ARC Review: Someday, Somewhere by Lindsay Champion

Release Date: April 3rd

"Ben was music. And that's the thing about music, I guess. It begins, it consumes you and then it ends."

If this book were a person, I'd squish their cheeks right about now. This was just such an enthralling YA contemporary.
So, this story is told in dual POV - Ben, who's a musical prodigy living on the Upper East Side, studying at this prestige conservatory and who cares about almost nothing besides music. Then we have Dominique, who lives in a bad part of Trenton with her mother who runs her own struggling Laundromat, basically surviving with a steady diet of beans and rice. On a chance school trip to New York, Dom sees Ben playing the violin and is mesmerized - almost as much as I was by their story.

Let's break this down:

+ the characters
Listen, Dom and Ben are fan-fucking-tastic, I can't even.
Ben is this violinist prodigy who spends every single minute of every single day playing his heart out because he knows he can only be the best if he practices constantly. The passion he puts into his music translated so beautifully in this novel, I wanted to cry. I'm absolutely tone deaf but always had daydreams about being this brilliant virtuoso, and I might have lived a bit vicariously through Ben's experience.
Dom, on the other hand, lives a completely different life. She comes from a poor household, she loves dancing, and she can't afford to take classes because her mom and her are barely scraping by. This was executed so well - so often in literature, people just slap the label 'poor' on characters to show their struggle, but Dom felt so real. She has to help out her mom, doesn't get an allowance and basically only gets to meet Ben because she has this best friend Cass (who is the coolest) who helps her out any way he can so she can get her happily ever after. Friendship goals right there.

+ the themes
MUSIC. I can't read sheet music, I can't tell you if a specific sonata is by Beethoven or Vivaldi or whoever, but I love listening to classical music and this book just perfectly described the feeling??
10/10 would recommend listening to the pieces Ben mentions while reading the book!
The wish for more. I love the ambition in this book: Dom and Cass want to get out of Trenton, want to move to New York and have their own lives away from the poor one they grew up in. Though Dom never loses sight of how improbable it seems, she also fights for her better future. Ben is determined to be the youngest, best violinist out there. This drive (which as we learn pretty early on is unhealthy) and struggle and pressure was so relatable I wanted to cry.
Mental illness. It sneaks up on you in this book, but the bipolar disorder rep was incredible. We get this slow unraveling of Ben, these phases he goes through as he grows more frantic and erratic, not only in the pursuing of his music but in his relationships and it was so intoxicating I'm getting a bit antsy just writing about it.

+ the romance
...was actually my least favorite part of this?! Don't get me wrong, Dom and Ben are adorable, but I'm always hesitant about instalove and it just didn't feel entirely authentic that the both of them were talking about love literally after meeting three times and not having any real contact between those meetings. That being said, boy, were they cute when they were actually together. Their meet cute at a fountain made my cold heart beat faster.

+ the ending (spoilers ahead, fair warning!)
...left me a bit disappointed. We get pretty good closure concerning Dom's story, but Ben's story just - stops. I just wish we would have learned more about how he recovered and what happened to his musical career. Has he switched instruments? Has he found a healthy balance in his life? Is he still obsessing over music? I need answers!

If you're looking for a YA contemporary with a lot of heart, a handsome violinist and some good mental illness rep, this one's for you!

*I was provided with an e-arc through Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review, so thank you!*