Amy Johnson has finally landed her dream job as a flutist with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. But will she last? Will the orchestra even survive? As one mishap after another threatens to scuttle the orchestra’s season, not to speak of its future, Amy’s sleuthing instincts kick in.
Of course it’s hard to solve a mystery when you’re on call as a cheerleading Mom. Though Clara didn’t warn her that pompoms and bouncy routines were even on the agenda, now that she’s made the squad, what’s a single mom to do? Never mind that the cheerleading community feels as alien to Amy as a drum score and Clara is squandering her own musical talent, maybe this stint will give Amy a chance to prove to Clara that she isn’t a total dud as a mother.
Welcome to Sharon Hinck’s latest Mom-lit, Symphony of Secrets, an allegro-paced movement in the life of quirky musician Amy, her 15-year-old daughter Clara and the friends and fellow musicians who inhabit their world.
As usual, Hinck’s characters are a treat. The story is told in first person by Amy, whom we quickly come to sympathize with and feel as protective toward as we do our own slightly misfit friends. Clara is believable in her teenage moodiness, the way she morphs into someone her mom hardly recognizes when around her friends, and her overall adolescent enthusiasm, energy and smarts. I also enjoyed the other members of Amy’s orchestra like sour Sarah, joke-cracking Leonard, egotistical Stefan and attractive conductor Peter. As someone who has been a member of several musical ensembles myself, the group dynamic and interactions of the musicians in rehearsal and concert scenes rang true. Similarly, I could relate to how out of her element Amy felt when she was with the cheerleading moms as they plotted fundraising, sewed costumes, baked for sales and cheered from the stands. Hinck has obviously been there.
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