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Joanne C. Hillhouse
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Musical Youth Paperback – November 5, 2014

by Joanne C Hillhouse (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
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Award winning title-2nd place in the 2014 Burt Award for Caribbean Literature.

#12 in Amazon Hot New Releases - Teen and Young Adult Performing Arts Fiction - in its first month of release

Featured in Essence Magazine February 2016

There are no missteps in this tender coming-of-age romance, only an enthusiasm for love and life that reverberates triumphantly, as both Shaka and Zahara battle their demons with hope's persistent chorus.-CaribbeanBeat Magazine.

"Musical Youth is a beautifully crafted novel with the leitmotiv of music running throughout it. This is a powerful and credible story of young love between two likeable heroes.-Burt Award for Caribbean literature.

Musical Youth is a compelling read because Hillhouse has managed to make readers really care about the characters and their struggles.-Trinidad Guardian.

Music, Discovery, Love. Can one summer make the difference of a lifetime?

Zahara is a loner. She's brilliant on the guitar but in everyday life she doesn't really fit in. Then she meets Shaka, himself a musical genius and the first boy who really gets her. They discover that they share a special bond, their passion for music, and Zahara finds herself a part, not just of Shaka's life, but also that of his boys, the Lion Crew. When they all get roles in a summer musical, Zahara, Shaka, and the rest of the Lion Crew use the opportunity to work on a secret project. But the Crew gets much more than they bargained for when they uncover a dark secret linking Shaka and Zahara's families and they're forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about class, colour, and relationships on the Caribbean island of Antigua.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    280 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Cas
  4. Publication date
    November 5, 2014
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 0.59 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0989930513
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0989930512
  8. Lexile measure
    890L
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Musical Youth is a compelling read because Hillhouse has managed to make readers really care about the characters and their struggles." --Trinidad and Tobago Guardian

About the Author

Joanne C. Hillhouse, named in Literary Hub in 2018 as one of '10 Female Caribbean Authors You Should Know (And Add To Your American Lit Syllabus)', is an Antiguan and Barbudan writer described as "a powerful writer, raising questions directly and with great energy." She is born and resident in Antigua and Barbuda. The Boy from Willow Bend was her first book. Her others are Dancing Nude in the Moonlight 10th Anniversary Edition and Other Writings, Oh Gad! - positively reviewed several places including NPR, children's picture books With Grace - a 2017 selection for the US Virgin Islands Governor's Summer Reading Challenge, and Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, and novel Musical Youth, a finalist for the Burt award for teen/young adult Caribbean literature in 2014. Her fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have appeared in several Caribbean and international journals and anthologies. With her degree in Mass Communications from the University of the West Indies, she has worked in various aspects of media and communications. She has also participated in a number of fiction writing and editing workshops over the years - notably as an international fellow to the prestigious Breadloaf Writers Conference. She has received two awards from The Caribbean Writer literary journal and been twice shortlisted for the Small Axe journal fiction prize. She has a UNESCO Honour Award and is a recipient of the Leonard Tim Hector Memorial Prize for contributions in the area of literary arts, journalism, and youth development in Antigua and Barbuda. Joanne freelances as a writer, editor, producer, writing coach, and course/workshop facilitator. Her volunteer activities include the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize which she founded in 2004 to nurture and showcase the literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda. More at jhohadli.wordpress.com

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cas (November 5, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 280 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0989930513
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0989930512
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 890L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.59 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the author

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Joanne C. Hillhouse

Joanne C. Hillhouse

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(Image - Joanne C. Hillhouse @ the 2014 Bocas Literary Festival collecting her first runner-up Burt Award prize for teen/young adult literature)

Antiguan and Barbudan/Caribbean writer Joanne C. Hillhouse has eight published books of fiction - adult contemporary (Oh Gad!, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight) to teen/young adult (Musical Youth) to middle grade (The Boy from Willow Bend) to children's picture books (Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, With Grace, The Jungle Outside, To be a Cheetah). Several of her poems, short fiction, non-fiction, and other writing (play/screenplay) have been published in Caribbean and international anthologies and journals including New Daughters of African (and its abridged German translation) and Pepperpot: Best New Stories from the Caribbean. She freelances as a writer, editor, writing coach, and course/workshop facilitator. Find her online at http://jhohadli.wordpress.com She coordinates a developmental writing project called Wadadli Pen; read more about that and Caribbean literary arts at http://wadadlipen.wordpress.com Also look for her on social media https://linktr.ee/Jhohadli

