Echo By Pam Muñoz Ryan

Amy

A book worthy of great mention is the type of book:
a)That makes you ache when closing the back cover.
b)That makes you mourn when you say goodbye to its characters.
c)That has characters who live in your heart long after you have finished it.
d)That will bear recommendation for years to come, when you have a student who is ripe for a meaty read...one with extra depth and substance.

Echo IS that book! While some students may be afraid of its size, I would encourage them to look at it as 4 books within one...woven with a common thread...or a common sound. :) As a teacher/librarian, I want to conquer the obstacles that my students will have when they think Echo will take them too much time to read. It is worth the time! I would love to encourage them to take one story at a time...stop by and talk about it with me. Then move onto the next one. What a great conversation that will be!

If only there was time in the school day to collaborate with our music teacher and create our own band of Harmonica Wizards! This book has much life to it! Thank you, Ms. Ryan...for introducing me to Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy. They are dear ones!

MarilynW

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Mark Bramhall (Narrator), David de Vries (Narrator), MacLeod Andrews (Narrator), Rebecca Soler (Narrator), Corky Siegel (Music)

From the beginning, I approached this story as a fairy tale and that allowed me to easily accept the unlikeliness and otherworldliness of some of the events in this tale. I urge you to experience the story through the audiobook because it not only has four narrators but also singing and music. The music is a character all by itself and very important to each person's journey. The story is listed for children, teens, and young adults but I think it works just fine for any age.

We start with Otto, a boy playing hide and seek in the woods, with his friends. But Otto gets lost and finds himself in a "different" place, with three sisters, and they send him back out with a harmonica, as a messenger. After that we spend time with Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California. Each of the preteens' stories start a few years after the last one's story and each story includes the actual harmonica that the three sisters gave to Otto. This harmonica is enchanted and brings that enchantment to the lives of all three children AND saves a life. I don't want to say much more because the stories and music need to be experienced and I don't want to give away too much. Each child is heroic, trying to do what is best for others while also finding their place in difficult situations.

Pub April 8, 2015 by Scholastic Audio Books

Elyse Walters

10 hours of listening.....
The audiobook is *enchanting* within seconds from the start ...
Otto is playing a game of hide and seek with his friends. He drifts further into the woods.....sits down by a tree, and begins to read a book he bought from a gypsy earlier that day.

The historical stories are narrated by 4 different voices.....and take us to Germany, Pennsylvania, and California. The storylines are interconnected and all centered around music. Tales about the Holocaust, two orphans and an orphanage, segregation, and a Japanese Internment camp,
A magical harmonica ties these stories together.....( especially at the end) .....
But no matter what I write about this book , the plot, the characters....( 2016 Newbery Honor), ...masterfully written for all ages by Pam Munoz Ryan....
"Echo" is about music....
I can't imagine that 'reading' this book could compare to the AUDIOBOOK EXPERIENCE.
LISTENING to the orchestra is **harmonious**....and the storytelling is wonderful.

HIGHLY -recommend for audiobook fans
FEEL GOOD......
MAGICAL....
SUSPENSE.....
WARMTH....
FRIENDSHIPS....
HEART....
Listen when walking, folding laundry, resting in a sauna, cutting veggies during dinner prep, or close your eyes lying on the couch....and feel the vibrations!

Swrp

#wow -- this one word could be my review for this enchanting novel, as I truly don't have any words to tell the world what an amazing experience this book has been. Just Incredible!

I can feel a quaver inside me, when I think of that moment when I almost decided not to read this book.

This book can best be described as "joyful" reading, right from the first word.

...and every night as they lay in their beds wondering what joy tomorrow might bring yet knowing how precarious life can be... They repeated the words "Your fate is not yet sealed, even in the darkest night a star will shine, a bell will chime, a path will be revealed...

Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘

For a few hours,
Echo healed my cynical heart with pure hope. Beautifully written and compelling, what I will call an historical fairytale - with all the hardships that come with it - enchanted me from the very first page, and my interest never wavered : Friedrich, Mike, Frankie, Ivy... They all earned a little place in my heart.

One might say that these stories are not free of some kind of simplistic resolution (and I agree), but in my opinion the novel's worth lies elsewhere : in the heartwarming and hopeful messages that music can bring people together and that we all can find the place where we belong, no matter how different we think we are, no matter how intolerant our contemporaries are being, no matter how idiotic and selfish people can be.

As it turns out, I shouldn't have worried about the age target. If I could see straight away that the story was aimed at children, I think that there's a reason we adults come back to fairytales sometimes. As much as I love my Dark Fantasy novels, as much as I complain about the stupid and intolerant comments I see every day on the social medias, there's a part of me that needs to believe. I wouldn't be a teacher if I didn't hope for the future to be more open-minded, more accepting, less scared of differences.

Everyone needs to believe in a better world once in a while, to let a bright day overtake the clouds of ignorance.

Now I'll patiently wait for someone to translate
Echo in French to throw it into my pupils' hands.

PS. I'm rating this book according to its age rank.

For more of my reviews, please visit:

Taryn

Don’t read this book.

Listen to it.

It would be positively criminal to read a print copy of Echo when such a stunning audio version exists. Even if you’ve never tried an audio book, even if you swear it doesn’t count as real reading, get off your high horse and just try it. Your mind will be changed in the first half hour.

The performances by the four readers are amazing, but what puts the production over the top is the seamless incorporation of music from start to finish. Before anything else, Echo is a book about music. I can guarantee you there’s no comparison between reading a printed reference to “Some Enchanted Evening” and hearing it performed by a professional orchestra. And that blues harmonica duet? Get outta town. In print, you only get half the story.

Admittedly, half the story is still really damn good. There are actually four strands to the plot, told one at a time until the very end, when they come together in a beautiful (dare I say harmonious?) way. Each character has a discrete story that could stand on its own, but all four of them are linked through time and distance by a harmonica. Don’t question it—just go with it. That’s the beauty of middle grade literature; you can start with a humble harmonica and end up with a symphony.

This is my feel-good book of the year. Listen to it in the car with the whole family next time you go on a road trip. Listen to it in your kitchen as you make dinner. Listen to it as a pick-me-up when you’re feeling sad.

Just please, please, please—listen to it.

More book recommendations by me at
www.readingwithhippos.com

Hannah Greendale

Echo opens like a fairy tale: Otto is lost in the woods and meets three strange women who tell him of a prophecy concerning a rare harmonica. Enter Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy - three children facing daunting life challenges in the shadow of World War II. In each of their solo stories, Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy are in possession of the same rare harmonica, leaning on music to get them through the hard times.

Myriad themes are explored in this book, but the thread that ties everything together is music. Various instruments and the sounds they produce are described with an audible richness. Music is presented as a metaphor for mankind, where each person is an instrument adding layers to the melody of life:

"Music doesn't have a race or a disposition!" said Father. "Every instrument has a voice that contributes. Music is a universal language. A universal religion of sorts. Certainly it's my religion. Music surpasses all distinctions between people."

Gershwin heard music in the midst of noise, and saw the piece as an array of all that was American: a composition of people of every color, rich or poor, quiet and loud, a mishmash of humanity.

Some of the darkest moments in history are explored in Echo, introducing young readers to the subtle ways in which people succumb to malevolence, forgoing their freedoms and losing their humanity:

"Their hearts hurt. people who used to be friends are no longer friends. Neighbors are not neighbors. During a war, people feel they must blame and take sides. Hearts grow smaller."

Yet another powerful message in Echo has to do with the importance of recognizing and nourishing budding talent in young children. The book suggests that when a child's passion for an activity emerges and a parent is supportive, the child flourishes, resulting in a more fulfilling life.

Each child's story is told separately, which lends itself to the reader feeling a bit disjointed; just when the reader is fully vested in a child, their story halts and a new character is introduced. This might have been a point of dislike had the author not woven all of the stories together with such finesse before the final page.

Echo is a smartly structured, engaging tale that weaves history with heartfelt stories of memorable characters.

Rachel Reads Ravenously

5 stars!

“Everybody has a heart. Sometimes you gotta work hard to find it."

So I read this book based on work recommendations from fellow librarians. These are the librarians who do not rate high very easily and all of them told me this book was a 5 out of 5. I had ZERO interest in reading this book. I mean it's historical fiction AND magic realism? Totally not my thing. But I pulled up my big girl pants and checked it out and gave it a chance, and I am so glad I did!!! This book is something else, and I feel all ages could read it.

Echo tells 3 main stories: Friedrich, Mike and Ivy. All are children of preteen age, they all live in different times, places and circumstances. We get to read each one of their stories separately, and the power of music is what connects their stories in ways you wouldn't have guessed.

