Australian author French's (All We Know
) sensitively observed novel offers up quiet notes of joy while conveying the pain of a fatherless child. Narrator Ari and his mother have moved from Germany to Australia, where his mother owns a small café. Ari was three when his father died, and now struggles between yearning for memories of his father ("My dad lived in a small photo," he states) and acceptance of his stepfather, a good man who loves him and allows him his personal space. Two things bring Ari joy—his music, a force that emerges on the page as Ari shifts from player to fledgling composer, and his beloved Opa (grandfather), who is also his mentor and teacher. Opa's death plunges Ari into a dark, anguished period of questioning his love for music. The narrative oscillates between Ari's recollections of traveling throughout Europe with his mother at ages six and eight, and different points in Ari's life in Australia, where Ari gradually learns to share his music with those around him. The understated prose sets off the thunderousness of the emotions, and French, who avoids tear-jerking, wins readers fair and square with a tender approach—as well as a protagonist who grows immensely. Ages 10-up. (Oct.)
