Do you ever read the author’s note and acknowledgements? I love reading them! For example, at the end of Echo, author Pam Muñoz Ryan writes:
It was [in the German Harmonica and Accordion Museum in Trossingen] in a glass case that I discovered the letters from thankful family members of soldiers whose lives were once saved by Hohner harmonicas, and the mutilated instruments, some with bullets still embedded, that had protected them.
Echo – Acknowledgements
I had gooseflesh as I read that because I would never have imagined that a harmonica could save a life. It made Echo all the more poignant because a harmonica, a very special harmonica, is what holds the whole story together.
Echo is a blend of historical fiction and fantasy. It traces the story of an enchanted harmonica that finds its way to people who need it. In this gorgeous book divided into three parts, we read about the harmonica’s role in helping people in different parts of the world in different ways. Set against the backdrop of the second world war, it celebrates the power of music and the way it brings people together.
Echo was a book I enjoyed far more than Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising, which I read a few years ago. As I read, especially in the very last section, I could practically hear the music flowing off the pages. I was completely invested in the characters and loved how it all comes together in the end, in the most harmonious of ways. It is truly, as the blurb puts it, an orchestral crescendo.
| Title | Echo |
| Author | Pam Muñoz Ryan |
| Tags | Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4.5 |
| Ages | 11+ |
Leave a Reply