Supergirl Mixtapes Review

Author: Megan Brothers
Release date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt
Pages: 245
How I got it: For review via Netgalley

After years of boredom in her rural South Carolina town, Maria is thrilled when her father finally allows her to visit her estranged artist mother in New York City. She’s ready for adventure, and she soon finds herself immersed in a world of rock music and busy streets, where new people and ideas lie around every concrete corner. This is the freedom she’s always longed for—and she pushes for as much as she can get, skipping school to roam the streets, visit fancy museums, and flirt with the cute clerk at a downtown record store.
 
But just like her beloved New York City, Maria’s life has a darker side. Behind her mother’s carefree existence are shadowy secrets, and Maria must decide just where—and with whom—her loyalty lies.

Supergirl Mixtapes instantly grabbed my attention. The setting and the way music was such a huge part of the setting--and the entire book, really--demanded my attention and kept me flipping the pages until the very end. Unfortunately, when I got to the end, I was left unsatisfied.

Maria's had a bad past year, so to escape it she manages to convince her dad and over-bearing grandmother to let her go to school in NYC, and to live with her mother. Maria was a wholly realistic character. Between her voice and her screw-ups, she felt like someone you've met or will meet many people like. Her mother was also a great character, but in a completely different way. She was more of a character that you meet once in your life if at all, and even then you feel as if someone this different could not possibly be real, and all you want is to know more about her.

My problem with Supergirl Mixtapes lies when you begin to talk about the side characters and development of the story. I feel like we hardly got to know Travis or Gram or anyone but Maria and her mom, which made the relationships in this story feel awkward and sometimes unnecessary.

Maybe it was Brother's intention to give us very little about Maria's past and future, but if that was the case it didn't work for me. Things that felt like they should've been something we heard about more were mentioned once and then forgotten by everyone but me.

While Supergirl Mixtapes was the perfect book to read on the train ride to NYC, I don't see the novel staying with me for very long. It had its great moments, but also its moments that fell completely flat. Give it a try yourself and see if you agree with me.

Plot: Instantly grabbing but under-developed.

Characters: Maria and her mom were fascinating characters, but all of the side characters were bland.

Writing: Good.

Ending: There was abolutely no closure.

Kid friendly? There's mentions of drugs, self-harm, drinking, sex, and there's also language.

Overall:

I might sometimes shush people while I'm reading, but if they kept trying to talk to me I'd put the book down.

This book held my attention until the very end, but when I took a closer look at it, it wasn't as good as it could've been.