Muted

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Summary

-- Muted is a fearless exploration of the dark side of the music industry, the business of exploitation, how a girl's dreams can be used against her -- and what it takes to fight back.

Published Reviews

Booklist Review: "Together, Denver, Dali, and Shak make up the Angelic Voices, a girl group desperate to be discovered. So when famous R & B star Sean "Mercury" Ellis takes an interest in the girls after hearing them sing outside of his concert, it seems like the stars have finally aligned. Despite the incredible opportunity this presents, Denver's parents agree that their 17-year-old daughter will not be going off to work with a 30-something man. Or so they think. What first seems to be a rags-to-riches affair takes a murky turn for the worst as this novel in verse shows the girls' flashy life with Mercury morph into one where they are held hostage and abused. Charles plays continuously with space and language here, effortlessly weaving together the story of Denver's and Dali's traumas associated with family, friendships, and desires for stardom. Trigger warning: there is explicit mention of sexual assault here, in addition to physical abuse. Ultimately, this book's ending will leave readers at a heart-racing stall, asking, Can chasing fame really cost you your life? Teens enamored by the writing of Tiffany D. Jackson and Jason Reynolds will be swept away by this taut and gritty read."
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "Dali, Denver, and Shak, "three brown girls," are 17-year-old best friends living in a boring white town, which they dream of someday leaving. Denver feels that music is her destiny, so when R&B megastar Sean "Mercury" Ellis is in town to perform, she and the other two teens act quickly to get his attention. Performing for the musician, the trio soon finds themselves part of his inner circle. Denver believes this is her big break, but things take a sharp turn when Mercury begins to show his controlling nature. Committed to securing a record deal, Denver finds herself willing to do anything, including lying to her mother and ignoring Shak's warning about Mercury. Accepting the opportunity to live in Atlanta with Mercury, Denver and Dali believe they will soon record their album--only to slowly realize this is merely the beginning of a tumultuous journey of abuse caused by the celebrity singer. Though the novel includes potentially triggering subjects such as sexual assault, it's an eye-opening narrative that spotlights the uneven power dynamics endemic in the music industry. Ages 12--up. (Feb.)"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Additional Information

Subjects	African American teenage girls Juvenile fiction Sound recording industry Juvenile fiction Exploitation Juvenile fiction Teenage girls Juvenile fiction Young Adult Fiction Electronic books. Young adult fiction.
Publisher	[Place of publication not identified] :Scholastic Inc.,2021 Scholastic Inc.2021
Contributors	OverDrive, Inc.
Language	English
System Details	Mode of access: World Wide Web. Format: Adobe EPUB eBook Format: Kindle Book Format: OverDrive Read Requires Adobe Digital Editions or Amazon Kindle
Description	1 online resource
ISBN	9781338673531 133867353X
Other	Classic View