broke in a million pieces. I'm still thinking about all the girls like Denver and how our society has failed them, silenced them and stolen their dreams by refusing to cast out rape culture, misogyny and patriarchy.

🎵 Black and brown girls need protection. Believe them period.
🎵 Predatory men should be punished, not innocent girls who are the victims.
🎵 Teenage girls are not adults and deserve love, support and nurturing.
🎵 Stop silencing girls. End rape culture.

Here are some quote that stay with me:
🎼 there lived a girl
racked with pain,
drilled down to the none
who suddenly felt
her body was no longer her own

🎼 The body splits itself in two.
The before
and
The after
The before was for me;
an imperfect sculpted
shell of who I chose to be.
The after,
that is for him,
or I guess,
them.

Read this book because we owe it to our girls to do better and stand up for them. Read this book so you can protect future generations. Read this book because you're ready to use your power to help girls regain their voice that may have been muted.

To all the girls: I SEE YOU AND I BELIEVE YOU ( )

I probably never would have picked this book up if I hadn’t been sent a copy by the publisher, but I am really glad that I did get the opportunity to read it! A novel in verse? How fresh, how rhythmical, how potentially prophetic in language woven throughout with lyrical musicality and the harsh poetics of coming of age. Muted tells the story of Denver and her two best friends, a trio bent on becoming the next hit singing sensation with the skills and know-how to back it up--all they’re lacking is their big break and the support of their families. Thankfully Denver is as smart as she is talented, and with a little luck thrown into the mix, a daring act of performance gets their talents on the radar of R&B superstar Sean “Mercury” Ellis. We, as outside viewers, know that something isn’t quite right in this scenario, smelling the corruption and bad vibes a mile away, but Denver is stubborn and determined to do what it takes to get where she wants to be. Yet, even though we know that the outcome of the story likely isn’t going to be a good one, Charles’ offbeat lyrical writing (reading more like modernist poetry which I’m sure pairs auditorily well if you have an ear for beats, which I admittedly don’t) keeps us hooked to the page and to Denver’s wild ride to the brink of fame. The ending of the novel was absolutely gut-wrenching, and I was decidedly displeased that Denver didn’t get the revenge and justice that she so rightly deserved, but the harsh truth of the story rings so true that I have to forgive Charles for the gutpunch. Sometimes the harsh truth needs to be told so that we can learn from the mistakes of others, and the monsters that are populating the real world are fully exposed. ( )

“And I’m sorry, Papi.
For lying. For leaving.
But not for the music.”

Wow! This book rips your heart out and stomps on it.

Denver has big dreams of making it in the R&B world with her three-girl singing group. So when the King of R&B is playing nearby, she thinks it’s her chance. She may be in a crowd of hundreds of girls clambering to get his attention, but she and her friends are the only ones singing.

When a backstage invite leads to an invitation to record, Denver and Dalisay are over the moon. Only their friend Shak keeps seeing red flags. She’s the only one to not sign the contract and run away to live with Merc in Atlanta.

The girls are so set on getting their big break, they’re willing to ignore giant red flags. They can’t have their phones or internet access or even see each other so they can “focus.” He controls what they eat so they can have the star image. They only see #teammerc crew, who are forbidden to talk to them. Anytime they start to rebel, he takes them to a club or introduces them to a celebrity they would have never met otherwise or gives them a splashy, expensive gift. Finally, they’re so far in it’s hard to see a way out.

The language is beautiful and powerful, and I was pulled into Denver’s head. I could see why she made every choice she did, even when they were the wrong ones.

Of course, the news stories about R Kelly were running through my head while reading this. The author has music industry experience, performing at events with Boyz II Men and others, which I think makes the story richer. This is one that will stay with you for a long time.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )