Customer Reviews

Sing Me to Sleep

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sing Me to Sleep was heartbreaking, raw, and original. It was a retelling at it's best. Now I haven't seen Beauty and the Beast in a long time, but the connections were definitely there. Beth was made fun to no end, and some of the teasing took an extreme turn, and her nickname was "The Beast". From the first page, Beth's personal look into her life drew me in and I was cringing while Beth held her head high when the bullying got particularly fierce. Beth was a very strong and likable main character. The reader felt for her, and her raw narrative made me like the book that much more. Morrison has a fantastic writing style that doesn't hold back. The descriptions were amazing, and transported me into the book, I could picture everything that was happening. I loved the song lyrics as well, I'm even more impressed by Angela Morrison's writing ability after reading the lyrics! The choirs added so much to the novel, I loved reading about Beth's adventure's with the choir and the girls in the choir.

The romance in Sing Me to Sleep was amazing. Torn between Scott and Derek, Beth is forced to make a choice. I really liked Scott, he loved Beth even when she supposedly looked like "The Beast" and he stuck by her side through all the teasing and tormenting. I also liked Derek, too. He was a real and sweet. I never saw the ending coming, but wow! I cried my eyes out!

There are a lot of tears shed throughout this novel. It's an emotional read, that draws you in and spits you out at the end in complete shock. I've never read anything like Sing Me to Sleep and I'm really looking forward to reading Morrison's debut novel, Taken By Storm, which is eyeing me from my TBR pile right now! I'd highly recommend this book to anyone, but be prepared with a box of tissues! Great writing, great characters, and an excellent plot- Sing Me to Sleep is definitely making my favorites list of 2010. I know I didn't really do this novel justice in my review, but all I can say is, come March, this is one you need to rush out and buy on its release date!

Rating;

Plot: 9.5/10

Characters: 9/10

Ending: 9.5/10

Enjoyment: 10/10

Cover: 10/10

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Overall: 48/50= 96%

Sing Me To Sleep is Angela Morrison's second novel and so far, my favorite. It was such a beautiful story and amazingly well written. Taken By Storm was good but Sing Me To Sleep was out of this world!

Beth is the Beast. She has accepted that her voice will be the only pretty thing about her. All that changes when she is chosen to be her choir's soloist for the Choral Olympics in Switzerland. Beth gets the makeover of a lifetime and suddenly everyone wants her. The only one Beth wants, though, is Derek. Derek is a member of one of the boys choirs they meet in Switzerland and with him, everything changes. The only problem is that Derek is keeping something from her and it could change everything, for the worse.

I don't normally pity characters but at the beginning of the book, I felt so sorry for Beth. Her life sucked at school. She only had Scott as her one real friend and she didn't know how to handle her changing feelings for him. He was cute but once I got to the part with Derek, I stopped thinking about Scott. I absolutely loved Derek. He was just what Beth needed. He helped her see herself in a new light. He was perfect.

Obviously, I am not going to tell you what Derek's secret is. It was not a happy secret, though. I bawled my eyes out while reading Sing Me To Sleep. It was so touching and beautiful. The only thing I didn't like was how passive Beth was when it came to finding out Derek's secret. I felt that she should have tried a lot harder to get him to tell her, but oh well. In the end, she found out.

Overall, Sing Me To Sleep is an extraordinary book that I recommend for absolutely everyone! I don't even really know how to put into words all the reasons why you should read it but if you do, you will understand.

Heartbreaking, sad and touching, that's what Sing me to Sleep is. In this beautiful and powerful story we get the chance to meet Beth aka The Beast. She's ugly, damn ugly, she has only one friend, Scott, and some guys in school always bully her.
Her only escape is choir, not the school choir, something bigger, something better, a girl choir in Ann Arbor, and there she can be who she wants, an amazing singer with the voice of an angel.
Beth feels and thinks she doesn't deserve to be loved, not even by her father, who thought she was ugly from the minute she was born.
But the music is her world; she stands there, sings and forgets everything else.
And then she ends up being the main soloist, and everybody notices she's an incredible singer. And that's how the transformation starts.
Now she's a new Beth, different hair, different skin, different look, but the same old Beth in the inside, insecure. When she travels with the choir to Switzerland, to an international choir competition everything changes because she finds what she wasn't looking and doesn't know if it's even real.

Him. Derek, so gorgeous, so sweet, so fantastic, she thinks she doesn't deserve him, but he wants to try even when they are miles away. However, there are secrets between them that are better not to say, or at least that's what Derek thinks and Beth is dying in the inside. And Scott, poor Scott, who could she not noticed what was going on?

I don't usually like stories with love triangles like Edward-Bella-Jacob, but Angela manages it in such a touching way that you totally get the characters.
Like I said before, SMTS is a very powerful, gripping book, Beth's insecurity is something a lot of girls can relate to, not to feel worthy of being loved. And while the story develops you are with the lump on your throat for a lot of reasons and in the end is nearly impossible not to cry or at least sniff, a lot.
The story is very well constructed, I loved the entire choir world thing, and I wish I could be there listening to them singing. It also has very well developed characters and the final part is very beautiful.
Something I really liked is that you can see the pureness of a magic love rising in front of your eyes, and that makes it unique, is very romantic, but no mushy, just enough to feel compelled by the story.
I highly recommend it, is a great book you should not miss.

Some Spoilers*


I have never had a book touched me in my heart the way this one did. Not only was the love beautiful, but the meaning behind it all, the selflessness of it, had me crying...literally. She has always been picked on since the day of her birth, called so many names and she took it all in. Then one day, she changed. She became something more and fell in love. Only the love did not last.

So when I started reading this book I felt angry. The kids in the book were mean and vile. I felt for Beth but admired her strength and willingness to endure school everyday. She face it no matter what. Her voice is beautiful. And the way she sang that old gospel song had me lose my breath. She sung with such emotion and passion, you had to stop and listen.

Finding her first love Derek is touching. You see them get along and fall in love quickly. What I failed to see was what brought them together in the first place. They both put on show for everyone but really on the inside they hide a secret. Derek's secret and fall is heartbreaking. I cried as I heard Beth sing her heart out for Derek. Her amazing strength to stand by him was beautiful.

I am glad that in the end Beth had Scott. Now while this may seem strange since I'm sure some of you have not read the book but its not at all what you think. If anything I love Scott too. He did what Derek ask him since he knew what would happen. Derek knew where he stood and the selflessness he had in him to protect Beth had me crying. Scott is a good friend to Beth and they deserve each other.

I can not began to tell you how you need to read this book. The love in it will leave you gasping for air. The singing will touch your heart and the sacrifice in the end will make you cry. I have never read anything like this. But I am glad sure that I did.

"The Beast" is just one of the most common of horrible nicknames that Beth has grown up hearing. With frizzy hair, "coke-bottle" glasses, & disfiguring acne scars stacked on top of her tall frame, Beth has never stood a chance against bullies. She has learned to deal with her unfortunate circumstances rather than try to overcome them. All of that changed when she stepped forward to take over a soprano solo in her competitive show choir.

After having her hair chopped, straightened & colored, having lots of places waxed, & a complete wardrobe makeover, "The Beast" is now just Beth. She's quite good-looking and has started turning heads in a good way. Too bad the only person who noticed her in a good way before the transformation is now repulsed by her actions. Scott has always been such a great friend to Beth, that she just doesn't understand why he wouldn't want her to be happy. It's her ultimate goal to get him to understand, until Derek starts schmoozing his way into the picture. With a voice like silk and a bad boy repertoire, he's just the kind of guy that Beth is looking for to go with her new look. But, who really cares about her? The boy who always cared or the one who cares now?

I really wanted to like this book. I really did. I was hoping that it would be a lot like Taken By Storm which was quite well-written & overall enjoyable. This one just flatlined part of the way through the book. Beth could have been a likable character if it weren't for her utter lack of a spine. I understand that there are bullies who exist and that they are cruel, but what some of these kids do to Beth is assault, not just teasing. There are many other instances that are just beyond belief for me in this novel and while I understand that sometimes the suspension of our own reality is necessary, I refuse to believe that the situations in this book are so common.

Most of the characters were so stereotypical it was annoying. I found I could practically predict what action the characters would take or what phrase they would use. Even the storyline was flat. Ugly girl becomes pretty girl and chases after bad boy, when good boy has been there all along. There wasn't even a twist on this tale. In all honesty, and as much as it pains me to say this, this book wasn't worth it. There was no silver lining and the book does not redeem itself at the end. If you want a plain, obvious story, this is it, but if you prefer something with any kind of creativity, you'll want to pass.

