Daisy and Noah have the same plan: use the holiday concert to land a Julliard audition. But when they’re chosen to play a duet for the concert, they worry that their differences will sink their chances.

Noah, a cello prodigy from a long line of musicians, wants to stick to tradition. Daisy, a fiercely independent disabled violinist, is used to fighting for what she wants and likes to take risks. But the two surprise each other when they play. They fall perfectly in tune.

After their performance goes viral, the rest of the country falls for them just as surely as they’re falling for each other. But viral fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. No one seems to care about their talent or their music at all. People have rewritten their love story into one where Daisy is an inspiration for overcoming her cerebral palsy and Noah is a saint for seeing past it.

Daisy is tired of her disability being the only thing people see about her, and all of the attention sends Noah’s anxiety disorder into high speed. They can see their dream coming closer than it’s ever been before. But is the cost suddenly too high?

This was a cute read that gave some spotlight to a disabled character and another who deals with anxiety. While told from both Daisy and Noah’s POV’s, the focus was definitely more on Daisy, who was born with Cerebral Palsy, and dealing with people seeing her as someone who gets special treatment because of her disability. She gets unwanted sympathy from most everyone in her life, except her family, friends, and music teacher, who see her for who she is with her disability – not pitying her for it.

Because of her disability, Daisy gets ridiculed by some of her classmates. Sometimes it’s about the disability itself or saying she gets special treatment because of it, and that’s the only reason she’s at the music academy – she’s the school’s charity case. It was times like that when I wanted to punch these characters for treating her that way. Even the priest at her church (and mind you, I am a Christian) but the way he and the congregation treated her CP like it was a mistake that God made really ticked me off. 

Noah was the character I was able to relate on a level because of his anxiety disorder. He put too much pressure on himself to meet expectations he set for himself because of the success of his parents and brothers. In his mind, he thought the expectations he was trying to meet were the same as his parents’ expectations for him, but in reality they weren’t. It goes to show how much anxiety can trick our minds and cause more problems for ourselves when we don’t talk to anyone or seek help.

The story itself was good and the romance between Daisy and Noah was sweet, even if the pacing of their romance was a little odd. It was a little too instant for two people dealing with the things they do, especially Noah and his anxiety. I also loved the dynamics between their friend and family units, and all of the support Daisy and Noah got from each one. 

Overall, this is an adorable YA read with plenty of disability/mental health rep that will leave you with a smile at the end.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars