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The Big Rewind
Jett Bennett moved to New York to become a music journalist. What she found was a temp gig as a proofreader, but at least she’s fitting in with the artists and musicians in the tragically hip Brooklyn neighborhood she calls home.
But when Jett opens up her mail and finds a mix tape meant for her neighbor, KitKat, a local queen bee renowned for her “enhanced” baked goods and retro videogame collection, everything changes. Jett drops off the cassette and discovers that it’s game over for KitKat: someone bashed her head in with a rolling pin… and left her pot brownies burning in the oven.
KitKat’s boyfriend, Bronco, is M.I.A. Her sister is so desperate that she asks Jett to snoop around. Then there’s that mix tape. Jett didn’t know KitKat well, but she knows music. And a tape full of love songs from someone other than Bronco screams motive—sending Jett and her best friend, Sid, on an epic quest to find KitKat’s killer through record stores, strip joints, vegan bakeries, and basement nightclubs—a journey that resonates with Jett, and her past, in unexpected ways.
But when Jett opens up her mail and finds a mix tape meant for her neighbor, KitKat, a local queen bee renowned for her “enhanced” baked goods and retro videogame collection, everything changes. Jett drops off the cassette and discovers that it’s game over for KitKat: someone bashed her head in with a rolling pin… and left her pot brownies burning in the oven.
KitKat’s boyfriend, Bronco, is M.I.A. Her sister is so desperate that she asks Jett to snoop around. Then there’s that mix tape. Jett didn’t know KitKat well, but she knows music. And a tape full of love songs from someone other than Bronco screams motive—sending Jett and her best friend, Sid, on an epic quest to find KitKat’s killer through record stores, strip joints, vegan bakeries, and basement nightclubs—a journey that resonates with Jett, and her past, in unexpected ways.
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2016
23 people are currently reading
1307 people want to read
About the author
Libby Cudmore
23 books70 followersLibby Cudmore worked at temp agencies and record stores before settling down in Upstate New York to write full time. Her forthcoming debut novel, THE BIG REWIND (William Morrow, February 2016) is being hailed as "smart, poignant, and addicting," (Kristi Belcamino, BLESSED ARE THE DEAD). Her short stories have been published in PANK, THE BIG CLICK, THE STONESLIDE CORRECTIVE and BIG LUCKS. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and makes all her own notebooks.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
October 23, 2018
My introduction to the fiction of Libby Cudmore is her debut novel The Big Rewind. Published in 2016, this book asks the question, "Can a novel that opens with lyric by Warren Zevon, one of the greatest songwriters of all time, be terrible?" I don't know what question Cudmore's story asks because after four breezy chapters, I abandoned it. From what I did read, this book is obnoxious. It is ridiculous. It is so coated with artificial sweetener that it should come with its own warning label. It is so pleased with its pop references and its cleverness and its jokes that Bridget Jones would toss it back into her carry-on luggage and talk to other passengers instead of continuing with it.
The story involves the adventures of Jett Bennett, recent college graduate with a master's degree in musical journalism who heads to New York. After hitting a few bumps in the road (living between two curtains with eleven roommates in an artist's loft, accepting work as a proofreader for a private investigation firm) she is given her grandmother's rent controlled apartment in the Barter Street district of Brooklyn. Jett is one of these idiots who comments on the too-hip mommies ordering their soy lattes at Perk Up! who've ruined the neighborhood, with no irony that she herself just arrived there a New York minute ago with just as much if not more white privilege than anybody else.
This doesn't stop Jett from talking about how wonderful her neighborhood is. Her neighbor KitKat greeted her with a basket of muffins and lightbulbs like the big sister she'd always wanted, showing her around the neighborhood. Jett intercepts KitKat's mail, discovering a mix tape, and when she enters her neighbor's apartment, finds the kitchen splattered with blood and the baker's brains bashed in with a rolling pin. When she's not dropping pop culture or social media references, Jett will apparently assume the mantle of all great private investigators and solve the Case of the Cake Baker Corpse, with the help of her boy friend Sid and a killer soundtrack, of course.
Like me, he was a transplant trying to make his way among natives, and it bonded us as fast friends. He traveled light, arriving with a tablet and a new phone, a few vests and ties for work, a pair of weekend jeans, and an electric razor. I reintroduced him to the physical pleasures of vinyl one night over Trader Joe's brie in puff pastry, and as he began to build his collection of XTC and Duran Duran, I let him keep his platters at my place. It assured us at least one date a week, like visitation rights to records I had primary custody of. For the first month we were friends, I hoarded those nights like pirate treasure, living in this constant fear that he would find someone cooler to hang out with. What was a bottle of wine and some old vinyl compared to the city's vast array of nightclubs and wild, willing girls? I'd already lost the last guy I loved, Catch, to such a world, and I kept waiting for it to seduce Sid into its neon arms. But he kept coming by, week after week, with a new record in hand and that same Christmas-light smile, and my fears began to settle.
The blurb from author Kristi Belcamino on the cover reads, "Like Nick Hornby's High Fidelity for women ... The Big Rewind is smart, poignant, and addictive." In the author's defense, being compared to Nick Hornby and High Fidelity sets expectations that can't reasonably be fulfilled. For me, that's like saying someone's debut LP is going to be like Van Halen by Van Halen for women or their debut film like Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino for women. I'll state that I ended up not being the demographic for this novel, but rather than leave it at that, I want to dig a bit deeper into why for me personally, fiction like this is so awful.
What Hornby does that Cudmore is unable or unwilling to is the number one thing artists should strive for at all costs and that is to tell the truth. In Hornby's debut novel, his narrator Rob Fleming is a real person. He has a real name. He has a real education (college dropout) and employment (owns a record store going broke). His friends don't bring him muffins, they bring him grief. He doesn't live in a rent-controlled apartment with a claw-toed bathtub that his grandmother gave him, he lives in a one-bedroom flat his ex-girlfriend tells him to fix up on her way out the door. This is real and in recognizing it as real, for readers like me, it's compelling.
Jett Bennett is a cookie cutout. She is fake. She has a fake name. She has fake credentials. (How many people with master's degrees in music journalism do you know?) She has friends who are murdered on their kitchen floors. (How many of us have encountered this dilemma?) She lives in a rent-controlled apartment in one of the hippest neighborhoods on Earth, with the hippest residents and the hippest retail stores and the hippest foods at the hippest parties that get blogged on the hippest websites. Are you in a sugar coma yet? Her ex-boyfriend's name is Catch! The couple next door are named KitKat and Bronco! Not only is this all the opposite of compelling, it's making me lightheaded. In a medical alert sense.
The story involves the adventures of Jett Bennett, recent college graduate with a master's degree in musical journalism who heads to New York. After hitting a few bumps in the road (living between two curtains with eleven roommates in an artist's loft, accepting work as a proofreader for a private investigation firm) she is given her grandmother's rent controlled apartment in the Barter Street district of Brooklyn. Jett is one of these idiots who comments on the too-hip mommies ordering their soy lattes at Perk Up! who've ruined the neighborhood, with no irony that she herself just arrived there a New York minute ago with just as much if not more white privilege than anybody else.
This doesn't stop Jett from talking about how wonderful her neighborhood is. Her neighbor KitKat greeted her with a basket of muffins and lightbulbs like the big sister she'd always wanted, showing her around the neighborhood. Jett intercepts KitKat's mail, discovering a mix tape, and when she enters her neighbor's apartment, finds the kitchen splattered with blood and the baker's brains bashed in with a rolling pin. When she's not dropping pop culture or social media references, Jett will apparently assume the mantle of all great private investigators and solve the Case of the Cake Baker Corpse, with the help of her boy friend Sid and a killer soundtrack, of course.
Like me, he was a transplant trying to make his way among natives, and it bonded us as fast friends. He traveled light, arriving with a tablet and a new phone, a few vests and ties for work, a pair of weekend jeans, and an electric razor. I reintroduced him to the physical pleasures of vinyl one night over Trader Joe's brie in puff pastry, and as he began to build his collection of XTC and Duran Duran, I let him keep his platters at my place. It assured us at least one date a week, like visitation rights to records I had primary custody of. For the first month we were friends, I hoarded those nights like pirate treasure, living in this constant fear that he would find someone cooler to hang out with. What was a bottle of wine and some old vinyl compared to the city's vast array of nightclubs and wild, willing girls? I'd already lost the last guy I loved, Catch, to such a world, and I kept waiting for it to seduce Sid into its neon arms. But he kept coming by, week after week, with a new record in hand and that same Christmas-light smile, and my fears began to settle.
The blurb from author Kristi Belcamino on the cover reads, "Like Nick Hornby's High Fidelity for women ... The Big Rewind is smart, poignant, and addictive." In the author's defense, being compared to Nick Hornby and High Fidelity sets expectations that can't reasonably be fulfilled. For me, that's like saying someone's debut LP is going to be like Van Halen by Van Halen for women or their debut film like Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino for women. I'll state that I ended up not being the demographic for this novel, but rather than leave it at that, I want to dig a bit deeper into why for me personally, fiction like this is so awful.
What Hornby does that Cudmore is unable or unwilling to is the number one thing artists should strive for at all costs and that is to tell the truth. In Hornby's debut novel, his narrator Rob Fleming is a real person. He has a real name. He has a real education (college dropout) and employment (owns a record store going broke). His friends don't bring him muffins, they bring him grief. He doesn't live in a rent-controlled apartment with a claw-toed bathtub that his grandmother gave him, he lives in a one-bedroom flat his ex-girlfriend tells him to fix up on her way out the door. This is real and in recognizing it as real, for readers like me, it's compelling.