“Music does not have a race or a disposition! Every instrument has a voice that contributes. Music is a universal language. A universal religion of sorts. Certainly it's my religion. Music surpasses all distinctions between people."

I cannot say much else than that because SPOILERS. What I can say is that from the first page I couldn't put this book down. The way it's written and the stories involved in it, it's magical. I loved the themes, how many of them are still relevant today. The characters felt so real to me, there were moments where I was in great big tears because apparently I am a wuss. This is a book I can see myself rereading in the future and giving it to a lot of kids to read.

Honestly, I ask you as an adult to read this book. Or read/give it to the child in your life whether it be your child, niece or nephew, family friend, anyone. I know it's aimed at middle grade age range but I feel it's a book any age can love. It's amazing.

I have also had people tell me and read reviews on here where people have said to listen to the audiobook. My friend played me a small bit of the audiobook and I can agree because it plays music that enhances the story.

“She said people on hard times deserved to have beauty in their lives as much as anyone else, whether or not they could pay their rent or were walking to a breadline. Granny said that just because someone was poor didn't mean they were poor of heart.”

Ayse_

I heard about this book from my daughter, who heard about it from her friend who read it 3 times within 10 days. So we were both interested in seeing what it has to offer.

This is a beautiful story which centers around music and a special harmonica. The music unites the stories of 3 protagonists, children that lived during the WWII era. Through 3 different stories and 3 pieces of music (Brahm's Lullaby, Auld Lang Syne, America the Beautiful) we are shown how prejudice, focusing on far-right nationalism, race and ethnicity dissects and seperates; and music as a supreme language unites. The harmonica substituting as a breast plate in tough times and adding polyphonic texture to life is beautiful use of symbolism.

I loved the books' motto:
“Your fate is not yet sealed.
Even in the darkest night, a star will shine,
A bell will chime, a path will be revealed.”

This book can be a wonderful gift for ages 10-14.

Rashika (is tired)

***This review has also been posted on
The Social Potato

Actual Rating 4.5

This book. Oh my god this book. I'd be lying if I said I didn’t know what I was getting into before I started reading the book but knowing how many emotions you will be bombarded with doesn’t really prepare you for them. Nothing does until you’ll sitting there yelling at the book for giving you too many feels (this happened). This book is so gorgeously written and so beautifully imagined and I don’t know where to start.

Perhaps I shall start with the one thing that didn’t work for me and then move on to all the good stuff because good stuff.

There is so much build up and so many emotions running through this book that by the time I got to the ending, I had expected something big and huge but I didn’t get that. The resolutions seemed too easy after everything our characters had been through. And while it may be surprising that I am even suggesting this given the size of the book (it stands at a whopping 592 pages... for the final copy), I think this book should have been longer. I needed a stronger resolution. One that didn’t leave me feeling like I had missed out on a big chunk of these characters’ lives.

So there, bad stuff out of the way. Now on to the good stuff. The stuff I cannot even begin describing because I am not sure I am capable of doing justice to this book with my limited vocabulary. Soooooo… this book IS AWESOMESAUCE. It’s heartbreaking, it’s diverse and it’s so so GOOD. It takes you on a roller coaster of emotions and when you start to fall, you are left hanging, hoping for the best, hoping against hope that there will be a happy ending even though real life offers few. How can I explain the roller coaster of emotions? How can I even begin to explain how MUCH PAIN I WAS IN. How much joy I felt and all the mushy gushy feelings in my heart. Stupid hearts. Making you feel stuff. I think I need to take a break from my heart. HEART, I NEED SPACE OKAY?

This book is divided into 4 parts. The first 3 introduce you to three different characters who are all connected by one simple harmonica, a harmonica that will bring them joy when life will seem bleak, a harmonica that has a magical background story and a harmonica that has a purpose.

Friedrich lives in pre World War II Germany, in a world where he gets to slowly experience Hitler's rise to power. He is witness to all the injustices committed against his fellow friends and even his own father. It’s heartbreaking to read about all these injustices and it’s even more heartbreaking to know what might happen to Friedrich if they don’t leave Germany. The thing that is so fascinating about Friedrich though is how he manages to retain his beliefs even knowing what could be done to him because of them. The only reason he isn’t out there screaming about the injustice of it all is because he doesn’t want to endanger his family. His story, unsurprisingly, is a heartbreaking one.

