Over the summer, I had the privilege of reading an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) of a book called For the Record written by Charlotte Huang. This book crept up on me and stole my heart out of nowhere. I love how it grew on me.
The story centers on Chelsea Ford, a teenage girl who joins the rock band Melbourne as an attempt to escape her boring life in Lydon, Michigan. Melbourne’s previous lead singer, Hollis Carter, left huge shoes to fill when she took off for college and a normal life. Chelsea faces the challenges of living up to Hollis’ legacy, pleasing a hostile bassist and dealing with the hectic schedule of Melbourne’s tour.
Meet the Band: Chelsea Ford is the lead singer. Pem Fuller is the uptight bassist who always gets mad at Chelsea for something. Malcolm Ho plays the drums. Beckett Moore plays guitar and sings background vocals. I love the mix of the band members’ personalities as well as those of the crew. My favorite band members are Malcolm and Beckett. Malcolm’s aloofness makes him adorable. Although he quips at Chelsea sometimes, he always makes up for it later. Beckett is amazing as well. He takes Chelsea everywhere and finds the best places for food and records. He is gentle, caring and protective, which makes him the perfect companion.
Another thing I love about this book is how much the band travels and sightsees despite their crazy schedule. I especially love when Beckett and Chelsea go off on excursions together.
And what’s a good story without a love triangle? As For the Record progresses, Chelsea gets caught up in feelings for both Lucas Rivers, a movie star, and Beckett Moore, her bandmate. I’ll leave it up to you to find out who she ends up with. This is the point where the book started to suck me in.
The ultimate reason I love this book so much is its unpredictability. I love a book that can keep me on my toes and continue to surprise me, and that is exactly what this story does. Many plot twists caught me off guard, which was so refreshing. I just have to warn you that a lot of the juicy tidbits comes out back-to-back in a couple of chapters near the end. I was not prepared so I hope you can be more prepared than I was.
The ending sealed the deal for me. I did not expect it at all, and it almost made me cry.