Review: Signal to Noise

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Narrated by Kyla Garcia
Presented by Spotify Audiobooks

Meche is kind of a terrible person, but I somehow still felt for her.

This was a sweet coming of age tale set in Mexico City, featuring a splash of magic to make things interesting. I enjoyed it.

Essentially, three friends discover magic through music, and decide to cast some spells to enhance their lives. But they're also moody teenagers, so naturally nothing goes smoothly.

It jumps back and forth between 2009, where Meche has returned to Mexico City after her father's passing, and 1989, when Meche and her friends, Sebastian and Daniela discovered magic.

This is very much an ode to music, with countless titles and artists mentioned, and a cheeky throwback to Walkmans and record players. I imagine the nostalgia will hit harder for those who grew up in Mexico City or surrounds, but even as an Aussie I found myself chuckling at my own memories similar to what the characters were experiencing.

As much of the story focuses on the three teens, there are a lot of emotions flying around. It's easy to judge Meche but when one recalls what kids are like, the feelings toward Meche soften. I thought she was a well crafted character, and the different shades of her personality fitted well to make this story interesting, if dramatic in the way only teenage drama can be.

The narrator did a great job of telling the story and injecting personality into each of the characters. I find I really enjoy the audio presentations of books that use foreign (to me) languages, because the pronunciation is naturally better than I'd read in my head and it gives it a much more authentic feel. So I'm very appreciative of the narrator for that. She did a great job.

A fun listen, and a great example of the scope of this author's writing. I believe this is a re-release of her debut novel, so I'm happy to have experienced it.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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