Jett Bennett is a cookie cutout. She is fake. She has a fake name. She has fake credentials. (How many people with master's degrees in music journalism do you know?) She has friends who are murdered on their kitchen floors. (How many of us have encountered this dilemma?) She lives in a rent-controlled apartment in one of the hippest neighborhoods on Earth, with the hippest residents and the hippest retail stores and the hippest foods at the hippest parties that get blogged on the hippest websites. Are you in a sugar coma yet? Her ex-boyfriend's name is Catch! The couple next door are named KitKat and Bronco! Not only is this all the opposite of compelling, it's making me lightheaded. In a medical alert sense.
April 3, 2017
Nick Hornby meets Agatha Christie in this fun, nostalgia filled mystery.
Fitting in with the ultra hip Brooklyn scene isn't something that comes naturally to Jett Bennett but thanks to her neighbour KitKat, a well known QueenBee of the scene, she's beginning to find her place. But when Jett finds a mixtape in her mailbox intended for KitKat and tries to return it, she finds her new friend has been murdered. Could Jett be in possession of a vital clue?
I went into this one expecting a simple, cute but fun mystery but instead got an awesome female version of High Fidelity for my generation. Turning 30 this year for me has led me on my own road of nostalgia and practically all of Jett’s thoughts mirror my own. Reading this book felt more like a conversation (“Yes Jett, you nailed it! Thats exactly what I’ve been saying!”) then a one sided story and listening to the music Libby Cudmore had chosen for the mix tape while reading this enriched the experience all the more.
Beautifully written, heartfelt novel that those who romanticize the past and have a hard time letting go of those nostalgic memories will relate to on every level.
*Thank you William Morrow Paperbacks & Edelweiss for this review copy
Fitting in with the ultra hip Brooklyn scene isn't something that comes naturally to Jett Bennett but thanks to her neighbour KitKat, a well known QueenBee of the scene, she's beginning to find her place. But when Jett finds a mixtape in her mailbox intended for KitKat and tries to return it, she finds her new friend has been murdered. Could Jett be in possession of a vital clue?
I went into this one expecting a simple, cute but fun mystery but instead got an awesome female version of High Fidelity for my generation. Turning 30 this year for me has led me on my own road of nostalgia and practically all of Jett’s thoughts mirror my own. Reading this book felt more like a conversation (“Yes Jett, you nailed it! Thats exactly what I’ve been saying!”) then a one sided story and listening to the music Libby Cudmore had chosen for the mix tape while reading this enriched the experience all the more.
Beautifully written, heartfelt novel that those who romanticize the past and have a hard time letting go of those nostalgic memories will relate to on every level.
*Thank you William Morrow Paperbacks & Edelweiss for this review copy
April 20, 2019
EDIT: If you look this book up on Amazon you will see pages of 5 star reviews. I'm baffled. Either I completely missed the genius of this book, or Libby Cudmore has a lot of friends with Internet access.
Oh dear, where should I begin?
I preordered this book on Amazon (which I never, EVER do because I’m broke as a ghost and do 90% of my reading at the local library) on the strength of the front cover blurb: “Like Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity for women.” Well, damn, I’m sold! High Fidelity is my favorite book of all time. There’s no way I’m not reading the version for women (whatever that means). I waited anxiously for it to arrive. I practically attacked the mailman on release day (I don’t have a lot going on). And I devoured it in less than three hours. But it wasn’t a happy three hours. It was a bitter, frustrated three hours.
Positives first. Some of this book spoke to the mild hipster in me. I, too, own a turntable, shop at Trader Joe’s , and practiced the subtle art of the mix tape (okay, CD in my case. As a late ‘80s baby, I just missed the mix cassette tape era). I got the warm fuzzies whenever a song I liked was mentioned, and a reference to the boombox scene in Say Anything always makes me giddy. Every time this book was really pissing me off, Cudmore would throw in a reference to The Smiths and earn my grudging respect.
That’s it, though. Everything else about this book was a mess.
The word that kept popping up once I knew I was going to review this was “unfocused”. This book has no idea what it wants to be. Is it a murder mystery? A nostalgia trip? A love story? The Big Rewind tries to be all of these things and is ultimately none of them. The story is cluttered with too many sideplots. Here, let me list them (I've done my best to hide all spoilers):
1) Protagonist Jett finds neighbor KitKat dead on the latter’s kitchen floor. Clearly murdered. Who did it? The boyfriend has been arrested as the primary suspect but no one believes he did it. KitKat’s sister asks Jett to solve her sister’s murder. Because obviously Jett is qualified to do this.
2) Jett has a mix tape meant for KitKat, made by a lover. Reminds Jett that she, too, has ex-lovers and corresponding mix tapes. Digs out “boyfriend box” and begins contacting ex-lovers. Frankly this side plot pissed me off the most, as it was a blatant rip-off of Rob Fleming revisiting his old lovers in High Fidelity, only lame.
3) Jett feels pangs of loss for one lover in particular, THE ONE. Can barely even think about how the relationship ended because he broke her heart. Experiences inexplicable angst over a situation we are barely made privy to.
4) Jett has feelings for best male friend, Sid.
I could be missing one. And the problem is, aside from #4, all of these are plots worthy of their own book. That way, everything can be fully explored. As it is, KitKat’s murder becomes a bit of an afterthought and I never gave a crap about any of Jett’s sadness and her failed romances. There just wasn’t enough there to get the reader invested. Skimmed details, rushed timelines, a large and underdeveloped cast. I couldn’t make myself care.
Another thing that really didn’t work for me was Jett’s grief for KitKat. It never felt genuine. She admits early on that they were really just friendly neighbors, but she constantly mopes about the death like she lost a sister; she comes across as a poser, just like all the other hipsters in the community. If Cudmore had written Jett as an outsider who happened to find the body and became invested, that would have felt more real. To me, anyway.
Also, all the name dropping! It’s not enough to say “I packed an old shopping bag”, it must be “I packed an old shopping bag from Trader Joe’s”. She didn’t use some foundation, she used “a sample of bareMinerals in Fairly Light”. After awhile it was a bit like reading a commercial. Similarly, I got tired of always reading the artist’s name along with the song title. People will probably know that “She Sells Sanctuary” is a song by The Cult, or that Hall & Oates sang “You Make My Dreams”. And if not everyone knows, well, then, it’s like a rewarding Easter egg for the people that do. Maybe, though, I’m being nitpicky.
Finally (FINALLY), there are the character names. Jett?! I know she’s a hipster and all but given that people from her past call her this, I’m guessing it’s on the birth certificate. Bronco? Catch (short for Catcher. His parents should be shot)? Freaking JYLLE? I just…I can’t.
I could probably go on. I started taking angry notes halfway through and I’ve only touched on most of my points. But this was a debut so I’m trying to dial back my frustration. I know, it’s hard to tell. And what I’m about to say probably goes against most of the review but it’s absolutely true: I would read Libby Cudmore’s next book. Because, despite all of my rage, there was something here. A spark. She just needs to narrow her focus and weed out what’s unnecessary.
Oh dear, where should I begin?
I preordered this book on Amazon (which I never, EVER do because I’m broke as a ghost and do 90% of my reading at the local library) on the strength of the front cover blurb: “Like Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity for women.” Well, damn, I’m sold! High Fidelity is my favorite book of all time. There’s no way I’m not reading the version for women (whatever that means). I waited anxiously for it to arrive. I practically attacked the mailman on release day (I don’t have a lot going on). And I devoured it in less than three hours. But it wasn’t a happy three hours. It was a bitter, frustrated three hours.
Positives first. Some of this book spoke to the mild hipster in me. I, too, own a turntable, shop at Trader Joe’s , and practiced the subtle art of the mix tape (okay, CD in my case. As a late ‘80s baby, I just missed the mix cassette tape era). I got the warm fuzzies whenever a song I liked was mentioned, and a reference to the boombox scene in Say Anything always makes me giddy. Every time this book was really pissing me off, Cudmore would throw in a reference to The Smiths and earn my grudging respect.
That’s it, though. Everything else about this book was a mess.
The word that kept popping up once I knew I was going to review this was “unfocused”. This book has no idea what it wants to be. Is it a murder mystery? A nostalgia trip? A love story? The Big Rewind tries to be all of these things and is ultimately none of them. The story is cluttered with too many sideplots. Here, let me list them (I've done my best to hide all spoilers):
1) Protagonist Jett finds neighbor KitKat dead on the latter’s kitchen floor. Clearly murdered. Who did it? The boyfriend has been arrested as the primary suspect but no one believes he did it. KitKat’s sister asks Jett to solve her sister’s murder. Because obviously Jett is qualified to do this.
2) Jett has a mix tape meant for KitKat, made by a lover. Reminds Jett that she, too, has ex-lovers and corresponding mix tapes. Digs out “boyfriend box” and begins contacting ex-lovers. Frankly this side plot pissed me off the most, as it was a blatant rip-off of Rob Fleming revisiting his old lovers in High Fidelity, only lame.
3) Jett feels pangs of loss for one lover in particular, THE ONE. Can barely even think about how the relationship ended because he broke her heart. Experiences inexplicable angst over a situation we are barely made privy to.
4) Jett has feelings for best male friend, Sid.
I could be missing one. And the problem is, aside from #4, all of these are plots worthy of their own book. That way, everything can be fully explored. As it is, KitKat’s murder becomes a bit of an afterthought and I never gave a crap about any of Jett’s sadness and her failed romances. There just wasn’t enough there to get the reader invested. Skimmed details, rushed timelines, a large and underdeveloped cast. I couldn’t make myself care.
