Review by Jacqueline Thomas
University of Toronto Press, 2020
192 pages, Paperback, $10.95, 1989724051
Middle Grade, Ages 11-13
Mystery, Fiction
No rock costume. however, I spotted two prongs sticking up. gores on top of a mask. I is for impala. I reached up, grasped the horns. threw. the mask landed near the R’s, horns clattering the custodian lumbered to the R’s. I sped out the door, skidding in the water and almost falling. zoomed down the hall.
No Zandi in the lobby. I pushed out the front door.
I saw a bus pulling away-with Zandi at a window.
I charged after the bus “wait! C’mon, wait!” I shouted. The driver must have seen me in his side mirror. He didn’t stop. Of course he didn’t. This was a holiday weekend.
Imagine being given the job of your dreams, except you must solve the robbery that got you the job in the first place.
This is the case for Nate Crocker, a young teenager who is hired to play piano in the courtyard of Vancouver’s newest musical themed high-rise – the Keynote – after his wallet is stolen. He goes on an adventure to find the thief with the help of one of the other robbery victims, Zandi Singh, but quickly learns that things at his employer’s may not be what they seem.
The writing in Melanie Jackson’s The Fifth Beethoven reflects its target age-range well. The book tackles some tricky topics, and I appreciated how the nuanced the approach was to the wealth imbalance and housing crisis in Vancouver. Another highlight of the book for me was Zandi’s character and personality throughout. She seems to be one of the main constants in the book. She is steady, knows what she wants, and is determined to get it. She is the real hero of the book, and while she is only meant to be the love interest to Nate, she does so much more. Nate, on the other hand, seems like a nice and likeable kid, but I had a hard time getting invested into his perspective. He jumps from thought to thought, switching his opinions and beliefs incredibly quickly without stopping to consider why. Because of this, I think I would have appreciated the book more if it was from Zandi’s point of view.
Throughout the novel, I felt both the characters and the location could have been fleshed out a bit more. For instance, there were moments where even I—an adult living in Vancouver—struggled to follow how the author depicted the city. Some plot lines could have been cut without any consequences to the plot, providing valuable space to flesh out the characters and the book’s overall themes. One character who I believe could have used more time within the book was Randall Sherman. Randall is described as on the autism spectrum, but his role in the story felt very flat and stereotypical. By taking a bit of extra time to give his character more dimension, Randall could have acted as a mentee for Nate, creating a more meaningful contribution to the story. Additionally, while this book is targeted toward ages 11-13 with its accessible writing style, certain topics and themes might be confusing for young readers. Because of this, The Fifth Beethoven may be more suited toward an older audience.
Overall, The Fifth Beethoven has an interesting premise that I would be interested to see developed further. While this book wasn’t for me, I would recommend it to audiences who are interested in more mature, real-world concepts than is typically provided at lower reading levels.
Jacqueline is a first year psychology student at UBC. She loves books and you will often find her daydreaming about the next book she wants to write rather than doing her work. She loves to dance, go paddle boarding and hang out with her cat (and her friends).
YOUNG ADULTING 