A great contemporary story exploring music, ambition and the price of teenage dreams! I enjoyed the writing and the characters, and can't wait to read more by Sheena Wilkinson!

An interesting novel about a young ex-teen star with a story dealing with emotions, family, stardom and friends.

This was not really my thing I guess.. I could not get into it and it just all felt so awkward...
I also had some issues with it, the girls all seemed so shallow and stupid, and I disliked that very muhc. Also his opion of them made it even worse..

If you are looking for a “tell it like it is” YA book Street Song would be it. You follow RyLee as he gets sucked in to fame which has many pitfalls and he seems to hit every one of them. What happens when you had “it” and lost it? Is he ever going to come out of this and enjoy music like he once did? This is written more for the YA crowd and gives you many emotions dealing with family, stardom and friends.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for a freely given and honest review.

The premise of the book is remarkably reminiscent of Keren David’s latest UKYA effort, Cuckoo: teen boy deals with fame, family breakdown, hostile relationships, and a career on a downward spiral as he is finds himself homeless and struggling to make a living, meeting an unlikely handful of both helpful and shady characters along the way. A few key features - acting is replaced with music, an experimental style is replaced with more predictable form - mean that they read just differently enough, though if you're looking for something completely original, you won't find it here.

In trying to outrun his fortune-hungry family, one-time teen star Ryan winds up running into cool, plucky musician Toni. She doesn't recognise him from his cringe-worthy days on reality television, but she does recognise his musical ability. He needs a place to stay, she needs a decent guitarist for her band, and so the unlikely pair embark on a rocky road lined with musical jams, setbacks, mistakes, and the possibility of romance. He may be living in a hostel and be busking for his bread, but for the first time in his life Ryan is playing the music he’s always wanted to play.

Throw in no-nonsense Polish bass player Marysia, some work-in-progress song lyrics, Billy the cat, and a handful of solid but by no means iconic characters - I particularly like Toni's pragmatic but supportive mother - and Wilkinson creates a novel which is at its best when caught up in the joys of music and the unrivalled potential of a band's early days. While I found the idea that Ryan would agree to enter a battle of bands - Backlash - a bit surprising given his belligerent history with music competitions, it's a standard plot device for a rags-to-riches (or in this case rags-to-riches-to-rags-again) tale.

Page-turning and surprisingly absorbing, Street Song is a relatively quick read which balances the unpredictability of busking on the streets, with its good takings, bad takings, inclement weather and cityscape feel with interesting character dynamics, driven plot and a vibrant musical thread. Ryan's struggles with manufactured identity, addiction, and the fallout from fifteen minutes of fame take up much of the book, but I was most intrigued by Toni and Marysia. I really liked their friendship and would've liked to have seen even more of it. I'd almost go as far as to say I'd read a sequel to this book, if only to see where the choppy waters of music and relationships take the headline trio.

Street Song is one of those strange books that seems both gritty and occasionally glossed over, as the backdrop of a protagonist living hand-to-mouth amid some dodgy characters is met with an oddly-paced narrative in which the worst happens to others before being essentially brushed aside, and the fact that the audience is aware that Ryan is keeping a secret a luxurious existence he left behind, the likes of which working-class Toni and Marysia hardly dare dream of. I'd definitely recommend a trigger warning for serious content which appears to heighten tension and then seems almost forgotten about. RyLee's fans, primarily women and girls, are referred to as 'RyLeens' and are usually dismissed or treated with dismay, so if you're looking for more positive portrayals of teenagers and fandom, you're better off with Sophia Bennett's Love Song or Maggie Harcourt's Unconventional - and I'm still waiting for a classic piece of girlband-focused fiction from contemporary YA.

A full version of this review is scheduled to appear on my blog.

RyLee was a budding pop star in Ireland after winning a televised reality talent show. After three months in rehab and a falling out with his stepdad (also his former manager), RyLee hits the road. He ends up in Dublin, playing his guitar on the streets for money. When RyLee meets Toni in a park, he agrees to teach her how to play guitar in exchange for a place to stay for the week. RyLee joins Toni's band and reinvents himself as Cal Ryan.

I really like the blurb, “When life goes off key, change your tune.”

The story, though I can’t testify if this happenning to some showbiz people in real life, rings true..

How proud must RyLee to himself when he knows he can stand up from how deep he’s on the ground.

If I were his mom? I would be proud.. How hard was it to live in the street when you are used to living in luxury.. And be sad..even heartbroken at the same time..😔

The story evolves on RyLee or Cal getting up from rock bottom stage of his life, how did he found true friends…

Tony’s mom rock!!👊I love her tough love…

Though story description piqued my curiosity, it didn’t meet my expectation.. But still a quick good read though.. ☺

This book was good, a little slow to begin with and in parts but the story was interesting. The writing wasn't what I was used too, some parts did seem a little childish and silly, but I finished the book and enjoyed it! I thought the descriptions were very good and I liked the relationships and diverse characters.

I find the character development to be the most challenging part of Street Song. I can understand structurally why the choices were made but I don't necessarily find them to be realistic or authentic to Ryan.

Street Song by Sheena Wilkinson is a young adult novel that is scheduled to be released on April 20, 2017 by Black and White Publishing. The setting is Dublin and Belfast, which adds to the plot line and characters of the story. Wilkinson does an outstanding job in creating characters with real life problems and showing how they deal with them. I think this story really deals with the effects that can come after fifteen minutes of fame and what comes next. I really love that music plays a big part of this story because I am a huge music lover. The author uses this love for music to help Rylee (Ryan) find comfort and security with someone who helps him overcome his hardships. Toni is the main reason for the change in Ryan for the better. I really enjoyed reading this young adult novel and look forward to reading more from this author.