I can't begin to say how much I LOVED THIS BOOK! It surpassed my expectations and is definetly one of the best love stories I have ever read. I laughed, I cried, I felt everything Beth and Derek were feeling for each other.

Though she lived her life on the sidelines, Beth suddenly found herself thrust into the spotlight when she is chosen to be the new soloist for her all girls choir. With her beautiful voice leading the way, Beth's group wins a spot to compete in the 'Choral Olympics' to be held in Switzerland.

That's when the other girls in the choir decide to give Beth a make over. She receives special treatments for her face, highlights in her hair, and laser eye surgery to have perfect vision.

Now her outer beauty matches her inner beauty, but Beth still can't shake the painful identity of 'the beast'. On her first day in Switzerland, Beth meets Derek. He's handsome, friendly, and also very talented in the singing department. Derek makes it no secret that he likes Beth, just by hearing her sing on her choir's website he was in love with her. At first Beth is doubtful that Derek's feelings are genuine, but when she gets bad news via the phone, Derek is there to comfort her. One minute they're sitting on a bench and she's crying on his shoulder, and the next they're making out!

At that point I hugged the book, screamed a little, and then kept reading! With every page it got better and better. I fell in love with Derek just as much as Beth did! He opened her up and made her believe in herself like she never had before.

It's been days since I finished reading, and I still can't stop thinking about it. It got to me in a way that very few books have. Anyone who reads it will be emotionally affected. I loved it so much that I would campaign for it to be a movie! If you go to the author's official website Angela Morrison - Sing me to sleep you can read the epilogue that she left out of the book. (But don't read it until you read the book.) There is also a link for the trailer, which is on youtube.

I really don't know what to say. I have such mixed feeling about this book. I like a lot and I dislike a lot. This book definitely took me for a wild, surprising ride. I knew I was probably going to like it, judging by the great ratings all over, but... I don't know.

I really didn't like Scott or Derek. Scott wouldn't leave her alone and always tried to manipulate her into doing whatever he wanted. And Derek always tried to control her and do whatever he wanted. I thought Derek was more stalkerish and Scott was just desperate. I also didn't care for Beth because she never stuck up for herself. She let these guys control her, let everyone control her because she was so worried about losing what she finally got.

The pacing in this book is a little weird for me. It jumped forward a lot without much explanation about what happened in the gap. The writing in general was kinda weird. The language used wasn't realistic. Teenagers swear, deal with it. And we don't care if we read those "bad" words. I would have liked the book to maybe start in Switzerland, but then the "beast" part would be left out. Which wouldn't really matter because she is no longer the beast after she starts doing the solo.

The story in this book was really good. So sad at times, yet so touching. I loved reading about Beth's transformation from Beast to Beauty, though she was never really a beast. The way she was hurt was unbearable to read at time. And her life doesn't get much better after that.

I have to warn you, if you are expecting a light read, do not pick this up. I could barely get through the last 3 chapters because I couldn't see through the tears that were streaming down my cheeks. The ending is so unbelievably sad. And this is big because I never cry while reading books. If I do, it is an extremely rare occasion.

This book kinda let me down to be honest. With it's controlling love interests, weak protagonist, weird pacing and writing that was dumbed down. This extremely sad and emotional story is one that I liked, just not as much as I would have liked. If you choose to pick this up, be ready for tears. Lots of them.

While Sing Me To Sleep was a gorgeous story and as expect, I did cry like a baby, I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

Beth's extreme makeover bothered me. A lot. Going through cosmetic surgeries to enhance a character's looks and self-esteem seems a bit over the top, but it wouldn't have nagged at me so much if Beth would've at least acknowledged that outer beauty is not the only thing that matters. And while Beth still had some insecurities about herself after that, I didn't feel that it was acknowledged. That's not really a good thing for girls with self-esteem issues to read about (who most likely picked up this book because the main character has those kinds of flaws as well)

I really liked the main male characters - Derek and Scott. Each have their own personalities and style about the way that they care for Beth. But to me, it felt like someone would snap their fingers and everything would suddenly change. Derek is sweet and romantic, and then he's controlling and darkly aloof. Scott is protective and supportive, and then he's flirty and frustrated. It just didn't .. flow right for me. The twist of moods was making me very dizzy.