Then we have Mike and Frankie. Their story is just as heartbreaking even if there lives aren’t as affected by the World War. What they are is orphans, living in a time period where no one cares as much about orphans. Mike, at the young age of 11, has to be incharge of his younger brother and making sure that the two aren’t separated. At the tender age of 11, he has to put someone else’s safety and happiness above his own and if that isn’t heartbreaking, I don’t know what is. Mike is just as brave and lovable as Friedrich and his journey just as beautiful to read about.

The last main character we meet is young Ivy who lives in California. Who, on top of having to deal with moving to a new place, has to deal with injustices at school because of the color of her skin. She just wants to play her music but she cannot even do that in peace. She has to hold her family together, because she promised her brother who is away at war but how can she do that when she has trouble holding herself together? Throughout her story, we get to Ivy grow into herself and mature. We see her make new friends and we see her grow protective about a Japanese family she hasn’t even met. It makes you wonder how these kids can even stand to think about someone other than themselves when their situations are so dire. Their hearts must be so ginormous.

I don't want to talk too much about the historical and magic realism contexts of this novel but know that Pam Ryan Munoz knows what she is doing. This novel may not be about the historical events but the historical setting is NEVER forgotten. It's what affects all of these young kids' lives.

The stories of these three young kids are moving and heartbreaking but at the same time, they offer hope. They show us that not all is lost even when things look like they are never going to get better.

This book is so important and so beautiful and I don’t know what else to say except that you all need to read this. I went into this book knowing I would love it since Ryan is one of my favorite childhood authors and all I can hope is that when you read it, you'll love it just as much as I did.

Brandy Painter

I read this back in February, but forgot to review it, rectifying that now.

Okay. This book is getting a lot of buzz and love, but again I feel out of step with everyone. I really liked aspects of it, but the entire conceit of the novel didn't work for me. There are three historical storylines bound together by a magical harmonica that is the key to releasing three princesses from a curse. The three historical plots are incredibly well done on their own until they all reach their cliffhanger ends, and then I just found myself frustrated each time. Ryan brings it all together in a flash forward at the end, but it feels forced and has a lot of info-dumps so had a rather clumsy feel to it.

Then there's the magical harmonica/cursed princess frame for the story which did not work for me AT ALL. I would have preferred it if the stories had just been tied together by a non-magical harmonica without this frame. The frame really ruined the book for me and seemed pointless. The fantasy element sucked all the magic out of the story for me. Ironic.

Donalyn

Read twice. Still pondering it. The writing is lovely and the characters are memorable.

Katie Hanna

Friends and neighbors, I have an exciting announcement to make.

*clears throat*

Y'all need to read this book.

And when I say you need to read it, I mean you need to read it TODAY.

It's just . . . it's just so . . . I MEAN . . .

*falls on the floor in a heap and hyperventilates because HOW DO I EVEN WORDS RIGHT NOW*

Honestly, this has got to be one of the most brilliant literary masterpieces I've ever read; and I'm seriously not kidding when I say that. It's beautiful and magical and gorgeous and achingly deep and heart-wrenchingly suspenseful and just SO SO SO GOOD. The triumphs and the tragedies and the cliffhangers almost killed me . . . and then the final chapters pretty much finished off what was left of my poor heart. (In a good way, though. Not going to say anything else; because of #spoilers.)

I don't really know how to talk about the plot without messing everything up . . . but I'll try. Basically, this is a story about music and the joy it can bring into our lives, if we let it--even in the midst of terrible hardship and sorrow. More specifically, it's the story of a magic harmonica which travels from owner to owner and infuses each one with its own special strength. The whole book has this amazing, ethereal, fairy-tale-ish quality, while still managing to be deeply realistic and down-to-earth. I cannot believe I never heard of this book before my mom brought it home from the library. IT NEEDS TO BE ON EVERY BESTSELLER LIST IN THE NATION EVER. It's just that good.

It's also six hundred pages long. I definitely skimmed parts of it, not gonna lie. (I NEEDED CLOSURE, PEOPLE. CLIFFHANGERS. LEAVE ME ALONE OKAY.)

Also, there's this:

Danielle

2016 F.A.B. Bookclub pick # I.❤️. F.A.B.

Manybooks

So I do (unless I am in fact reading actual and traditional folklore) tend to rather massively despise novels (and for both child and adult readers) that are too predictable and too much deus-ex-machina. And yes indeed, while the external frame narrative of Pam Muńoz Ryan’s Echo might well contain quite a number of traditional folkloric elements, sorry, but in my not so humble opinion, neither the former nor the three presented novellas of Echo are in any way successfully enough penned by Muñoz Ryan. For they really are not at ALL interesting, since the presented texts of Echo do most certainly offer for and to me absolutely nothing new and really not anything even remotely sufficiently engaging and entertaining (and well, personally speaking, how and why author Pam Muñoz Ryan has to in fact managed to actually win a 2016 Newbery Honour designation for Echo, this has therefore also truly and frustratingly left me very strongly shaking my head and majorly flabbergasted).

Because truly and honestly, and as far as both content and style go, I have been rather majorly and massively disappointed and totally bored with and by virtually each and every part of Echo (with basically ALL of Pam Muñoz Ryan’s text), as her frame fairy tale is truly just a very pale and ridiculously lifeless reflection of much better and much more intriguing both European and non European folk and fairy stories and traditions, and as far as I am concerned, with regard to how Pam Muñoz Ryan has penned the three featured novellas of Echo, they are equally and all and sundry textually much much too derivative, too stereotypical, and so tediously same old, same old, same old so as for me to be not only incredibly annoyed, but yes, I was also very seriously tempted to not even bother with finishing Echo. And yes indeed, I actually almost do wish that I had in fact decided to abandon Echo. For as much as I have found the fairy tale base and the three featured novellas of Echo uninteresting, derivative and massively yawn-inducing, the saccharinely and sickly sweet ending of Echo, this has in fact made me almost feel physically ill and as though I had been forced to consume a roomful of sticky cotton candy, not to mention that the ending also rather majorly trivialises the three presented stories. Since truly, while I have found Pam Muñoz Ryan’s printed words annoyingly tedious and nothing novel, nothing even somewhat original and new, there are still important messages regarding freedom and courage portrayed in the three Echo novellas but which I do believe the “everything is suddenly and ridiculously and totally hunky-dory” conclusion for me then totally and utterly seems to destroy.

Susan

585 pages of historical fiction magic! I started this one on the eve of a second snow day in a row (of snow days I am NOT a fan) and actually woke up the next morning wishing for snow day #3 so I could continue reading! Now that, folks, is a HIGH recommendation! I loved the way Ryan wove three stories together across a tapestry of music, sprinkling a dust of magic from beginning to end.

I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you or order ECHO on IndieBound:
http://www.indiebound.org/book/978043...

Pauline

Wow...you know the magic you felt the first time you read Harry Potter? Yeah, that.
I felt that as I read this book - it's hefty and complex and there are multiple storylines -
but, it is SO worth the investment of your time and energy!

The genre here is blurry - fantasy, fairy tale, historical fiction, multicultural - what exactly is happening? There is this magical element that is all about the POWER OF MUSIC and that sustained my interest. This book is beautifully written; I laughed, I cried, and the entire fourth part gave me goosebumps as I realized how the threads all came together...

This book comes out in February 2015 - do yourself a favor and pre-order it with your local bookseller now!

Sara (sarawithoutanH)

This book is so adorable and I loved all of the characters. This book covers a series of important topics and events in history, and I loved the fact the children will be reading this and learning about those times. The writing style was decent, although it skewed a little young. My biggest complaint was where each story cut off. This book follows three different storylines and I found that where the stories would jump to the next was very annoying. You'd be right at the height of the action and then the narrative would suddenly switch to an entirely new character, which irked me to no end. Luckily, I loved each and every character so I begrudgingly let it go (kind of.. I'm still salty, obvs). Either way, this book is adorable and great.

Colby Sharp

Ryan is a master storyteller.

Beverly

So engrossing and lovely, a book that starts as a fairytale and evolves into an exploration of some of our darkest points in history, it is marvelous. The best book I've read in a while.

Darla

This is a magical tale with the lives of four children connected to a magic harmonica. The bulk of the tale takes place in pre-WWII Germany, the east coast during the depression and then in California after Pearl Harbor.

The author takes her time having you get to know each child in turn. You see their family struggles, the effect of history on the choices they are making and how music adds beauty to each of their lives. Part IV is a beautiful climax filled with orchestra music and resolution to the stories you have heard about Otto, Friedrich, Mike (and Frankie) and Ivy.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to listen to this in audiobook format. There are lovely musical interludes in each section that help you to feel like you are inside the book.

megan

Echo will forever remain one of the best books I have ever read. When I was seven years old, I picked it up in the library and fell in love with it after reading one page, and that love has only intensified as the years have gone by.