Another thing that really didn’t work for me was Jett’s grief for KitKat. It never felt genuine. She admits early on that they were really just friendly neighbors, but she constantly mopes about the death like she lost a sister; she comes across as a poser, just like all the other hipsters in the community. If Cudmore had written Jett as an outsider who happened to find the body and became invested, that would have felt more real. To me, anyway.
Also, all the name dropping! It’s not enough to say “I packed an old shopping bag”, it must be “I packed an old shopping bag from Trader Joe’s”. She didn’t use some foundation, she used “a sample of bareMinerals in Fairly Light”. After awhile it was a bit like reading a commercial. Similarly, I got tired of always reading the artist’s name along with the song title. People will probably know that “She Sells Sanctuary” is a song by The Cult, or that Hall & Oates sang “You Make My Dreams”. And if not everyone knows, well, then, it’s like a rewarding Easter egg for the people that do. Maybe, though, I’m being nitpicky.
Finally (FINALLY), there are the character names. Jett?! I know she’s a hipster and all but given that people from her past call her this, I’m guessing it’s on the birth certificate. Bronco? Catch (short for Catcher. His parents should be shot)? Freaking JYLLE? I just…I can’t.
I could probably go on. I started taking angry notes halfway through and I’ve only touched on most of my points. But this was a debut so I’m trying to dial back my frustration. I know, it’s hard to tell. And what I’m about to say probably goes against most of the review but it’s absolutely true: I would read Libby Cudmore’s next book. Because, despite all of my rage, there was something here. A spark. She just needs to narrow her focus and weed out what’s unnecessary.
December 29, 2016
3.5
This is a début novel. A very good one to be honest. There is a murder at the beginning but it just serves to trigger this nostalgic trip, both for the protagonist and for most of the readers who know what a mix tape is.
Jett Bennett is a good choice for a protagonist. She struggles through the book. Oh, how she struggles. If you expect this to be one of those clear picture stories where the main character kind of has some baggage but never falters, this probably isn't for you.
Even when it comes to her own beliefs (feminism in particular), you can't exactly say Jett is one of those unshakeable characters. It makes her more relatable and real. Yes, it would be lovely if we could stop being insecure, sometimes mean and stuff, but it is not that easy. Jett actually calls herself on whatever it was at that moment. She recognizes the things she needs to fix and change. The Big Rewind is her journey through memories while trying to solve a murder.
Other characters are deeply flawed and I despised some of them. I don't like how a marriage is portrayed (most married or soon to be married people are miserable and some of them use that to justify the things that cannot be justified).
There are many themes in this novel. Each has a role in this story. Some are just touched upon (homophobia, racism, flawed justice system, overzealousness) and some are more prevalent than others. Loneliness is so pronounced that it gets a bit suffocating.
As for the romance, it is not perfect. You have two people with a lot of baggage that doesn't simply disappear when they give in. The only thing they can do is to choose to look forward keeping the past where it should be. Neither of them gets a special treatment in this book. Somehow I believe that their romance has more chance than most exactly because of their mistakes.
If you've ever got a mix tape, if you've tried to read between the lyrics, if loneliness is (or has been or was) sometimes so heavy that it almost becomes physical pain, if you left someone in the past whether you wanted or not, then you can probably relate to Jett and her journey.
Overall, a good début. I assume any errors it has will be corrected in the final release.
Uncorrected ARC provided by William Morrow Paperbacks via Edelweiss
This is a début novel. A very good one to be honest. There is a murder at the beginning but it just serves to trigger this nostalgic trip, both for the protagonist and for most of the readers who know what a mix tape is.
Jett Bennett is a good choice for a protagonist. She struggles through the book. Oh, how she struggles. If you expect this to be one of those clear picture stories where the main character kind of has some baggage but never falters, this probably isn't for you.
Even when it comes to her own beliefs (feminism in particular), you can't exactly say Jett is one of those unshakeable characters. It makes her more relatable and real. Yes, it would be lovely if we could stop being insecure, sometimes mean and stuff, but it is not that easy. Jett actually calls herself on whatever it was at that moment. She recognizes the things she needs to fix and change. The Big Rewind is her journey through memories while trying to solve a murder.
Other characters are deeply flawed and I despised some of them. I don't like how a marriage is portrayed (most married or soon to be married people are miserable and some of them use that to justify the things that cannot be justified).
There are many themes in this novel. Each has a role in this story. Some are just touched upon (homophobia, racism, flawed justice system, overzealousness) and some are more prevalent than others. Loneliness is so pronounced that it gets a bit suffocating.
As for the romance, it is not perfect. You have two people with a lot of baggage that doesn't simply disappear when they give in. The only thing they can do is to choose to look forward keeping the past where it should be. Neither of them gets a special treatment in this book. Somehow I believe that their romance has more chance than most exactly because of their mistakes.
If you've ever got a mix tape, if you've tried to read between the lyrics, if loneliness is (or has been or was) sometimes so heavy that it almost becomes physical pain, if you left someone in the past whether you wanted or not, then you can probably relate to Jett and her journey.
Overall, a good début. I assume any errors it has will be corrected in the final release.
Uncorrected ARC provided by William Morrow Paperbacks via Edelweiss
December 28, 2016
I think I first found this book originally on a goodreads giveaway but don't quote me on it haha.. could be/probably am wrong:).
One of those books you mean to get for yourself but forget about when others come along and grab your attention more so it goes on your amazon wishlist.
This novel was very enjoyable for me. I hadn't heard of some of the bands and was vaguely familiar with some. There were a few I had heard of but it was the Clarks song mentioned that had me giddy.. even sent a screenshot to a friend (fellow fan) of that passage.
Big Rewind belongs to the club of books that are enjoyable on a more quiet level, no big action sequences or epic love and whatnot.. just an eclectic group people who aren't perfect but you still root for.
Music itself (I want these songs as soundtracks!) is a character itself.. different songs but it has a certain feel to it that stands on its own.
Jett I actually thought was a guy at first haha, didn't read the back before I started reading it:-D.
Sid: such a sweetie!
The mystery of KitKat and her murder isn't a big presence in the story, more side by side with the story and off to the side at different times. I applauded Jett in wanting justice for her friends but it felt like the mystery was solved, not too quickly or an afterthought but somewhere in between.
It wasn't meant to be the main focus (Jett's personal journey is instead) but still.. I never had that 'sense' you get from other crime novels, "Oh my God.. who did it?? Will Jett get herself killed?!"
I had brief suspicions as to who it could be but the real killer wasn't a surprise when I thought on it.
That was the only criticism I had really... there was one moment where I could see where Jett was coming from but it still had me face-palming some.
The 'moment' when it came though, was bittersweet and very well done.
A few side characters were my favorite and I would happily read more about them:).
Would recommend, I would advise not reading too many reviews beforehand.
Thanks Figgy for getting this for me for xmas!
One of those books you mean to get for yourself but forget about when others come along and grab your attention more so it goes on your amazon wishlist.
This novel was very enjoyable for me. I hadn't heard of some of the bands and was vaguely familiar with some. There were a few I had heard of but it was the Clarks song mentioned that had me giddy.. even sent a screenshot to a friend (fellow fan) of that passage.
Big Rewind belongs to the club of books that are enjoyable on a more quiet level, no big action sequences or epic love and whatnot.. just an eclectic group people who aren't perfect but you still root for.
Music itself (I want these songs as soundtracks!) is a character itself.. different songs but it has a certain feel to it that stands on its own.
Jett I actually thought was a guy at first haha, didn't read the back before I started reading it:-D.
Sid: such a sweetie!
The mystery of KitKat and her murder isn't a big presence in the story, more side by side with the story and off to the side at different times. I applauded Jett in wanting justice for her friends but it felt like the mystery was solved, not too quickly or an afterthought but somewhere in between.
It wasn't meant to be the main focus (Jett's personal journey is instead) but still.. I never had that 'sense' you get from other crime novels, "Oh my God.. who did it?? Will Jett get herself killed?!"
I had brief suspicions as to who it could be but the real killer wasn't a surprise when I thought on it.
That was the only criticism I had really... there was one moment where I could see where Jett was coming from but it still had me face-palming some.
The 'moment' when it came though, was bittersweet and very well done.
A few side characters were my favorite and I would happily read more about them:).
Would recommend, I would advise not reading too many reviews beforehand.
Thanks Figgy for getting this for me for xmas!
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March 22, 2016As someone who grew up making mix tapes (80s) and who spent a few years in Brooklyn (the last mix tape I got was actually just over a decade ago from a woman who lived in Brooklyn while I was still living in Oakland, CA. And then I moved to Brooklyn, and I'm pretty sure she moved to Oakland. And now I live in Massachusetts and I have no idea where she lives, but I still think about how nice it was to get those tapes. And how much more fun and impractical and imperfect and sweet mix tapes were than cds. When I was a kid I would play the radio with the tape ready to go, and I'd hit record when a song came on I wanted on there, and would record not only the songs, but often a snippet of the DJ talking, or a bit the previous or next song in overlap. I also love the snap and crackle of vinyl that moves into the rich tones of a recorded music that feels like recorded time. This book had tapes and vinyl and no CDs at all, and yet, for me, it has a bit of the shiny, flimsy lightness of a CD.)
Spoiler alert. I am giving away a little of the plot in this review, though plot is a strong word.
Sometimes I think that I am up for a silly little romp when, in fact, I need even my silly romps to be a lot more engaging and curious than I found this book to be.
