A Song I wrote For Charlotte

 By: Caitlin Devlin

Location: FIC DEV

Genre: Realistic Fiction- LGBGT

  A Song I Wrote for Charlotte follows Connie Moore who ends up studying English Literature at university after she does not get into the Royal Academy of Music. Connie is determined to stay focused, but music production student Charlotte Owen drags Connie into university life. As their friendship grows, Connie begins to wonder if there is more to how she feels about Charlotte. But Charlotte isn’t the kind of person you can hold onto forever. And Connie might have to consider whether the life Charlotte has built for her is one she can sustain alone.

Review by Lydia

So this one hurt. Like I am emotionally destroyed and need about 5-10 business days to recover.

It's rare to find a book set in a UK university and this one captures that experience so well - the endless pasta cooking, flyering on campus, moving into a flat with strangers. It reminded me so much of uni which was very nostalgic and also emotional knowing I won't experience that again.

I also really connected to this because I related so much to Connie, who is heavily implied to be neurodivergent. This makes the social aspect of university difficult for her, along with the pressure she puts on herself to excel. Honestly, I wish I could've read this back when I started uni (and wasn't aware of my own neurodivergence) - I would've felt so much less alone in my awkwardness.

It was interesting to see her family dynamic and how that impacted her as well. It helped to understand her character and it warmed my heart to see Connie's character growth as the story progressed.

All the characters were so well written. I loved Charlotte and her persistence in befriending Connie. A literal ray of sunshine character. Her and Connie grow closer and closer, at first to Connie's resistance, as the book progresses and it is very sweet. Loved how they connected over music too!!

The side characters did feel very realistic and I could so easily picture all of them. The laddish boys, the posh girls. I have such a soft spot in my heart for her flatmates Toby, Eli and Imran. There was very much a found family element to the story that made it both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

I don't want to say too much but let's just say I wasn't expecting the ending! I'm maybe never getting over it.

This is such a beautifully written coming-of-age story that deals so authentically with themes of queerness, neurodivergence, friendship and grief.