But, to lighten things up, Angela Morrison wrote a beautiful tale of finding love and finding yourself. While I don't approve of the rushed ending, or the relationship formed at the end, Beth's emotions were so detailed that I sympathized with her character and I understood. I may have not liked it, but I got it.

Overall, it wasn`t my cup of tea, but it's perfect for other readers. Lyrical, romantic and heart-wrenching, it will leave you in tears, whether you enjoyed it or not. If you want a happy-glitzy-lovey-dovey story, don't pick this up. But if you want an emotion-evoker, definitely give this one a try!

SING ME TO SLEEP, by Angela Morrison, was a remarkable and heart-breaking story of love and music. This book literally tore me up inside but in the best way. Beth was always the Beast, but her physical transformation was just the beginning. With her new appearance she was able to accomplish her dreams of being a soloist and being loved by another, or two others. A new life was introduced to her, but complications arose when she had to make her choice between Scott or Derek.

This book was unlike anything I have ever read. There was mystery, romance, suspense, heart-break, I could go on and on. The synopsis of the book does not even hint to the magnificence that is this book. I liked the added element of singing. The lyrics that were created were extraordinary and emotional. And the makeover for Beth was extreme but definitely matched her internal beauty.

Beth was a really great character to read. She was not given an easy life, in terms of her looks, but she always knew what she wanted to do, and that was to sing. Even when life gave her lemons, she made lemonade.

It was very hard to choose whose 'side' to be on in the love triangle. Both Derek and Scott were so different and they appealed to different parts of Beth. Scott knew Beth from when she was the Beast and he still loved her. But Derek did not know of Beth's past so she was able to start their relationship with a clean slate. They were both devoted wholly to Beth and her happiness, but in the end she made her choice based on her heart.

This book had me sobbing the last six chapters, and I do not easy cry over books. The secret that Derek was hiding from Beth was nothing I would have expected. But I don't want to spoil it, so I definitely recommend you go out and read it.

I fell in love with Angela Morrison's writing when I read her first book Taken by Storm. She really proved to me that you can have all of the steamy tension between teens without actually taking it all-the-way...and also giving perfectly good reasons on why some teens make that choice...all wrapped up in story lines that will keep readers coming back for more!

Reading about Beth and her life before her "conversion" from beast to beauty has me looking at these kids at school walking through the hallways and wondering what their inner voice tells them (based on what they've heard others say.) It broke my heart to keep seeing Beth refer to herself as "The Beast" and "Da-amn Ugly" only to have it reinforced by the bullies at her school. Luckily she has her gift of singing to keep her afloat, it is the one thing she KNOWS she's good at and no one can take that away from her...that and her best friend Scott who's got her back 24/7.

When Beth meets Derek and he tells her he fell in love with her because of her voice and that she sings him to sleep at night with a recorded song he has, how can she not fall for that? From the very beginning they are both hiding their "real" selves from each other...Derek has no idea that Beth's beautiful appearance is only very recent and that her inner voice still tells her she is the beast she always was. Beth has a feeling there is something about Derek she doesn't know, although at times he gives himself to her completely and only reaffirms his love for her...she can sense that he is keeping her at arms length...what is he hiding?

When Beth and Derek arrive home from the choir competition in Switzerland the situation does not get any better. At first I was irritated at all the things that Beth overlooked when it came to Derek, she kept forgiving him time after time even though he kept hurting her. But if you have ever seen a teen in love people, this is reality! Teens in love will forgive a LOT if it means the person they love will stay with them...like it or not, its true. Especially for a teen who has never felt this way before. I did appreciate the fact that Beth's mom kept on top of the situation and there was actually a caring adult in the story for Beth to rely on.

This is a very emotional story about self-worth, first love, loss and acceptance. You might be irritated by Beth and Derek's actions in this book but just remember, they are just like most teens out there...inexperienced and led by their emotions! Beth also finds herself torn between Scott, who has always been there for her and charismatic Derek. The singing and choir aspect of the story is lovely and the lyrics that Beth and Derek write are beautiful...just like poetry!

Oh, and isn't the cover beautiful?!

I really enjoyed this story and look forward to more by this author. Check out her website for videos and songs from the book.