It is a story that is utterly indescribable, and doesn’t fit into any categories. It is unlike anything I have ever read, in a genre all on its own. It is magical realism and a historical fairytale; a story of loss and hope, of courage and resilience. It is truly unforgettable.

”Your fate is not yet sealed.
Even in the darkest night, a star will shine,
A bell will chime, a path will be revealed.”

Three princesses, one prophecy, four children, and one harmonica. In a fairytale world from long ago, three sisters are given a task to end their enslavement under an evil witch—to save a soul from Death’s dark door. In a desperate attempt to free themselves, they infuse a magical harmonica with their music, passing it on in hopes that they might someday, somehow, save someone’s life through it.

The harmonica finds its way into the hands of four children—Otto in Germany, Freidrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California. While most view it as just a wooden instrument, the sisters’ harmonica means so much more to each of the children, shaping their lives in different ways.

I don’t think I can put into words how much this story means to me. I know I’ve said it before but I’m going to say it again: Echo is unlike anything I have ever read and ever will read. Pam Muñoz Ryan has a genius mind—able to string together stories and characters in a way that still manages to make me fall in love with them. Nothing will ever compare to the masterful story that is Echo.

”It’s about what folks want but don’t have. No matter how much you don’t have, there’s always so much more of life to be had...and there’s equal ‘mount of maybe-things’ll-get-better-someday-soon.”

It’s truly best to go into this novel knowing as little as possible. There’s a reason the synopsis is so vague, the reading experience is ten times better if you barely know anything at all. This is why I won’t go too into detail in my review, and instead speak more generally about my favorite parts.

I first want to start off by saying that this book deserves so much more hype. It is brilliant, and yet I barely see anyone reading it. if I’m being honest, I could say the same about all of Ryan’s books, (but that’s a talk for another day.) Echo is a book that I can see having the potential to become a modern-day classic, if only it had more readers and more hype. Yes, it is an older book, and a rather thick middle-grade, but that’s not going to stop me from recommending it to everyone I know.

“The sound of music is like water finding a path.”

Music is something that plays a big role in this story, in each of the character’s lives. The sweeping descriptions of music and the way it is integrated into the book is probably my favorite part of the entire story. I have loved music myself for as long as I can remember, and started playing piano right around the time that I read this book for the first time.

I felt as if I was able to relate to the characters even more because of our shared love of music, and I still feel that way today. Including the theme of music in this novel made it so comforting, and every time I crack open the book and lose myself in the story of fate and music and wonder it truly feels like coming home.

I once heard someone compare Echo to a musical fairytale, and there’s really no other way to describe it. The way that music quite literally saves some of the character’s lives is magical, and the utmost reason I adore this book so much.

“Music does not have a race or a disposition! Every instrument has a voice that contributes. Music is a universal language. A universal religion of sorts. Certainly it's my religion. Music surpasses all distinctions between people."

Although this book is technically a middle-grade, and reads a bit like one, it is still one that I think could cross the divide between middle-grade and young adult, and even adult. There are so many beautiful aspects of the story that can be found no matter what age you read it at, and I’m still discovering some of them as I continue to re-read it over and over and over again.

If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ll ever stop. The story of Otto and Friedrich and Mike and Ivy has bewitched me, changed my life, broken my heart.

Everyone has that one book that they will never forget, and Echo is mine.

Lori Elliott (catching up)

‘Your fate is not sealed. Even in the darkest night, a star will shine, a bell will chime, a path will be revealed’. - Pam Muñoz Ryan, Echo

Such an endearing story!

I highly recommend the audio version to get the whole experience of the musical interludes. I read it at a speed of 1.2, which made the music just the right pace. I really enjoyed how the stories of each character came together. 4.5 stars.

Caitlin

When I received this book as an arc, I was so very excited. The whole premise of the book was enticing to me, and I couldn't wait to dig in! The stories within the book are decent. However, I was hoping for a way better ending than that. There wasn't enough "wow!" to the way it was concluded. So much could have been done with tying these stories together, and then incorporating the fairy tale aspect a little more creatively.