Basically, KitKat, a young thirty-something pot-brownie-baker, gets murdered with a dubious rolling pin, and our protagonist, KitKat's not-quite-friend but neighbor-on-friendly-terms Jett, finds her body. Jett goes on to try to solve the mystery of KitKat's murder while some people cry and some people go out for brunch, and other people fall in love with an evil-trust-funded-lap-dancer (unless you're an authentic sex-industry-worker, whatever that means -- according to this book, I think it means you at the very least have to be poor -- then you are a fake and evil and punishment deserving ____!) Oh, and if you're the murdered KitKat's sort-of-boyfriend-bff, the book's black and gay character, who clearly can't have sex with a woman because he's gay (interesting take on human sexuality), you go to jail because you're too closeted to say you were with your boyfriend that night.
In the process of trying to unravel the murder by scrutinizing KitKat's collection of mix tapes (if you are looking for a well developed mystery plot, you won't find it here), Jett also goes through a box of her own things that have sentimental meaning, and gets closure with all of her ex boyfriends while falling in love with a very flat character named Sid.
I can't recommend this book. Aside from the fact that it just wasn't my cup of tea, I found the superficiality and lack of awareness and emotional maturity that pervades the book disturbing. But other readers seemed to enjoy all the New York hipstery stuff. So, I don't know. To each their own. Just looking at the cover makes me feel a little queasy so I am looking forward to getting it back to the library. Maybe the next reader will do a better job appreciating the gifts it has to offer.
Spoiler alert. I am giving away a little of the plot in this review, though plot is a strong word.
Sometimes I think that I am up for a silly little romp when, in fact, I need even my silly romps to be a lot more engaging and curious than I found this book to be.
Basically, KitKat, a young thirty-something pot-brownie-baker, gets murdered with a dubious rolling pin, and our protagonist, KitKat's not-quite-friend but neighbor-on-friendly-terms Jett, finds her body. Jett goes on to try to solve the mystery of KitKat's murder while some people cry and some people go out for brunch, and other people fall in love with an evil-trust-funded-lap-dancer (unless you're an authentic sex-industry-worker, whatever that means -- according to this book, I think it means you at the very least have to be poor -- then you are a fake and evil and punishment deserving ____!) Oh, and if you're the murdered KitKat's sort-of-boyfriend-bff, the book's black and gay character, who clearly can't have sex with a woman because he's gay (interesting take on human sexuality), you go to jail because you're too closeted to say you were with your boyfriend that night.
In the process of trying to unravel the murder by scrutinizing KitKat's collection of mix tapes (if you are looking for a well developed mystery plot, you won't find it here), Jett also goes through a box of her own things that have sentimental meaning, and gets closure with all of her ex boyfriends while falling in love with a very flat character named Sid.
I can't recommend this book. Aside from the fact that it just wasn't my cup of tea, I found the superficiality and lack of awareness and emotional maturity that pervades the book disturbing. But other readers seemed to enjoy all the New York hipstery stuff. So, I don't know. To each their own. Just looking at the cover makes me feel a little queasy so I am looking forward to getting it back to the library. Maybe the next reader will do a better job appreciating the gifts it has to offer.
February 7, 2016
I couldn't resist the premise of Libby Cudmore's debut novel, The Big Rewind. I have a cracked vinyl case full of mix tapes, including the odd one or two given to me by ex-boyfriends that I have never been able to throw away, even though I haven't had a working cassette player in more than a dozen years.
Wannabe music journalist Jett Bennet is rocked when she discovers the bloodied body of her neighbor and friend KitKat while dropping off a mis-delivered package containing a mix tape full of songs about love and heartbreak. Despite a lack of grounds, police suspicion falls on KitKat's missing boyfriend Bronco, but Jett, who temps as a proofreader at a private investigation firm, speculates that the mysterious compiler of the mix tape may have motive, and with the help of her best friend, Sid, hunts for the sender.
The Big Rewind is a murder mystery and a love story. As Jett searches for the person responsible for KitKat's murder, she reminisces about her romantic past, browsing her own collection of mix tapes from former lovers. On her mind is the one that got away -Catch, even as her feelings for best friend Sid begin to change.
"There isn't a better feeling in the world-not an orgasm, not a first kiss, not even that glorious soaring sensation you get when those first few notes of a new song pierce your chest and fill your whole body with absolute bliss-than acknowledgement that your mix tape was not only received and played but enjoyed. It's a dance of sorts, balancing songs you think the listener will love while trying to say everything that otherwise dries up in your throat before you can get out the words."
I liked Jett, though given she is aged only in her mid twenties or so, her sense of nostalgia is a little excessive and her fixation on her lost loves is a little unhealthy. Her motovation for solving the murder is a little flimsy but she unpicks the mystery in a way that makes sense given her lack of experience.
The Big Rewind has a turn of the century hipster vibe what with Jett's mentions of Trader Joe's, French Press coffee makers, kale and pot brownies, and visits to vegan bakeries, strip joints, retro vinyl record stores, and basement clubs which is a little painful, but also kinda fun.
What I probably enjoyed most was Jett's eclectic taste in music, dozens of songs mostly from the 1980's are referenced throughout the novel, playing to mood and emotion.
The Big Rewind is a quick and easy read, quirky and fun.
Want a playlist to listen to while you read? You might like to start with the following songs mentioned:
Keep Me in Your Heart - Warren Zevon
What You Doing in Bombay - Tenpole Tudor
Simply - Sara Hickman
Champagne - July for Kings
Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
Pure - Lightning Seeds
The Book I Read - Talking Heads
2 became 1 - Spice Girls
All for Love - Bryan Adams
She is My Sin - Nightwish
I'm Gonna Be (500 miles) - The Proclaimers
Bury My Lovely - October Projects
Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First) - John Mellencamp
Sunrise - Simply Red
Waiting for the Weekend - The Vapors
May 21, 2019
Light and fun. Probably most fun for music lovers of punk and other music of that time. I only recognized a few of the titles so my guess about the time is probably worthless. I liked the narrator and her portrayal of hipster Brooklyn was enjoyable.
January 11, 2016
You know how when you are reading a book or when you finish a book, an opinion and some commentary forms in your mind? Well, this book is kind of an exception. There were so many things that happened in this book, but I just couldn't come to a conclusion of what I want to say about it and what my opinion is about the book and the events inside the book.
The Big Rewind is about a Jett, who moved to New York to become a journalist. However, she only has a temp job now working as a proofreader. One day, as Jett was taking a misplaced mail to her neighbor's apartment, Jett found that her neighbor had been murdered. Nobody knows who did it, and the only clue that Jett has is the misplaced mail that she got the day she found her neighbor dead. This is a story about friendship, mystery, romance and justice.
Because of the lack of opinion I have on this book, I decided to just give it 3 stars because that's what's in the middle of the spectrum. I can't say that I hated this book, nor can I say that I loved this book. I don't even know whether I liked it or not. And once I finished the book, I didn't have any emotions or comments. I just kind of went with the flow while reading this one and didn't really think about the story that much. I don't know, I guess I might have been distracted at that time.
I have already waited a number of days before finally writing this review because I didn't want my review to turn out like this, but I guess I don't have a choice. I just couldn't drag out not writing a review any longer, but I still also couldn't form an opinion in my head so I just settled for this instead. Gah, it sucks not having anything to comment on, which by the way is not the author's fault. Just saying. I just didn't feel this book, that's all.
The Big Rewind is about a Jett, who moved to New York to become a journalist. However, she only has a temp job now working as a proofreader. One day, as Jett was taking a misplaced mail to her neighbor's apartment, Jett found that her neighbor had been murdered. Nobody knows who did it, and the only clue that Jett has is the misplaced mail that she got the day she found her neighbor dead. This is a story about friendship, mystery, romance and justice.
Because of the lack of opinion I have on this book, I decided to just give it 3 stars because that's what's in the middle of the spectrum. I can't say that I hated this book, nor can I say that I loved this book. I don't even know whether I liked it or not. And once I finished the book, I didn't have any emotions or comments. I just kind of went with the flow while reading this one and didn't really think about the story that much. I don't know, I guess I might have been distracted at that time.
I have already waited a number of days before finally writing this review because I didn't want my review to turn out like this, but I guess I don't have a choice. I just couldn't drag out not writing a review any longer, but I still also couldn't form an opinion in my head so I just settled for this instead. Gah, it sucks not having anything to comment on, which by the way is not the author's fault. Just saying. I just didn't feel this book, that's all.
April 13, 2016
A blurb on the front of The Big Rewind describes it as "High Fidelity for women." I did not realize that High Fidelity was not for women. Nick Hornby is one of my favorite authors. Although it's clear that this book seeks to parallel High Fidelity, it's a stretch to say that it delivers. The pop culture references in The Big Rewind are off, way too old for the age of the protagonist. Do people in their late 20s idolize Warren Zevon?
The author draws the reader in immediately, and the (flawed) plot clips along at a good pace. At the same time, one wonders why editors did not flag the numerous cringeworthy passages in this book. One example: "I couldn't tell if the world was unraveling at my feet or coming together like a tight-fitting corset." Seriously? Another example: "For as passionately as I'd always loved ____, he and I ran along parallel tracks, reaching for each other but never quite touching. The unspoken knowledge that the fire between us couldn't burn forever was what had driven our hunger, like love during wartime. But the war was over, and all that was left were the lives we had rebuilt from the rubble. This was the life he had salvaged." Pick a metaphor! Edit yourself! Early passages seem oddly stilted and possibly, censored. As the book wears on the protagonist's language becomes increasingly hardened and coarse. I think I'd like to read this book after it goes through two more revisions.
