Signal to Noise

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Signal to noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Magical realism at its finest!

This is Silvia Moreno-Garcia's debut book that launched her phenomenal writing career and honestly, had I not known it was her debut, I would never have guessed from the caliber of the writing. It was brilliant.

Meche lives in Mexico City, she has 2 best friends and an ability to cast magical spells. Soon Meche is drunk on its power but can she pull herself back before she doesn't something she can't undo?

It's set in the past when Meche is growing up and when she leaves Mexico City to when her dad passed away and she has to return as an adult. I enjoyed the split timeline equally which rarely happens to me. Meche gets drunk on the power she wields and she goes to a very dark place.

I found the characters charming and well written and the story was fabulous. Casting spells from music? Love it!

4 stars

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7y9bybpJpFsy5i3oYCRcbw?si=cfaf1347c2f84649

^^^ This playlist isn't 100% complete because I didn't think to make a Spotify playlist of all the references until after I was almost done with the book (so it's still a work in progress). But this playlist includes the songs, albums and artists mentioned throughout the book. If an artist was mentioned with no song accompanying them, then I just added their top five most popular songs.

****Summary****

Jumping between Mexico City 1988 and Mexico City 2009, “Signal to Noise” chronicles the love and friendship between Meche, Sebastián and Daniela, three high schoolers who discover the magic of witchcraft through old records. The novel documents their journey on navigating the magic to get what they desire — or at least the things they think they desire. Complete with typical high school drama and teenage angst, it feels like a real coming-of-age story.

Final Thoughts

- Definitely one of my favorite books. I've previously read Moreno-Garcia's “Mexican Gothic,” which I instantly fell in love with. After reading that book, I knew I wanted to read more of her work which lead me to pick up this next gem, “Signal to Noise.” This novel was Moreno-Garcia's debut novel and recently was released with a beautiful new cover — making me constantly want to pick up this book not only for the story but to admire the artwork on the front.
- Though it took me a while to finish, it was by no means because of the book. This book was enticing, I was constantly staying up late and telling myself, “Let me just get through this chapter and I'll go to bed.” I couldn't put it down!
- I also love coming-of-age stories, and the fact that this one was mixed with magic, the book quickly made its way to my favorites. Some reviews complained that this was more of a teenage love story than a story about magic, but I like to think of the magic as a backdrop. It definitely helped make the book charming and unique.
- Music is so powerful, so reading about it in this context kept me tied to the book. Moreno-Garcia has an incredible talent for keeping her readers hooked and writing unique stories with original concepts and storytelling.
- I also loved all the music references in this novel. Though I was familiar with some Spanish rock, this book really opened new doors for me musically as it exposed me to artists and genres I didn't really think or know about before. I also liked that the music references weren't random; they weren't just name-dropped, when they talked about songs or artists it had a purpose whether that be to the story or the characters.
- Anyone who is a music lover and fan of coming-of-age novels, I highly suggest this one. Though some readers found the main character Meche to be annoying, I feel like that is what made her character human. There were times in the novel when you loved her, or you screamed at the pages, “No, no, don't do it!!” Then there were moments where you couldn't help but feel so sorry for her. Meche, like the other characters, was very human — complete with flaws. That was another reason why I really enjoyed this novel. I felt like I was reading about real people who hold grudges, who make mistakes, and who experience real emotion and conflict. Also, the time jumps were really interesting because you get this glimpse of who these teenagers grew up to become, their love, their fear, and their regrets.
- All in all, this was an incredible novel and I will definitely be reading this book again and again.

not only did this book have a magic system based on music, but it also had a friends-to-no-contact-because-of-some-traumatizing-event-to-lovers romance, AKA my new fav SMG??

Music is magic.

On a certain level, I think anyone who's ever played an instrument understands that, as does anyone who's ever poured their heart into a mixtape. Silvia Moreno-Garcia definitely understands it as well; Signal to Noise is a fantastic look at the power of music, and how the right song has the potential to change our lives.

Spanning across decades in Mexico City, Signal to Noise takes that connection between music and magic on a more literal level than that of metaphor - the three teenaged characters at the centre of the drama learn how to use their record collections to exert influence on the world around them, while their adult selves deal with some of the emotional fallout of those exertions. The two halves of the story are balanced well, and Moreno-Garcia creates characters that are easily identifiable without feeling like they're archetypal or cliche. The interesting nature of the characters, mixed with a soundtrack that's both mysterious and familiar, makes this a really engaging read.

The cover boasts that Signal to Noise would be of interest to fans of Stranger Things, and I get why the publisher would say that, but I think a better elevator pitch would be High Fidelity crossed with The Craft. If you were a fan of those films you'd probably dig this.

In talking about it you realize that Moreno-Garcia takes common themes and makes them better.
To say Meche is stubborn is just another throw-away adjective used describe a pantheon of YA protagonists but is so much of what makes up Meche. She is unlikeable in the way so many teenagers are - filled with contradictions and big emotions. The duo of Meche and Sebastian, two friends so comfortable in their own skins with each other yet attracted to absolutely the wrong people, all but telegraphs the subsequent plot but right away we're challenged when we jump 20 years to the present and a grownup Meche who hasn't been with, much less even talked to Sebastian for the past 2 decades. Now it becomes the mystery of what happened. It takes what could have been a standard YA magical fantasy into something more considered and moving. Magic has a price.

Music and magic? I'm there. It's the late 80s and a trio of Mexican teenagers discover that certain records have magical qualities, qualities they can use to improve their standing at school, to improve their romantic lives, to just make things better. When things go too far, the three seperate, but decades later chance brings them back together in Mexico City...

A very strong book, almost a Central American version of Kieron Gillen's excellent Phonogram comics. Recommended.

Music is magic in mexico city for Meche, Daniela, and Sebbos. Love and trouble follow.