The book is just shy of 600 pages long. My arc says that this book's audience is grades 5-9. I have a really hard time seeing a 5th or 6th grader seeing this mammoth of a book and saying "oh! I'm going to read this one!" Of course, there are exceptions. Some kids just really like to read and it may peak their interest. The stories are written simply enough for that age range, I just fear that the size alone will scare most kids away.

Very interesting idea for a book. I loved the historical fiction aspect of it. I just didn't like the conclusion or the delivery of how the stories intertwined. The ending was rushed. We just read a 600 page book...the reward of a well written ending would have been fabulous. I wish I could go into detail as to WHY I didn't care for the ending, but there is no way to do that without revealing too much.

I received this arc from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Sherwood Smith

This was a beautifully written, clear yet complex, magical novel with a structure I really disliked.

I think the best way to describe that structure is that the story is a frame tale, going from completely magical to our world, in which we meet, one after the other, three sets of characters over about twenty years: Friedrich in Germany at the rise of Hitler (the impact on ordinary citizens evoked powerfully, and true to all my reading, yet done in a way a ten year old reader could grasp); Michael and his brother Frankie a few years later, orphans in tough times; and finally Ivy, during World War II, when American citizens with Japanese heritage were regarded with suspicion and even hatred.

Each of these tales involves music in a beautifully evoked way--and each comes to a cliffhanger before moving on to the next, and at the end all three are twined together. As a kid reader I would have really hated that. As an adult, I felt a bit cheated that those dramatic moments were resolved in flashback twenty years later.

And yet the book was so beautifully written, the characters so complex, and compassionately written, that I loved the book in spite of the structure.

Further, the frame could have been left off entirely and it would have been just as good, so superlative was the evocation of those three sets of characters.

monica kim

I’m so thankful that this is my last book of the year. It’s a story set in darkness but full of hope. If I had to make any comparisons, I’d say it’s like The Book Thief meets Coco meets Pans Labyrinth. Also, I implore you, read via the audiobook. The music played really adds to the story, and the narrators are brilliant.

Ken

It will be interesting to see how young readers take to this ambitious book. My paperback copy stretches to just under 600 pages, always a consideration with books for children. That said, the font is quite large and the spacing between words quite generous. The book starts and ends with a fairy tale, but the bulk of it is divided into three main stories, all linked by a harmonica.

The first story is like a young readers' version of The Book Thief. That is, Ryan digs into the endlessly ample Nazi mine by telling the story of young Friedrich, a boy with a birthmark in 1933 Germany. Nazis have little use for "physical deficiencies" and Friedrich's eccentricities (he conducts to music in his head) don't help. Add a dad who has little sympathy for the new Nazi leader (some Hitler guy), and you see trouble arriving sooner rather than later. It does.

Section II takes a page out of Little Orphan Annie, only in this case the setting, Philadelphia, offers little brother orphans Mike and Frankie. They both love -- surprise! -- music. And like Friedrich, Mike is a whiz on the harmonica. His issue is first a wicked boys' home head mistress (Miss Pennyweather, as opposed to Miss Hannigan), and then a foster mother who doesn't want to foster him (or at least both him and Frankie). Earnest Mike does his best to keep the brothers together, but can he pull it off against all odds?

While somewhat derivative, both Parts I and II are stronger than the last, which covers the story of Ivy, a Mexican-American girl in California whose family befriends a Japanese clan that is targeted by anti-Japanese sentiment and sent off to an American camp. Ivy receives (ten guesses) a harmonica -- the same one with an "M" on it that both Friedrich and Mike once held. Her brother is in the service. Her father is trying to help the Japanese family. It's a multi-cultural win-win scenario in the making.

The end pulls all of these strands together satisfactorily -- as long as you don't mind a little coincidence and good luck with your coffee. Overall, the style of the book is a classic one. It reads like something written a hundred years ago, it's so squeaky clean. Will it fly in young Peoria? Will teens and tweens take to it? I'm as interested as the next guy. It could be the next big thing because it's so well-written. Or it could be a bust because it's so heartwarming and long, two unpredictable things when it comes to young readers -- sometimes it matters and sometimes not. Like everything, it depends.

* Update: Only one student -- my best 8th-grade reader -- has picked this book up. The bad news is she just shrugged her shoulders over it. She thought it was "young" and only "mildly interesting," making me wonder if this is another one of those books that will appeal more to adult readers of YA than to YA readers themselves.