The author draws the reader in immediately, and the (flawed) plot clips along at a good pace. At the same time, one wonders why editors did not flag the numerous cringeworthy passages in this book. One example: "I couldn't tell if the world was unraveling at my feet or coming together like a tight-fitting corset." Seriously? Another example: "For as passionately as I'd always loved ____, he and I ran along parallel tracks, reaching for each other but never quite touching. The unspoken knowledge that the fire between us couldn't burn forever was what had driven our hunger, like love during wartime. But the war was over, and all that was left were the lives we had rebuilt from the rubble. This was the life he had salvaged." Pick a metaphor! Edit yourself! Early passages seem oddly stilted and possibly, censored. As the book wears on the protagonist's language becomes increasingly hardened and coarse. I think I'd like to read this book after it goes through two more revisions.
December 21, 2019
I enjoyed it while I was reading, but otherwise felt like something was missing or that the plot points didn’t tie as nicely together as I had hoped.
full review can be found: https://amberinoface.wordpress.com/20...
full review can be found: https://amberinoface.wordpress.com/20...
March 8, 2020
I could've done with less ex-boyfriending and more sleuthing, but that might just be my mood lately.
August 7, 2015
An absolutely stunning debut. Cudmore's world is so fully realized it makes you want to pack your bags and buy a bus ticket to Barter Street the second you turn the final page. Her characters are so vivid they practically leap off the page to greet you as if you've know them for years (some will want to buy you a drink…some are still holding a grudge about that sweater you ruined…but all of them are full on flesh and blood…no cardboard cutouts or paper dolls here). The author has a deft and delicate touch with her prose. At times it is as sharp as a surgeon's scalpel. It might feel as if you've been tickled by a line or two, but after reflection you realize it cut deep…bone deep.
In a market poisoned by tales of flawless uber-heros and super-special "chosen ones," Cudmore offers the us the antidote in her protagonist Jett Bennett. What Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum did to redefine the genre twenty years ago, Jett Bennett does for the 21st century. I can't recommend this book enough. The narrative, is fast, funny, heartbreaking, soul-searching, and boasts more twists than Lombard Street (San Fran). And if you want a real treat…hunt down the songs that Cudmore uses to title each chapter. Make a mix, then kickback and listen as you get lost in one of the best books to come out in long time.
*Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book and wrote this honest review BECAUSE IT F'N ROCKS!!!
In a market poisoned by tales of flawless uber-heros and super-special "chosen ones," Cudmore offers the us the antidote in her protagonist Jett Bennett. What Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum did to redefine the genre twenty years ago, Jett Bennett does for the 21st century. I can't recommend this book enough. The narrative, is fast, funny, heartbreaking, soul-searching, and boasts more twists than Lombard Street (San Fran). And if you want a real treat…hunt down the songs that Cudmore uses to title each chapter. Make a mix, then kickback and listen as you get lost in one of the best books to come out in long time.
*Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book and wrote this honest review BECAUSE IT F'N ROCKS!!!
dnf
January 6, 2016Sorry but this is just not working for me. I've been trying to read this for 6 days now and I'm still stucked at 10%.
The plot was actually interesting but Jett as a main character is not just working. I actually can't relate to her because her character seems to be so in the surface only. A lot of supporting characters are also introduced however it all seemed to jumble on my mind and as bad as it my sound I just don't really care about their hippie shenanigans; nothing about them interests me.
The way the story was told was full of narrations and little dialogues. There are times that this might work but definitely not on this story. I want a deeper feel for the characters and I just didn’t get it here.
Some might love this because it really has its potential but not just for me at this time. Though, I’m still so grateful to William Morrow for the ARC given thru Edelweiss.
The plot was actually interesting but Jett as a main character is not just working. I actually can't relate to her because her character seems to be so in the surface only. A lot of supporting characters are also introduced however it all seemed to jumble on my mind and as bad as it my sound I just don't really care about their hippie shenanigans; nothing about them interests me.
The way the story was told was full of narrations and little dialogues. There are times that this might work but definitely not on this story. I want a deeper feel for the characters and I just didn’t get it here.
Some might love this because it really has its potential but not just for me at this time. Though, I’m still so grateful to William Morrow for the ARC given thru Edelweiss.
August 3, 2016
Review first published at If These Books Could Talk.
High Fidelity. That was a thing wasn’t it? Hugely successful, and incredibly influential, the novel by Nick Hornby spawned a movie and countless imitations.
Now, apparently, we need a ‘High Fidelity for Women’, and ‘The Big Rewind’ unfortunately, does neither the inspiration, women, or music fans in general, any favours.
Basically:
- Jett is a pretentious wannabe music journalist, leeching off her grandmother’s rent-controlled apartment in Brooklyn. She hates hipsters, despite being one and surrounding herself with them.
- KitKat lives upstairs. She’s ‘alternative’ because she has strange hair and deals in pot brownies.
- KitKat is murdered -her body discovered by Jett when she tries to return a wrongly delivered mix-tape. Death by rolling pin. How very hip.
-Jett spends the novel ‘investigating’ KitKat’s death at the request of her sister. She gets incredibly involved and emotional about KitKat’s death despite hardly knowing her, making her basically one of the ‘grief tourists’ she lays into so viciously early on.
-One of the ways Jettsticks her nose in investigates is by looking through the victim’s collection of personal mixtapes, tracking down as many as she can to have a good nose about. This triggers Jett’s own feelings of ennui about her past love life and her present, causing her to seek out old flames. And the reader to realise what a crashing bore the main character actually is.
-Jett wants to have her cake and eat it too – moping about ‘the one that got away, while claiming to be hot to trot for another. Yes reader, she’s one of those.
-Sid is the poor bastard who has to deal with ‘Little Miss Indecisive’ on a daily basis, and the subject of her lust. Naturally he’s oblivious until the final act. And very stupid. As are most of the men involved.
-There are other characters, but they’re really too one-dimensional, flat and boring to bother with. Honestly…struggling to remember any of them right now.
-I’ve seen cigarette papers thicker than this plot. The ‘crime/mystery’ element is non-existent until the final part of the ‘The Big Rewind’ and no matter how much Cudmore may elude to the crime genre in her title, this is no Marlow. The ‘perp’ is obvious from their introduction, and procedures are full of faults. Not sure how much research was done into the P.I. trade or sting operations, but, put it this way, if the case ever got to court, it’d get thrown out on so many technicalities, even Nelson & Murdoch (Avacados At Law) couldn’t get a successful conviction.
-‘The Big Rewind’ is the book equivalent of a Bond movie. Jett doesn’t just go to a shop. Oh no! She goes to ‘Trader Joes’. Regularly. We’re bombarded with mentions for clothes, make-up, and all sorts of bollocks it’s like sitting through a commercial break every few chapters.
-Oh. There’s music. Lots of it. Whereas Hornby delicately wove his musical loves and those of his character Rob throughout High Fidelity, Cudmore smashes you around the head (probably with an advert emblazoned rolling pin) at every turn. Subtlety is not in play here. If you came to read this novel having lived in Antarctica, with limited music knowledge, then you may be impressed, or informed.
-Actually…fuck it…they’ve probably got internet somewhere in Antarctica, so I’d hazard a guess that even the bloody penguins know that The Smiths recorded ‘This Charming Man’.
-Jett is a judgemental arsehole. If she doesn’t like/agree/understand it, then it’s the worst thing to happen. Inpaying homage to ripping off ‘High Fidelity’ Cudmore has lost the very essence of the book: music is subjective, an emotional, heart-felt, awe-inspiring thing that evokes memories, painful and joyful, that go beyond the boundaries of almost any other medium other than literature. This is a character who wants to be a journalist? Gimmie a break!
-Less said about the sniggering ‘heehee’ attitude to her boss’ thing for female underwear the better. Seriously. Quit.
-Having one POC does not mean you have to bring up the subject of their skin colour as often as you mention Trader Joes. It also does not excuse all the other judgy bullshit.
I had high hope for this, genuinely I did, but it’s let down too quickly into the narrative by shoddy characterisation, silly plot elements, and that aforementioned patronising and judgemental tone.
I’m not sure the publishing world needs a ‘woman’s High Fidelity’, as hey, you know, we kinda read it already, enjoyed it, and then moved on. ‘The Big Rewind’ is a confused, direction-less novel that certainly doesn’t bring out anything in the reader other than a distinct hatred of Trader Joes.
High Fidelity. That was a thing wasn’t it? Hugely successful, and incredibly influential, the novel by Nick Hornby spawned a movie and countless imitations.
Now, apparently, we need a ‘High Fidelity for Women’, and ‘The Big Rewind’ unfortunately, does neither the inspiration, women, or music fans in general, any favours.
Basically:
- Jett is a pretentious wannabe music journalist, leeching off her grandmother’s rent-controlled apartment in Brooklyn. She hates hipsters, despite being one and surrounding herself with them.
- KitKat lives upstairs. She’s ‘alternative’ because she has strange hair and deals in pot brownies.
- KitKat is murdered -her body discovered by Jett when she tries to return a wrongly delivered mix-tape. Death by rolling pin. How very hip.
-Jett spends the novel ‘investigating’ KitKat’s death at the request of her sister. She gets incredibly involved and emotional about KitKat’s death despite hardly knowing her, making her basically one of the ‘grief tourists’ she lays into so viciously early on.
-One of the ways Jett
-Jett wants to have her cake and eat it too – moping about ‘the one that got away, while claiming to be hot to trot for another. Yes reader, she’s one of those.