Dublin is where Street Song starts, but is very much based in Belfast, and as such shows off the vibrancy and atmosphere of modern-day Belfast, making it one of the stars of the book. Street Song follows a hypothesis of what happens after. After all the vacuous nonsense that makes up being a viral sensation, having your fifteen minutes of fame, and what next? It’s the headline that’s never written, in this case the tale of how RyLee figures out what he’s supposed to do with the next part of his life.

Music obviously plays a big part in Street Song too, with Sheena herself clearly having a passion for the feel and sound of music, and having learned guitar specifically for this book. The musical chemistry between Toni, Ryan (as Cal) and their bandmate Marysia is great to read about. It’s the one thing that Ryan feels comfortable doing and knows he’s good and the passages on playing music on stage and rehearsing are full of that energy and enthusiasm.

Sheena’s great strength again in Street Song, as in previous books, is in writing dialogue. She manages to incorporate various accents, most notably strong Belfast ones, while managing to show Ryan’s initial confusion and then liking of all the accents. In keeping with this, Sheena mentions the ever-present political backdrop, but perhaps wisely doesn’t get distracted from the main narrative. This seems to be a prevailing trend, as people of the Rory McIlroy generation move on from what happened years ago, and refuse to let it define them. So while the element of politics and the volatile past of Belfast are both present, Ryan’s struggle with staying clean and keeping a roof over his head are of much more concern to him.

Along with themes of substance and other abuses, Sheena Wilkinson also tackles the issue of homelessness and in particular the attitude of people towards homeless people. While Ryan’s money woes become increasingly worrying, he begins to think about sleeping rough and it gives an insight into how someone might find themselves homeless. The main message here is that every person is a person, to paraphrase Dr Seuss, and in this case, we’ve had the time to get to know Ryan and can understand his plight. That shouldn’t make us blind to the situations of thousands of other people who find themselves saddled with similar status.

There’s a lot of light touches throughout however, particularly with the adult characters in Ryan’s life, like Toni’s mother and Mervyn who runs the hostel Ryan stays in. This gives us a chance to see Ryan try to charm his way out of trouble, invariably channelling the charm of his popstar alter-ego ‘RyLee.’ There’s a great back and forth between the bandmates throughout as well, and it’s always great to see strong female characters in the narrative. Toni refuses to be defined by boys or her mother. She is determined to be a success in music and in her studies, but hasn’t managed to get out of her mother’s shadow just yet. She is clear on her own morals and her friendship with Marysia is particularly empowering, independent as it is from their relationship with Ryan. They support each other and look out for each other, which is of course brilliant to see in any friendship.

I was fortunate enough to have a sneak preview reading of an extract from Street Song by Sheena in February and was looking forward to reading it since. Another great YA book from a talented author.

Aside from some young adult content, this would be appropriate for middle school kids. Because of the older content, however, I will recommend it to my high schoolers. The story was very real, and very raw. It was easy to get into and relate to several of the main characters. The theme and character lesson from the story was subtle, but effective.

Going to review this one my youtube channel after it comes out.

I received an arc of this book from Netgalley and Black & White Publishing in exchange for a fair an honest review.
I’ve never read anything by this author before and I thought the description was intriguing so I requested it. In short, this book has a very YA sounding premise but it deals with very heavy subject matter. This didn’t read like YA to me it almost veers to New Adult in some ways. I did enjoy the main character, Ryan and his struggles and by the end of it he’s shown significant growth in terms of things.
Overall, great read, the author gives you a typical headline as a premise but it’s a heavy read and delves into something that might not be even thought of by media standards.

STREET SONG was less of what I expected and also more. In the sense that I expected this coming of age story to be angsty, the fall of a pop icon, rediscovering who you are away from what has been your identity -- even a manufactured one -- for so long, but didn't expect how.. well, dreary it would be. Because this also went into very real, very raw, places that youth can face by living on the streets and getting mixed in with drugs and what that can do to your health.. and what can be done to you.

As for the more musical element, Wilkinson did a good job setting the scene. I could so easily picture Cal (or Ryan) busking on the streets of Belfast, the merciless impact on the weather, the pride of a good day, the struggle as day after day results in no cash. But I struggled a bit with the love interest and never really felt sold on it. That said, I loved the dynamic of Cal, Toni and Marysia as a band and really liked the ending that showcased all of our hero's growth.

<i>I wondered how my life got so small and simple, and why it somehow felt better than it ever had.</i>

While I was really excited about the premise, I'm not sure it really lived up to my expectations. The beginning felt a little.. awkward, with Cal's fixation on what he left behind and how, and while throughout the book Cal made a lot of frustrating decisions, combined with some really bad luck, I can see how those stumbles and backslides were necessary to showcase that he wasn't a changed person right away and it took time to become who he wanted to be.

I may not have enjoyed this book on a whole but I could definitely appreciate the message.

2.75 stars

3.5 stars

I really loved the concept of this book but for me it felt a bit heavy. I think more then the topic of the book it was the author writing style. I could totally see this as a movie, those British movies that the film colors are dark (more Grays than colors).

Like I said this had a great topic, I love reading about musicians. I love how things developed, I love the pace but maybe the author writing style wasn't for me.