Brierly

Echo was a fairytale revolving around a harmonica. It would be a shame not to listen to this audiobook. I just signed up for Audible and after some thought I chose this as my first audiobook. Unfortunately, I might have set an unreasonable standard for them. Echo has a musical accompaniment that brings the story to life.

Concerning narrative, Echo follows three separate children during 1930s / 1940s, leading up to their future concert at Carniege Hall. The first story follows Friedrich, a young boy in Hilter's Germany. I liked this story, even though I found some elements a bit unbelieveable. The next story follows Mike, a young boy in Pennsylvania. Even though my family is from this exact area, I could not connect to Mike's Great Depression story. The final story is Ivy, a young girl in California. Ivy deals with racisim and Japanese interment (she herself is Latina). Ivy's story was my favorite of the three. All of this is framed in a somewhat confusing fairytale about a boy named Otto, the original harmonica owner. You see, each of the characters will play this harmonica, and it will bring them hope in times of despair.

Of course, there were a few plot holes, but I found this book to be compelling. I did not like how the voices were exaggerated for the POC characters--an accent isn't always necessary to convey race. The music was beautiful and the plot was uplifting. A great audiobook experience.

Katie

Ridiculously long. I felt each story was far longer than it needed to be. Depressing, too. I didn't get a lot from each story, either. Each one had a Mary-Sue struggling against some great historical injustice. I couldn't really connect with them. They had no personality at all. Also I hate stories where everything was just a big misunderstanding so the middle story was particularly annoying. I did appreciate that it all tied together but by that point I just wanted it to be over so much I wasn't particularly impressed or moved. In fact, I had forgotten some important details and had to go back and refresh my memory. So, no. I didn't love it but it wasn't the worst thing in the world. I just can't seem myself recommending it to anyone, though.

Beth

Echo is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read, or listened to as it were. The listening experience I think is superior to reading the physical book. Because Echo revolves around the magic of music, hearing the pieces that Ryan describes adds an extra emotional element to the narrative that reading alone cannot fulfill. There were many times I had to stop what I was doing, close my eyes, and let the music take me away. Those moments when I could actually hear the music and not just attempt to hear it in my mind, made the story so much richer and more impactful for me. I may have cried a time or two or four.

Because the presence of the music in the audiobook was so integral to the listening experience, there was actually a moment toward the end of the book when the absence of music detracted from the narrative and made it feel like something was missing. When Mike was playing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, there was no music to accompany Ryan's descriptions. Since a soundtrack always accompanied the narration every other time music was mentioned in the story, this moment's absence it felt like there was a gaping hole in the audio production. If I had to venture a guess as to why it was missing, I'd say it likely had to do with permissions and copyright issues, so I hate to fault the audiobook producer for this missing element, but I do think it marred the listening experience just the slightest bit. It made me downgrade the audiobook from absolute perfection to pretty amazing – which is still a pretty darn good rating.

When I first saw the heft of Echo – and the fact that it was historical fiction, I initially balked. I could not imagine who I would recommend this book to. Historical fiction is already a hard enough sell, but then when you factor in the length, I thought Echo was doomed from the start. But I was too quick to judge. This book is beyond masterfully written, though it is that – with its delicately woven threads coming perfectly together to a seamless whole at the end. And while yes, this is historical fiction, it is also much more than that. There is an emotional element to this story that I find most historical fiction, no matter how compelling, often lacks. Echo is a book for not only the readers in your life who love music, but also for those sensitive readers who are looking for books to be transcendent – to give you an experience beyond your emotions, becoming almost a spiritual experience. And that is what makes Echo more than just a heartprint book for me – it is a book that feeds my soul.

Read my entire review
on my blog.

Title	:	Echo
Author	:	Pam Muñoz Ryan
Rating	:
ISBN	:	0439874025
ISBN-10	:	9780439874021
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Hardcover
Number of Pages	:	597
Publication	:	First published February 24, 2015
Awards	:	Newbery Medal (2016), Odyssey Award (2016), Texas Bluebonnet Award (2017), Audie Award Middle Grade (2016), Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (2017), Américas Award (2016), Children's Literature Council of Southern California Award Outstanding Work of Fiction (2016), Kirkus Prize Young Readers' Literature (2015), Goodreads Choice Award Middle Grade & Children's (2015), Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (2017)

Echo Reviews

Releated on Echo