-Sid is the poor bastard who has to deal with ‘Little Miss Indecisive’ on a daily basis, and the subject of her lust. Naturally he’s oblivious until the final act. And very stupid. As are most of the men involved.
-There are other characters, but they’re really too one-dimensional, flat and boring to bother with. Honestly…struggling to remember any of them right now.
-I’ve seen cigarette papers thicker than this plot. The ‘crime/mystery’ element is non-existent until the final part of the ‘The Big Rewind’ and no matter how much Cudmore may elude to the crime genre in her title, this is no Marlow. The ‘perp’ is obvious from their introduction, and procedures are full of faults. Not sure how much research was done into the P.I. trade or sting operations, but, put it this way, if the case ever got to court, it’d get thrown out on so many technicalities, even Nelson & Murdoch (Avacados At Law) couldn’t get a successful conviction.
-‘The Big Rewind’ is the book equivalent of a Bond movie. Jett doesn’t just go to a shop. Oh no! She goes to ‘Trader Joes’. Regularly. We’re bombarded with mentions for clothes, make-up, and all sorts of bollocks it’s like sitting through a commercial break every few chapters.
-Oh. There’s music. Lots of it. Whereas Hornby delicately wove his musical loves and those of his character Rob throughout High Fidelity, Cudmore smashes you around the head (probably with an advert emblazoned rolling pin) at every turn. Subtlety is not in play here. If you came to read this novel having lived in Antarctica, with limited music knowledge, then you may be impressed, or informed.
-Actually…fuck it…they’ve probably got internet somewhere in Antarctica, so I’d hazard a guess that even the bloody penguins know that The Smiths recorded ‘This Charming Man’.
-Jett is a judgemental arsehole. If she doesn’t like/agree/understand it, then it’s the worst thing to happen. In
-Less said about the sniggering ‘heehee’ attitude to her boss’ thing for female underwear the better. Seriously. Quit.
-Having one POC does not mean you have to bring up the subject of their skin colour as often as you mention Trader Joes. It also does not excuse all the other judgy bullshit.
I had high hope for this, genuinely I did, but it’s let down too quickly into the narrative by shoddy characterisation, silly plot elements, and that aforementioned patronising and judgemental tone.
I’m not sure the publishing world needs a ‘woman’s High Fidelity’, as hey, you know, we kinda read it already, enjoyed it, and then moved on. ‘The Big Rewind’ is a confused, direction-less novel that certainly doesn’t bring out anything in the reader other than a distinct hatred of Trader Joes.
March 26, 2016
Review originally posted at
All Books Considered: THREE STARS
I was highly anticipating The Big Rewind- I love music, I loved (absolutely adored) making mix tapes and CDs, and I generally like murder mysteries. While I did enjoy this book, several things left me a bit frustrated with the ultimate execution and ending of this story. First, Jett was almost too melancholy and nostalgic for even me -- her age isn't specifically referenced but I assume she was in her mid-to-late twenties based upon the context of university and the age of those around her. Maybe it's just me but I don't think your mid-to-late twenties is the time to be pining for all your previous boyfriends to the point where it is disrupting your life. Throughout the book, Jett is almost fanatical about her old boyfriend, who we come to find out, she never even told she loved, which is why he moved on without her. Without spoilers, the whole scene was bizarre when she went to confront her old boyfriend, especially since nearly every other scene of the book involved Jett languishing and obsessing over her best friend, Sid. I guess, for me, there was too much emphasis on Jett's love life and not enough on Jett, herself, and the mystery of KitKat. I understand that Jett's love life was used to detail her feelings about music and all her past mix tapes, but I think the explanation and execution could have been done better to integrate this plot device.
However, I would still recommend this to fans of music and mystery -- this book is definitely NA and not YA. If you ever made a mix tape or CD, and happen to like light mystery solving, this may be the book for you. This book is almost High Fidelity meets Nancy Drew (I hesitate to compare Jett to Veronica Mars because, let's face it, no one is as kick-ass and awesome as VM!).
I was highly anticipating The Big Rewind- I love music, I loved (absolutely adored) making mix tapes and CDs, and I generally like murder mysteries. While I did enjoy this book, several things left me a bit frustrated with the ultimate execution and ending of this story. First, Jett was almost too melancholy and nostalgic for even me -- her age isn't specifically referenced but I assume she was in her mid-to-late twenties based upon the context of university and the age of those around her. Maybe it's just me but I don't think your mid-to-late twenties is the time to be pining for all your previous boyfriends to the point where it is disrupting your life. Throughout the book, Jett is almost fanatical about her old boyfriend, who we come to find out, she never even told she loved, which is why he moved on without her. Without spoilers, the whole scene was bizarre when she went to confront her old boyfriend, especially since nearly every other scene of the book involved Jett languishing and obsessing over her best friend, Sid. I guess, for me, there was too much emphasis on Jett's love life and not enough on Jett, herself, and the mystery of KitKat. I understand that Jett's love life was used to detail her feelings about music and all her past mix tapes, but I think the explanation and execution could have been done better to integrate this plot device.
However, I would still recommend this to fans of music and mystery -- this book is definitely NA and not YA. If you ever made a mix tape or CD, and happen to like light mystery solving, this may be the book for you. This book is almost High Fidelity meets Nancy Drew (I hesitate to compare Jett to Veronica Mars because, let's face it, no one is as kick-ass and awesome as VM!).
There isn't a better feeling in the world—not an orgasm, not a first kiss, not even that glorious soaring sensation you get when those first few notes of a new song pierce your chest and fill your whole body with absolute bliss—than acknowledgment that your mix tape was not only received and played but enjoyed. It's a dance of sorts, balancing songs you think the listener will love while trying to say everything that otherwise dries up in your throat before you can get out the words.
September 6, 2016
This might be a lot more fun for a certain type of reader than it was for me, sort of a hipster-meets-Marlowe kind of story. Full review to come.
April 9, 2018
This is a cozy romance mystery for 25-35 lady hipsters. I did like the premise, and I like the idea of cozy mysteries being aimed at a slightly younger, hipper market. Unfortunately, the mystery was not great (I solved it before the end, and I NEVER solve it before the end), and the romance left me cold and rolling my eyes. There was a dearth of suspects for the murder and not enough red herrings, and the two people involved in the romance were both pretty self-involved and didn't seem all that into each other.
This book is also hyper referential in the way that a lot of contemporary novels marketed to young women seem to be. Not only were a lot of specific songs named, but I know the character shops at Trader Joes, has neighbours that wear a lot of Toms and that she wears bareMinerals foundation in Fairly Light. Stuff like this doesn't really bother me, but it does make me wonder how the book will hold up over time.
This is a debut, and the writing itself was pretty good. My main complaints were with the plotting and romance development, not the prose or premise. And it seems to me that as a writer improves their craft, those could get significantly better. So if I came across another Libby Cudmore book, I'd certainly consider picking it up if it looked interesting.
This book is also hyper referential in the way that a lot of contemporary novels marketed to young women seem to be. Not only were a lot of specific songs named, but I know the character shops at Trader Joes, has neighbours that wear a lot of Toms and that she wears bareMinerals foundation in Fairly Light. Stuff like this doesn't really bother me, but it does make me wonder how the book will hold up over time.
This is a debut, and the writing itself was pretty good. My main complaints were with the plotting and romance development, not the prose or premise. And it seems to me that as a writer improves their craft, those could get significantly better. So if I came across another Libby Cudmore book, I'd certainly consider picking it up if it looked interesting.
September 15, 2019
This book is a murder mystery & romance. It starts with Jett-a proofreader at private investigation firm slash music journalist who accidentally finds a bloodied dead body of her neighbor friend-KitKat when all she doing was returning the miss delivered mix tape mail. The mix tape contains songs about love & heartbreak.
🚔
The police suspects the missing boyfriend Bronco(Cuz he's black) but, Jett speculates that it has something to do with the compiler of the mix tape. In order to solve the mystery, she takes help from her best friend SID. The clues she get includes,
'a secret boyfriend, a missing bracelet & a mix tape.'
📼
If I had to rate this one, I'd say it's a 3 stars read. Jett is fixed on lost loves & honestly it gets kinda annoying. As an add on, she eventually ends up falling in love with her best friend(Kiu, why do you have to do this every single time!).
🎼
Apart from this, the book lightly discusses homophobia, racism, faulty judicial system and loneliness which is a plus I'd say.
But overall, it was light & fun to read. If you are a music fanatic, you'd enjoying reading this one as it contains dozens of song references throughout the book.
🚔
The police suspects the missing boyfriend Bronco(Cuz he's black) but, Jett speculates that it has something to do with the compiler of the mix tape. In order to solve the mystery, she takes help from her best friend SID. The clues she get includes,
'a secret boyfriend, a missing bracelet & a mix tape.'
📼
If I had to rate this one, I'd say it's a 3 stars read. Jett is fixed on lost loves & honestly it gets kinda annoying. As an add on, she eventually ends up falling in love with her best friend(Kiu, why do you have to do this every single time!).
🎼
Apart from this, the book lightly discusses homophobia, racism, faulty judicial system and loneliness which is a plus I'd say.
But overall, it was light & fun to read. If you are a music fanatic, you'd enjoying reading this one as it contains dozens of song references throughout the book.
August 7, 2020
It's an easy read but rather predictable. It felt like a total ripoff of High Fidelity though, complete with revisiting exes, an inability of the main character to move on, and even the pretentious record store workers.
