Her sisterhood with Shak and Dali was particularly precious to me because I don’t see enough books with strong female friendships in the mainstream. I loved being in her head, seeing what motivated her to keep chasing her dreams against the wishes of her own family. We learn these hard truths from Denver’s perspective. “ Muted is the type of book that makes you wonder if the stories we read in the media are at all true.” In the book, society refuses to believe he could have done any harm to these teenage girls simply because he is a musician with success to his name.

In reading, I learned that once you have enough money and power in the music industry, people won’t have the courage to go against what you say, especially if you are a charismatic cisgender man like Merc’. Muted is the type of book that makes you wonder if the stories we read in the media are at all true. Merc’, the music mogul and abusive antagonist, always finds a way to spin the story his way. Tami Charles shows us exactly how powerful people use the media to their advantage. Muted is a universal exploration of how easy it is to manipulate and be manipulated in this world. I expected a simple story about a young girl getting manipulated by one of the biggest tycoons in the music industry. I won’t lie to you: I did not expect to love it as much as I did. Naturally, things do not go to plan and their dreams quickly turn into a nightmare. When she and her two best friends, Shak and Dali, get discovered by one of the biggest artists alive-Sean ‘Mercury’ Ellis-they feel like this is it. Muted is the poignant story of Denver, a seventeen-year-old girl who loves music and will do anything to escape her hometown. Muted reminded me of Elizabeth Acevedo’s work in that the story was gripping and fast-paced, constantly making me wonder what the main character’s next move might be. I am not the biggest fan of poetry, but it is important to leave your comfort zone and that’s why I decided to take a chance on this one.

Tami charles muted