Lynnie 
contemporary fiction
I've read several David Levithan books over the
years and I particularly enjoy his YA work. I thought the premise of
Songs for Other People's Weddings was interesting - singer, songwriter J
stumbles into a career writing custom songs for the weddings of (near)
strangers. His girlfriend, V, works for a start-up that needs all of her
attention, leaving their relationship in limbo as they try to navigate
his weddings, her travel and the complexities of love.
This is a slow read where not a lot happens. As we join J through ten different weddings, the chapters, the weddings, and J's & V's relationship tend to blur together. I could practically hear my grandmother saying, "if you've seen one wedding, you've seen them all" because it became hard not just to differentiate the weddings, but to care about any of them. Sure, some of the individual characters at the weddings were interesting, but at the end of the chapter, I didn't bother to remember them because their wedding was over, they'd served their plot device purpose. Truly, after reading about a couple of weddings, you know exactly where this book is going.
Levithan has a lot of interesting things to say about love and relationships, but ultimately there is just a lot of naval gazing in this story. I didn't care whether or not J & V were able to salvage their relationship. J, in particular, was insufferably whiny and I found V's patience with him to be unrealistic. Maybe that reflects my own impatience rather than hers, but either way the effect was the same - I often rolled my eyes at their conversations, particularly since it felt like they had the same conversation over and over again.
I'm going to assume this is a one-off for my reading relationship with Levithan. It happens. Sadly though, this book wasn't for me.
Thanks to Abrams Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. Songs for Other People's Weddings will be published on August 5, 2025.
This is a slow read where not a lot happens. As we join J through ten different weddings, the chapters, the weddings, and J's & V's relationship tend to blur together. I could practically hear my grandmother saying, "if you've seen one wedding, you've seen them all" because it became hard not just to differentiate the weddings, but to care about any of them. Sure, some of the individual characters at the weddings were interesting, but at the end of the chapter, I didn't bother to remember them because their wedding was over, they'd served their plot device purpose. Truly, after reading about a couple of weddings, you know exactly where this book is going.
Levithan has a lot of interesting things to say about love and relationships, but ultimately there is just a lot of naval gazing in this story. I didn't care whether or not J & V were able to salvage their relationship. J, in particular, was insufferably whiny and I found V's patience with him to be unrealistic. Maybe that reflects my own impatience rather than hers, but either way the effect was the same - I often rolled my eyes at their conversations, particularly since it felt like they had the same conversation over and over again.
I'm going to assume this is a one-off for my reading relationship with Levithan. It happens. Sadly though, this book wasn't for me.
Thanks to Abrams Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. Songs for Other People's Weddings will be published on August 5, 2025.
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