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Private Lessons by Cynthia Salaysay

3 out of 5 🌟 Craving for love

Claire is a 17-year old teenager whose father died of cancer and whose mother has been depressed ever since. Her best friend got a boyfriend and consequently, they're spending less and less time together. Claire finds her escape from all these problems in music. She's a talented pianist and being the best piano player is her chance to get a scholarship. Claire's new piano teacher impress her in every possible way. He is an accomplished musician and teacher, and he is nice to her, which in these circumstances is enough for Clair to become fond of him.

My main issue with the 'Private Lessons' was that for at least 80% of the book I wasn't sure what the story is really about. It gave me the creepy 'Lolita' vibes and I wasn't really sure if the book wants to be a romance or a cautionary tale. Towards the ending, things got clear, and Claire's behavior started to make so much sense from the retrospective. She was not a troublesome teenager but the lonely child craving for some love and mistaking sex for real emotions.
The book also mentions the problem of racism and how the white Americans approach non-white people and what assumptions they have about Asians (Claire is also Filipino). Although, that topic was described only briefly and I wish it was explored more.

'Private Lessons' touches the issue of rape vs consent sex in relation to age and power. This is a powerful topic and it should've been better executed. I would rather know about the incident from the very beginning and learn all the circumstances and history behind it in retrospect. I feel I would've better understand Claire and all her choices, knowing about her longing for a real relationship from the very beginning.

Nevertheless, it was an eye-opening book and I was as shocked as the main character when I realized (in retrospect) that it was indeed rape and not just a bad sexual encounter. 
The book encouraged me to have some in-depth conversations about that with my husband and made me think about my past experience with not-so-100%-consent encounters. And with that in mind, I'm sure that book can be highly triggering for a lot of people.

As for the author's style, the book is well written and I read it in just a few days. The storytelling was captivating and I'll be looking for the next books by Cynthia Salaysay.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher Candlewick Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.
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