A Song for a New Day

A Song for a New Day is a really awesome dystopian novel by Sarah Pinsker. Told by two protagonists, this is the story of a world warped by twin epidemics of violence and disease (not to mention massive corporate control) and how despite all manner of adversity music continues on. In some of ways this was tough to listen to. Despite being written prior to COVID, A Song for a New Day proved remarkably prescient in some respects, while also proving strikingly fictional in others. The central conflict between the musicians and their society's version of stay at home orders made me feel both intrigued and uncomfortable. Having lived through a real-world pandemic, these sections hit differently than I think they would have if I had read the book in 2019 when it was first released. I think I would have been very judgmental of Luce's attitudes two years ago, so it was a fascinating experience to empathize with her as a character in this novel. I enjoyed the thought-provoking narrative and conflicted feelings I experienced as I navigate the post-vaccine COVID reality the world finds itself in today. I really enjoyed the characters throughout the book, and the audiobook narrators Dylan Moore and Nicol Zanzarella were fantastic! The final third or so of the plot felt a bit weaker and less developed than the first 2/3rds. It seemed to wrap up too easily and too cleanly. Additionally, I felt like the violence described in the beginning of the book was totally overshadowed by the pox as the book went on, and I also wondered why Pinsker decided to include it. Despite these criticisms, I really liked this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