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THE FIFTH BEETHOVEN by Melanie Jackson

THE FIFTH BEETHOVEN

by Melanie Jackson

Pub Date: Sept. 15th, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-989724-05-7
Publisher: Crwth Press

Fifteen-year-old Nate Crocker has his wallet stolen by someone dressed as Ludwig von Beethoven in the courtyard of a luxury building in Vancouver, British Columbia.

As consolation, he is invited to be the building’s resident pianist by the smarmy owner. Nate uses his access to the building to snoop around to find the thief, teaming up with another victim, Zandi Singh, who protests there daily against gentrification and housing displacement caused by the building’s construction. Nate also befriends a boy with autism who loves his music. Over time his impressions of his boss change as his boss expresses derogatory opinions about people with disabilities and Nate comes to understand his exploitation of people displaced by his business activities. Jackson’s book is fast paced, something accentuated by Nate’s nonlinear thought processes. He jumps from idea to idea with little explanation as to how he arrived at each conclusion. The transitions in the narrative are erratic as well. Jackson’s imagery is confusing, leaving readers unable to conjure up clear visions of the story. While Nate is presented as a promising musician, this element of the story feels underdeveloped, and the cast of secondary characters adds little to the story. A publisher’s note indicates the font was chosen to accommodate readers with dyslexia. Nate and most other characters are assumed to be White; Zandi’s name cues her as South Asian. Unfortunately, a broad generalization about people with autism is not interrogated.

A summer sleuth story that disappoints.

(Mystery. 10-12)