When her first love, J, leaves with no explanation—young singer-songwriter Sam deals with her heartbreak in the only way she knows how: writing. So she starts a blog to reach out to him. She writes him letters. She writes him songs. She writes to him, hoping he’s out there… reading and listening somehow.
"So this is a desperate attempt for you to hear me somehow. Come back. Speak. Listen. I grant you the courtesy of knowing that I’m still in love with you."
Girl with a Broken String is a multimedia novel. This innovative book is a sensitive exploration of heartbreak, anxiety, and Sam’s coming of age through the interplay of story, song, and artwork.
When her first love, J, leaves with no explanation—young singer-songwriter Sam deals with her heartbreak in the only way she knows how: writing. So she starts a blog to reach out to him. She writes him letters. She writes him songs. She writes to him, hoping he’s out there… reading and listening somehow.
"So this is a desperate attempt for you to hear me somehow. Come back. Speak. Listen. I grant you the courtesy of knowing that I’m still in love with you."
Girl with a Broken String is a multimedia novel. This innovative book is a sensitive exploration of heartbreak, anxiety, and Sam’s coming of age through the interplay of story, song, and artwork.
Girl With a Broken String is a short and cute novel that unfortunately lacks depth to accompany its videos and pictures.
In summary, the book is a collection of blog entries written by the main character, Sam, as she processes being ghosted by her boyfriend “J.” As time progresses she gains both followers and the confidence to reflect on her own mistakes in life thus far. Almost every entry, especially those pertaining to a memory, is followed by a nice drawing or song linked via YouTube. The plot is very loose but with a clear turning point when an anonymous user messages Sam about her failed relationship. Readers are left satisfied by the conclusions Sam comes to by the end of the story.
Usually the rating is explained at the end of a review, but in this case three out of five stars perfectly describes this novel. The story itself is short and sweet with many predictable turns. When Sam reminisces about her relationship she is a little overdramatic, but this is realistic in how someone would manage being left without warning and having to process what went wrong. It is enjoyable to read how Sam turns toward self-reflection through the comments she receives on her tumblr-esque blog. It is also very satisfying to include the support system of friends and family Sam has, who she learns to appreciate again as the story progresses. In all honesty, the book feels a tad too short; there needs to be more time for Sam to learn and grow from her experiences rather than jumping to answers within a couple pages.
This leads to the novel’s most glaring issue: its marketing. The book is described as an experimental novel that incorporates story, video, and pictures. While the pictures accompany each segment nicely, Sam’s songs disrupt the story’s flow. In context of the plot, these are songs written and sung by Sam to reach her ex-boyfriend and a growing group of followers. With this in mind the songs fit nicely and contribute to the reader’s understanding of Sam’s emotions. However, in the context of this novel’s production given by its Introduction, the story seems like it’s meant to compliment the music and not the other way around. This wouldn’t be an issue if the story were further developed, but unfortunately things fell a little flat.
Overall the novel receives three out of five stars for a great concept with an interesting protagonist and lovely music, but an underdeveloped plot.