By Eliot Schrefer
Katherine Tegen Books, 2023. 274 pages. Young Adult
They say Léon Delafosse will be France's next great pianist. But despite his being the youngest student ever accepted into the prestigious Paris Conservatory, there's no way an impoverished musician can make his way in 1890s Paris without an outside patron. Young gossip columnist Marcel Proust takes Léon under his wing, and the boys game their way through an extravagant new world. When the larger-than-life Count Robert de Montesquiou-Fézensac offers his patronage, Léon's dreams are made real. But the closer he gets to becoming France's next great thing, the further he strays from his old country life he shared with his family and his best friend Félix . . . a boy he might love. With each choice Léon makes, he must navigate a fine line between two worlds--or risk losing them both.
I love the character of Léon! He’s brilliant at playing the piano, but cannot read social cues and is entirely lost when it comes to navigating social settings. He wants so badly to be successful so that he can play piano and reduce the burden on his family, but being successful as a musician is difficult without a patron, but what if the patron is more focused on himself than helping the musician? Léon is such a likable character, and the situations he ended up in pulled at my heartstrings. If you like historical fiction about musicians, or historical LGBTQ+ fiction, this is a lovely option.
Also, don’t forget to read the author’s note at the end about the inspiration for the novel.
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