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Fay
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping and relatable read
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2015
Verified Purchase
I grew up in Antigua, and reading Musical Youth transported me back into time when I was a secondary school student. I reminisced on the close friendships I'd made, very much like Shaka and his crew, and I could also relate to making friends with "the butter skin" girl. Through Joanne's vivid writing, I felt Shaka and Zahara's passion for music and I shared in the excitement and nervousness of preparing for the end of summer show. I was swept up into the twist at the end and was thoroughly engaged from the first page to the last. Great read!
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Dawn L. Joseph
4.0 out of 5 stars Easy & Fun
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
Reading this took me back to teenage years... crushes & friendships and strict parents who lashed lashed you when you didn't go straight home from school :-) Quite a page turner, finished it in no time.
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arica
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the things I love about Joanne Hillhouse's books is that they capture the ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2015
Verified Purchase
One of the things I love about Joanne Hillhouse's books is that they capture the Caribbean spirit, while bringing current issues to the fore. I fell in love with the characters. I cried when they cried; and rejoiced with them. They felt like people I knew.... and I could not help loving them. My usual description of Joanne's books is "un-put-downable" and this one fits the bill!!!
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aliene i ross
5.0 out of 5 stars enjoyed the story
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2015
Verified Purchase
I liked the story of the young people's interaction, the flow of the story and the fact that it was not about sex, but the growth of the friendship into love. Knowing about the islands, also enhanced the story.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Just finished reading Musical Youth, 2nd place winner of ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2016
Just finished reading Musical Youth, 2nd place winner of the inaugural 2014 Burt award for YA literature at the Bocas Festival in Trinidad

I give it an A+ for (among other things) capturing in a very interesting way the tentative attraction and growing relationship of boy and girl in the teen years, as well as affirmation of how friends can help one another over some of the uncertainties and humps of those turbulent years.

The music references and the summer preparation for a major musical performance by the teens, with all the attendant near failures and individual anxieties and successes for the characters, should make it compelling reading for the target age group.

The message that youth do not have to discard the old (music), but understand, transform and utilize it to enrich their own expressions is refreshing.

The youth in the story, set in Antigua, draw on the musical influences from world cultures to make something uniquely theirs and that is what the Caribbean is (or should be) about.

The characters, both young and old are very true to life – from the main characters, teens, Zahara and Shaka and his Crew, to the grandparents and other adults in their lives.

The story is modern; the teens are technology savvy. A discussion about skin shade; what is considered beauty and attractive to the opposite sex, is central to the story. The characters are forced to face this continuing enigma in the Caribbean consciousness, head on. Some of them come to realize the uniqueness and value of individuals quite apart from skin colour.

Some very important themes are explored in this book. Get a copy. You will be entertained. Buy one for a teen in your life.
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Carla Brookes-Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars A WELL WRITTEN BOOK FOR BOTH THE YOUNG AND OLD!
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2014
Hi! My name is Kelsey Harris and I was very impressed with this book mostly because I am a teenager myself and I found it very relatable.Firstly, I will state that I was impressed with the evolution of the relationship from friends to lovers between Shaka and Zahara. I especially liked how it grew off of their deep passions for music. Also, I loved your usage of the " Antiguan Dialect" in the novel and the use of modern technology. The usage of these two things allowed myself as a teenage to better relate to the book. Finally I would just like to say that this book kept me on my toes especially considering a finished it within a day! Ms. Hillhouse, you have done a fantastic job of writing this book and I hope that one day we can meet in person for me to thank you and to discuss it in further detail! Lastly, I would like to state to anyone who is reading this to purchase this novel! Give it to your daughter, son, uncle or even your grandmother! It is definitely one that they will enjoy especially with the unexpected within the book!
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Marsha
5.0 out of 5 stars This was a sweet coming of age romance.
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2015
I found myself saying awwww way too often. Shaka is the guy who falls hard for his girl and his animated crew lives the romance with him. Zahara is complicated but the music frees her, each cord brings her to herself. Many times in Caribbean books you reminisce about how your childhood compared and Pappy was it for me: holding everyone and everything together with simple finesse that you didn’t even notice it. Grandparents are wonderful.
I have to admit that I was once weary of reading Caribbean fiction because they tend to get dark quickly and I don’t read book to be depressed. I am pleased to say that Joanne’s Musical Youth was refreshing and uplifting. Write on Joanne, write on.
This in no way takes away from the book but after reading the skin tone of the girl on the cover seemed off.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Musical Youth is beautifully written. It is a pride to Caribbean young ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2016
Musical Youth is beautifully written. It is a pride to Caribbean young adult fiction. Though it addresses a current and very real social issue, the writer skillfully educates you while she takes you back to the innocence of school days in the Caribbean. You can’t help but remember your first crush, how every little thing they did is permanently etched in your memory.

There is a good blend of characters throughout the book, and they complement each other well. It was also refreshing to read a story about children doing positive things.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and would certainly recommend it to fellow readers.
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