Eighteen-year-old Harper Deacon has never been a rebel. She’s always been a rule-follower who goes along to get along. Until she does the one thing her mother asked her not to do. When she bails on college to pursue her dream of becoming a musician, her mom kicks her out and she moves into the house she inherited from her granddad.
Smith Dalton doesn’t follow the rules. He bends them to his own needs. After driving off the lead singer of the indie rock band he recently joined, Smith talks Harper into being the band’s new lead singer.
Sounds like the perfect plan. But Harper has her doubts. Joining a band with three guys? She’s never even had guy friends before. Spending a lot of time with a certain guitar player who is too good-looking, too cool, and too much of everything? That could get complicated. Especially when the guy is a player who just hooks up and moves on. The last thing Harper needs is to fall for a guy who will only break her heart.
Music is her number one priority and she has every intention of staying focused on what really matters. But, as Harper is finding out, being in a band is about more than just the music. And sometimes, what you think you want and what you really need are two very different things.
There's a certain sense of pride in knowing exactly what you want to do with your life. In knowing that there's an absolute path you want to take. But it's hard to be taken seriously when you're barely out of high school because no parent wants their child to experience extreme hardship, especially when the chosen path is not guaranteed. Harper feels so strongly about her music and convincing her mother of it is a challenge. When the two can't come to an agreement, Harper moves out and vows to succeed on her own terms. She meets Smith, an enigmatic guitarist, at one of her shows and finds herself reeled into the social circles they share. He is just as passionate about music and finally, here's someone who speaks her language. One thing she can't have happen is falling for him and derailing her plans. But you can't help who you fall in love with and so the story explores their love of songwriting and the determination Harper has to make it.
Everything Begins With Us starts off one way but ended up in a direction I wasn't expecting. In all actuality, I didn't know what to expect; I was just there for the ride. Harper is essentially thrust from an overprotective environment into the real world overnight. The result is that she trades one experience - college life - for another - sudden emotional and financial independence - in the process maturing so much faster than she would have otherwise. I was enchanted by her chemistry with Smith. Their back and forth between being friends and edging closer to the other side was exciting and also a bit frightening. I like that Harper never lost her conviction and in the face of a new challenge she never expected in her life, I think she handled herself rather remarkably. Smith's role is not only that of encouraging her but also pushing her out of her comfort zone. There's plenty of give and take between them and in the end she becomes just as much an emotional rock for him as he has been for her. There are some themes in the book that the author dives into which I won't give away in this review but you can look at the labels below if you'd like a heads up. For me not knowing what was coming was what tied me to the book and helped me sense what it was like for Harper.
This is a novel about growing up, letting go, finding common ground and friendship. The characters go through some struggles that will touch you and some of them might seem familiar. I liked the story and it did stick with me for a few days after I'd finished it. I don't know if Andrews has any plans to revisit Harper and Smith down the road so that we can see their progress; if Harper is any closer to her dreams, but in the meantime I can certainly make that wish on their behalf.
~ Bel
By the way, Everything Begins With Us is choc full of music references which made my day! Thanks to E.A. Andrews for providing the link to the book's soundtrack. Hope you enjoy it, too!
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