I read this book because its title reminds me of a person, so I really didn’t know what to expect going into the book. I think I liked it?
See, the thing about Echo is that it’s more of a fairytale than anything else. The book begins with a fairytale about a harmonica, and the entire story afterwards revolves around this magical harmonica. The ending of the book is just finishing the fairytale in the beginning, so though this book might be a bit lacking when it comes to certain depths and feels more suited for a younger audience, it is beautiful in a pure, innocent way, the way fairytales are.
This mythical harmonica ends up in three children’s hands: Fredrich, who lives in Nazi Germany and has a port wine birthmark; Mike, who is an orphan in Philadelphia desperately trying to protect his younger brother; and Ivy, a Mexican-American girl living in California. What I think was interesting about this book is the way that the author managed to tie their storylines together through the harmonica, and the book ends with their stories together as musicians in one orchestra.
I will say the reason why I have my inhibitions about this book might be because of my deeply cynical nature. These three kids all go though so much, and yet nothing bad seems to happen to them at all? Fredrich’s father is returned to him, though his sister is still yet to be heard from, we can all guess that she’s probably fine waiting for her happily ever after. Mike falls from a literal tree and nothing happens to him, and he continues to get adopted by a rich lady who somehow gets married to a man who has known her since she was a child. Ivy’s brother returns from the war, albeit missing two fingers, and she gets to be the youngest flute player in the orchestra. The ending just feels as though it ties up too nicely, too perfectly, so that all of the previous foreshadowing comes to nothing.
In summation, would I recommend this to a student who’s in middle school? Yes. Would I recommend this to a college student who wants to be intellectually stimulated? No. Depends on who, but I would definitely recommend this to the right person.
Happy Friday!!
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