Steven Camden

Synopsis

Record a voice and it lasts forever…

In 1993, Ryan records a diary on an old tape. He talks about his mother’s death, about his dreams, about his love for a new girl at school who doesn’t even know he exists.

In 2013, Ameliah moves in with her grandmother after her parents die. There, she finds a tape in the spare room. A tape with a boy’s voice on it – a voice she can’t quite hear, but which seems to be speaking to her.

Ryan and Ameliah are connected by more than just a tape.

This is their story.

Tape 

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, it in no way influences my review.

I have seen mixed reviews for Tape, but I loved it. It was fresh, different, new, and emotional. It took me on a ride full of emotions.

The first thing that grabbed my attention about Tape was the cover, it is just so gorgeous. Then I read the synopsis and I needed to read it. It sounded so intriguing; I just didn’t know how everything would fit. I also was intrigued by Steven Camden, when I heard about the book, I just learnt about Spoken Word Poetry, which might I say I love, and then I found out that Steven is a spoken word poet, I just could not say no to it.

At first it was hard to grasp the concept of the novel, I was really confused at times but then everything just fell into place and I understood what was going on.

I liked both our main characters, Ryan more than Ameliah. I would have loved a little more characterization, as I felt it lacked a little here and there.

Ryan was really down to earth and his emotions were very raw and on show for everyone, which is unusual for a male character. I felt so sorry for him at times, he missed his mum so much and I feel that his dad, yes he cares, but I just feel there is something is lost between them.

Ameliah pissed me off at times, especially when she is trying to find out who Joe is, just the way she went about it, she was so focused on finding out, that nothing else mattered that much. But other than that I really liked Ameliah she was very strong minded. I loved the relationship between Ameliah and her grandmother, even thought yes they ‘fight’ here and there. They have this strong relationship. I let a few tears fall, a few times when Ameliah’s mum was talked about.

I liked there was flashbacks here and there, it was cool and it just added to the book, it made it more emotional. I loved how everyone seemed to intertwined with each other, in one way or another. We find out how everyone knows each other. It was a little predictable, but I still found it interesting and it put a smile on my face that it worked out.  I liked that we got to know the characters back stories; who they were, why they did things, and it was really intriguing and sweet at the same time.

In my copy of Tape, when it’s in Ryan’s time it is a different writing style then when we are in Ameliah’s time and I found that pretty awesome. It was cool and different and you could tell the difference between who was who. I also find when there is dual POV’s that both voices come into one and you cannot tell the difference but in Tape by Steven Camden, it wasn’t like that, even if it was the same type of writing you could tell the difference between who was who.  I felt that the chapters were really long and I am not sure If I liked it or not. For me, when I read, I read chapter by chapter so when I want to stop reading I stop at the end of the chapter, but with Tape I just could not do that.

I also liked that fact that music was incorporated into book.  It was interesting and new, and I love music so it was fun. Some songs that remind me of the book are; A Drop in the Ocean by Ron Pope, Unconditionally by Katy Perry and Everything has Changed by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.

Overall I really liked Tape by Steven Camden, it was original as well as touching enough that it pulls at your heart. I think a younger audience will like it, as our main characters are on the

I Give Tape 4 Stars out of 5