Also super minor thing but it bugged me because of the pretentiousness:
There's a scene where Jett is listening to a mix tap and wants to rewind the song. Her friend says her rewind is broken so they'd have to listen to the entire tape again. Either the author doesn't actually know about tapes or the characters are both total hipster assholes because everyone who lived in the era of cassettes knows that all you have to do to rewind a tape, if you have no rewind button, is flip the tape over and either play or fast forward. Then when you flip it back over again, voila - it's rewound.
Also super minor thing but it bugged me because of the pretentiousness:
There's a scene where Jett is listening to a mix tap and wants to rewind the song. Her friend says her rewind is broken so they'd have to listen to the entire tape again. Either the author doesn't actually know about tapes or the characters are both total hipster assholes because everyone who lived in the era of cassettes knows that all you have to do to rewind a tape, if you have no rewind button, is flip the tape over and either play or fast forward. Then when you flip it back over again, voila - it's rewound.
December 31, 2019
A millennial love story, a hipster homage, a satisfyingly simple detective tale, a tracklist that made me drool. Cheesy? Sure. Enjoyable? Unquestionably. A book that gives you all the feelz. Ten out of ten would recommend to any 80s or 90s child who has ever loved so much that it hurts. Waiting impatiently for when Netflix scoops this one up.
July 10, 2018
I picked up this book at the library as a joke, but I'm very happy that I gave it a chance!
June 23, 2019
Horrible. The only thing I want to “rewind” is the hours wasted reading this poorly written novel. The comparisons made on the jacket blurbs to “High Fidelity” are not deserved.
February 8, 2020
A few chapters into this book I found my self searching for the songs referenced so often (as I wasn't sure what they were or what tone they were trying to communicate in the novel) I decided to create a Spotify playlist as I read. Some of it is good, some not but I am adding every song referenced. A good companion to the book. Enjoy: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Pc...
February 8, 2016
Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young—one of my favorite 2015 films-- features two GenXers who meet two hipster millennials obsessed with anything retro i.e. skateboards, vinyl, Atari. Things from the GenXers 20s and teens. No tapes or even Laser Disc players. Remember those? Wave of the future. This novel reminded me of that. The married couple spends time with the younger couple and becomes detached from their current lives. Turns out regression doesn’t solve anything. Appreciating one’s age and the past remains vital to being in the moment. That’s what I’ve learned from therapy and social media.
Jett moved to Brooklyn with plans to pursue a career in music journalism [tough field to be in, I should know]. She’s temping and living in her grandmother’s apartment in Brooklyn. Jett finds her neighbor KitKat dead when she brings a mis-delivered mix tape to her apartment “I had the honor and the horror of finding her body. Not the cleaning lady or the cops, just a neighbor with a mistaken piece of mail.” Jett and her best friend Sid play 80s records and watch old television programs while lamenting their dating lives. We get it Libby Cudmore, you like the 80s and this mystery/romance follows a standard rom-com blueprint [think When Harry Met Sally meets any Nicholas Sparks novel].
Chapter titles are song titles: Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now; Watching the Detectives; Everyday is Like Sunday; This Charming Man [lots of Morrissey and The Smiths]; The Impression That I Get; A Girl in Trouble [Is a Temporary Thing]; Smile Like You Mean It; Only the Good Die Young. You get it.
Determined to find out who killed KitKat, Jett embarks on an investigation that begins by analyzing KitKat’s collection of mix tapes. Why tapes? The sound isn’t vinyl or CD. Difficult to grasp that anyone would make actual tapes. I spent many a Saturday afternoon making mix tapes. It’s time consuming. On KitKat: “She was a party on a purple ten-speed, a neat-banged brunette who baked red velvet cupcakes and pot brownies, read tarot, and had both an NES and a Sega Genesis.” There’s a college professor that may be KitKat’s romantic interest instead of her under-suspicion current boyfriend Bronco, who is gay and doesn’t want anyone to know despite living in New York where things generally go over well.
Not surprisingly by digging into her neighbor’s relationships, Jett examines her past relationships and in the process makes a realization about her present. At first I couldn’t figure out the age of main character Jett and that bothered me. Finally there’s a mention that made me pinpoint her age at 28. Not many want to read about struggling 40somethings. A great concept which falls flat and becomes formulaic and cliché at times. If you’re looking for a sentimental light read, this should fit.
http://entertainmentrealm.com/2016/02...
Jett moved to Brooklyn with plans to pursue a career in music journalism [tough field to be in, I should know]. She’s temping and living in her grandmother’s apartment in Brooklyn. Jett finds her neighbor KitKat dead when she brings a mis-delivered mix tape to her apartment “I had the honor and the horror of finding her body. Not the cleaning lady or the cops, just a neighbor with a mistaken piece of mail.” Jett and her best friend Sid play 80s records and watch old television programs while lamenting their dating lives. We get it Libby Cudmore, you like the 80s and this mystery/romance follows a standard rom-com blueprint [think When Harry Met Sally meets any Nicholas Sparks novel].
Chapter titles are song titles: Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now; Watching the Detectives; Everyday is Like Sunday; This Charming Man [lots of Morrissey and The Smiths]; The Impression That I Get; A Girl in Trouble [Is a Temporary Thing]; Smile Like You Mean It; Only the Good Die Young. You get it.
Determined to find out who killed KitKat, Jett embarks on an investigation that begins by analyzing KitKat’s collection of mix tapes. Why tapes? The sound isn’t vinyl or CD. Difficult to grasp that anyone would make actual tapes. I spent many a Saturday afternoon making mix tapes. It’s time consuming. On KitKat: “She was a party on a purple ten-speed, a neat-banged brunette who baked red velvet cupcakes and pot brownies, read tarot, and had both an NES and a Sega Genesis.” There’s a college professor that may be KitKat’s romantic interest instead of her under-suspicion current boyfriend Bronco, who is gay and doesn’t want anyone to know despite living in New York where things generally go over well.
Not surprisingly by digging into her neighbor’s relationships, Jett examines her past relationships and in the process makes a realization about her present. At first I couldn’t figure out the age of main character Jett and that bothered me. Finally there’s a mention that made me pinpoint her age at 28. Not many want to read about struggling 40somethings. A great concept which falls flat and becomes formulaic and cliché at times. If you’re looking for a sentimental light read, this should fit.
http://entertainmentrealm.com/2016/02...
July 8, 2016
Libby Cudmore's debut novel The Big Rewind features a cover blurb comparing it to Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. And while it's true the two novels share first-person narrators who love music and sprinkle in more pop culture references than you can shake a stick at, I'm not sure the comparison between the two extends far beyond that.
Taking over her grandmother's rent controlled New York apartment, Jett Bennett has grand visions of becoming a music journalist in the Big Apple. But the reality of her situation is that she's scraping by taking temp jobs and spending a lot of time at Trader Joe's (if this was a movie, the sheer number of mentions of Trader Joe's would feel like product placement). Living among bohemian artists, Jett is finding her way in the world when a mix-up in the mail has her stumble across the murder of her neighbor.
Luckily Jett temps for as an assistant for a private detective and before you know it, she's lured into trying to solve the crime of who killed her neighbor. Was it really her boyfriend or could the answer lie buried in the mix-tape that was mis-delivered to Jett's mailbox?
The premise of The Big Rewind is an intriguing one. It's a shame that the driving narrative of who sent the mix-tape and why and does this connect to the death of the person for whom it was intended gets lost at various points in the book. It turns out Jett is also pining for her best friend, who is dating a stripper, all while trying to get over that one boyfriend who got away. There are moments when you can see how Cudmore is trying to draw a parallel between the situation of the murder victim and Jett's, but they aren't always as successful as they could be.
Another big issue with the story is why Jett becomes as invested in solving the crime as she does. Jett can't decide if she was just a passing acquaintance of the victim or her best friend for whom she must seek out justice at all costs. At several points, it feels like the level of Jett's friendship is as much or as little as is needed for her own personal growth story or to simply serve as an a device to spark the plot forward.
It's saying a great deal that these frustrations and sidesteps don't totally derail the story. A good portion of that is that Cudmore creates a likeable character in Jett, one who I rooted for and wanted to see do well. Her snarky, pop-culture asides work well, though Billy Joel fans can expect to be feel insulted once every twenty pages or so. In the end, it was Jett and her journey that kept me reading and not the central mystery of the story.
Taking over her grandmother's rent controlled New York apartment, Jett Bennett has grand visions of becoming a music journalist in the Big Apple. But the reality of her situation is that she's scraping by taking temp jobs and spending a lot of time at Trader Joe's (if this was a movie, the sheer number of mentions of Trader Joe's would feel like product placement). Living among bohemian artists, Jett is finding her way in the world when a mix-up in the mail has her stumble across the murder of her neighbor.
Luckily Jett temps for as an assistant for a private detective and before you know it, she's lured into trying to solve the crime of who killed her neighbor. Was it really her boyfriend or could the answer lie buried in the mix-tape that was mis-delivered to Jett's mailbox?
The premise of The Big Rewind is an intriguing one. It's a shame that the driving narrative of who sent the mix-tape and why and does this connect to the death of the person for whom it was intended gets lost at various points in the book. It turns out Jett is also pining for her best friend, who is dating a stripper, all while trying to get over that one boyfriend who got away. There are moments when you can see how Cudmore is trying to draw a parallel between the situation of the murder victim and Jett's, but they aren't always as successful as they could be.
Another big issue with the story is why Jett becomes as invested in solving the crime as she does. Jett can't decide if she was just a passing acquaintance of the victim or her best friend for whom she must seek out justice at all costs. At several points, it feels like the level of Jett's friendship is as much or as little as is needed for her own personal growth story or to simply serve as an a device to spark the plot forward.
It's saying a great deal that these frustrations and sidesteps don't totally derail the story. A good portion of that is that Cudmore creates a likeable character in Jett, one who I rooted for and wanted to see do well. Her snarky, pop-culture asides work well, though Billy Joel fans can expect to be feel insulted once every twenty pages or so. In the end, it was Jett and her journey that kept me reading and not the central mystery of the story.
February 2, 2016
here’s what I loved: Jett is a great narrator POV. She has a snarky inner monologue that really appealed to me – that combination of observational skills and dry wit is one I especially appreciate, and her comments, largely unspoken, inject much needed humor – even if it’s sometimes gallows humor – to what would otherwise be a grim story.
Sid – Jett’s best friend. I love the setup of that relationship, and the way he’s both protective of her but also challenges her. We all need someone like that in our lives.
KitKat – the deceased. How can you not love a woman you only meet in flashbacks and through other people’s experiences? She seems like the slightly eccentric person we all know, and secretly want to be, maybe, a little. I love that she was the epicenter of her found community and chosen family.
Author Libby Cudmore has a fresh voice that spans the Gen-X and Millenial generations. She’s got the knack for writing the voices of modern hipsters with their love of all things retro (care to buy an album on vinyl, anyone?) but she also lends perspective that isn’t limited to one generation, one culture, even one person. Her dialogue is always believable. Early in the novel, in the wake/apartment-cleaning party where everyone is picking through KitKat’s belongings, she spotlights several different people – Natalie, Mac, Hilary – and they all have distinct voices. I felt like I was sitting in a chair in the corner, hearing all the bits of dialogue. That’s how realistic her writing is.
The mystery plot and the mix-tape that’s mentioned one the first page are both nostalgic (somewhere I have a box of Maxtel tapes. I liked the 90-minute-long translucent ones with the pink and orange highlights) but also completely contemporary. Similarly she blends the use of modern technology (the community has a group on Facebook, on the subway people display their dead friend’s picture on iphones), with the gritty reality of face-to-face communications.
What results is a mystery that is grounded in human relationships and rounded out with music, art, fashion, and all of the other things that give our lives shape and form.
Don’t dismiss this novel as something cheeky and fun. It is that, but it’s also a gripping mystery laced with wry, and sometimes biting, social commentary.
- See more at: http://www.bibliotica.com/2016/02/the...
Sid – Jett’s best friend. I love the setup of that relationship, and the way he’s both protective of her but also challenges her. We all need someone like that in our lives.
KitKat – the deceased. How can you not love a woman you only meet in flashbacks and through other people’s experiences? She seems like the slightly eccentric person we all know, and secretly want to be, maybe, a little. I love that she was the epicenter of her found community and chosen family.
Author Libby Cudmore has a fresh voice that spans the Gen-X and Millenial generations. She’s got the knack for writing the voices of modern hipsters with their love of all things retro (care to buy an album on vinyl, anyone?) but she also lends perspective that isn’t limited to one generation, one culture, even one person. Her dialogue is always believable. Early in the novel, in the wake/apartment-cleaning party where everyone is picking through KitKat’s belongings, she spotlights several different people – Natalie, Mac, Hilary – and they all have distinct voices. I felt like I was sitting in a chair in the corner, hearing all the bits of dialogue. That’s how realistic her writing is.
The mystery plot and the mix-tape that’s mentioned one the first page are both nostalgic (somewhere I have a box of Maxtel tapes. I liked the 90-minute-long translucent ones with the pink and orange highlights) but also completely contemporary. Similarly she blends the use of modern technology (the community has a group on Facebook, on the subway people display their dead friend’s picture on iphones), with the gritty reality of face-to-face communications.
What results is a mystery that is grounded in human relationships and rounded out with music, art, fashion, and all of the other things that give our lives shape and form.
Don’t dismiss this novel as something cheeky and fun. It is that, but it’s also a gripping mystery laced with wry, and sometimes biting, social commentary.
- See more at: http://www.bibliotica.com/2016/02/the...
February 16, 2016
In The Big Rewind, Jett finds her neighbor murdered and is determined to find out who killed her. It all started with a mixed tape that ended up in her mailbox by mistake. The Big Rewind is a debut novel that ended up being a pleasant surprise for me. I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought I was going to get a mystery, but I ended up getting that and a walk down memory lane.
Now, I'm definitely not too young to remember what a mixed tape is because I grew up in a time when that was all we had to make a "playlist". The mixed tape and later CD was often given to someone important as a way to share friendship or feelings of love through the music we chose. I still have the mixed tapes that my husband made me when we first started dating. (yes, we have been together a long time!) The story brought me back to a different world when everything wasn't always instant and seemed a bit simpler.
The other thing I loved about this book was all of the musical references. Now, you know I'm not usually a big fan of pop culture references. Often books, they are used over and over to make sure you know what year the story takes place and it drives me nuts. However, this book wouldn't make sense without them. The music is a big part of Jett's life. It plays a part in not only her solving the mystery, but in learning how to let go of the past and move forward. She may even find a little love along the way.
I highly recommend this debut. Any fan of music will get a kick out of it. Even fans of Billy Joel! (You'll just have to read the book to understand that reference.) I think that this author knocked it out of the park with her first book. I can't wait to see what she comes out with next.
Now, I'm definitely not too young to remember what a mixed tape is because I grew up in a time when that was all we had to make a "playlist". The mixed tape and later CD was often given to someone important as a way to share friendship or feelings of love through the music we chose. I still have the mixed tapes that my husband made me when we first started dating. (yes, we have been together a long time!) The story brought me back to a different world when everything wasn't always instant and seemed a bit simpler.
The other thing I loved about this book was all of the musical references. Now, you know I'm not usually a big fan of pop culture references. Often books, they are used over and over to make sure you know what year the story takes place and it drives me nuts. However, this book wouldn't make sense without them. The music is a big part of Jett's life. It plays a part in not only her solving the mystery, but in learning how to let go of the past and move forward. She may even find a little love along the way.
I highly recommend this debut. Any fan of music will get a kick out of it. Even fans of Billy Joel! (You'll just have to read the book to understand that reference.) I think that this author knocked it out of the park with her first book. I can't wait to see what she comes out with next.
August 1, 2016
Basic Info
Format: Paperback
Length/Page Count: 256pgs
Genre: Young Adult; Mystery
Reason for Reading: Cover.
At A Glance
Love Triangle/Insta Love/Obsession?: N/A
Cliff Hanger: no
Triggers: n/a
Rating: 3.5 stars
Score Sheet
All out of ten
Cover: 8
Plot: 7
Characters: 7
World Building: 5
Flow: 8
Series Congruity: n/a
Writing: 7
Ending: 4
Total: 6
In Dept
Best Part: Park and Rec!
Worst Part: Songs from the 80's
Thoughts Had: I need music!
Conclusion
Continuing the Series: n/a
Recommending:Sure
Short Review: Well if you like old 80's and 90's songs, you'll like this book, i didn't know any of the songs they mentioned at all. The ending wasn't a surprise at all, in fact when Sid mention some girl earlier, i thought he was talking about her then so i kinda knew it. There was a Parks and Rec reference, made me giddy. I think the murdered was too fat fetched anyhow. Like why would she just randomly snap and kill her over that little bit? and then the PI guy was like yah we can totally set her up, no police involved at all. Not safe. Random booty call was not needed either. Just saying.
Misc.
Book Boyfriend: No.
Best Friend Material: Jett.
February 10, 2016
This book started out a tad slow, but it definitely picked up a few chapters in and it turned out to be one I raced through much quicker than I originally thought when I first started. I have seen this book described a "hipsters meets cozy mystery" and I think that is probably a pretty accurate description.
The whole books is centered around the concept of "mix tapes" in one way or another. Jett's neighbor KitKat ends up dead right after Jett mistakenly receives KitKat's mail which includes a mix tape of breakup songs. KitKat's boyfriend is accused of the murder and Jett takes it upon herself to prove his innocence. There are some great characters in this book. It is actually quite sad that the reader never gets to actually meet KitKat as she sounds absolutely unique and positively quirky. Also, Jett's friend Sid is pretty much the perfect best friend - flawed and all. As Jett works on the mystery, she visits some boyfriends of her past through saved mix tapes of her own, and discovers what she really wants out of life.
Music plays such a pertinent part of this book and if you are a true fan, you will easily recognize many of the musical references. In addition, the mystery part of the book isn't half bad either, even if I did figure out who killed KitKat about 2/3 into the book. If you love mysteries or music, definitely consider picking this one up.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from the publisher and Edelweiss.
The whole books is centered around the concept of "mix tapes" in one way or another. Jett's neighbor KitKat ends up dead right after Jett mistakenly receives KitKat's mail which includes a mix tape of breakup songs. KitKat's boyfriend is accused of the murder and Jett takes it upon herself to prove his innocence. There are some great characters in this book. It is actually quite sad that the reader never gets to actually meet KitKat as she sounds absolutely unique and positively quirky. Also, Jett's friend Sid is pretty much the perfect best friend - flawed and all. As Jett works on the mystery, she visits some boyfriends of her past through saved mix tapes of her own, and discovers what she really wants out of life.
Music plays such a pertinent part of this book and if you are a true fan, you will easily recognize many of the musical references. In addition, the mystery part of the book isn't half bad either, even if I did figure out who killed KitKat about 2/3 into the book. If you love mysteries or music, definitely consider picking this one up.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from the publisher and Edelweiss.
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