A Song for Julia (Thompson Sisters)

By: Charles Sheehan-Miles

Narrated by: Jack Wallen, Alana Rader

Everyone should have something to rebel against...

Crank Wilson left his South Boston home at sixteen to start a punk band and burn out his rage at the world. Six years later, he's still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn't ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job.

The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left alone to write his music and drive his band to success.

Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father's career and dominating her family's life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she's haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy.

When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.

The Thompson Sisters Series: A Song for Julia is part of a series of novels centering around the Thompson sisters. Though the books center on the same family, they are standalone novels and can be read in any order.

©2013 Charles Sheehan-Miles (P)2013 Charles Sheehan-Miles

DNF due to poor audio quality

Oh man, the quality on this one sucks. It's like a home production with a lady narrator who was dragged into doing this at a time when she was too lazy to care. Objectively though, the lady narrator has the perfect voice/s to make good audios, certainly beats many OTT voices out there. She just needs to observe the full stops and commas, help of a sound engineer and a good quiet sound booth to record.

I'm dumping this audio version and will look for the book to read cos the story is beautifully written, seems very promising, although the prose does need tighter editing to take out repetitive info. Nothing formulaic so far and the characters are quite compelling.

Outstanding story; Female reader needs to slow dow

This story is an outstanding addition to the Thompson sisters, and Jack Wallen was a good narrator. Alana Rader, however, needs to slow down. It would be helpful if she knew what a period is for, and could reflect the emotions of the characters better. The writer penned a fantastic study of two individuals working through trauma and coming together; no simplistic formulas here. They each take a circuitous route to find each other and success in love and life.

Loved Listening To This!

Where does A Song for Julia (Thompson Sisters) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A Song for Julia was my first audiobook ever. I thought I would hate listening to audio books but I had an 8 hour drive and I was sick (so I couldn't sing in the car, ha) and figured I would try out Audible. The book was fantastic! The people reading it out loud were so talented, I can't believe the voices they did. They were subtle but I loved it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Song for Julia (Thompson Sisters)?

How Julia really came into her own. She realized what she wanted to do in life and went after it.

Which scene was your favorite?

The first meet-cute.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I'm not too emotional but I just really enjoyed it.

Any additional comments?

Awesome book!

Great story-kind of poor recording

The girl narrator's recording was not was I'm used to. I could hear sirens going by in the background, some sort of buzzing sometimes and a lot of mouth sounds. It was a bit distracting. The story, however, was awesome and I did really enjoy that.

GREAT STORY, Great Man, HORRIBLE WOMAN NARRATOR!

Would you consider the audio edition of A Song for Julia (Thompson Sisters) to be better than the print version?

No!!! Even though I don't own the print version, The Audio Version Is good when the man(JACK WALLEN) is reading BUT WHEN THE WOMAN(ALANA RADER)IS READING IT'S SO AWFUL! I don't really like writing bad reviews & I Hardly ever do... BUT I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF HERE! THIS WOMAN REALLY SUCKS!!

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the story line & the Jack Wallen's accent is perfect for Crank!

What didn’t you like about Jack Wallen and Alana Rader ’s performance?

I loved Jacks performance BUT I HATE ALANA'S!? Alana is constantly making all kinds of weird noises & one minute she sounds like she is in a tunnel talking & the next it sounds like she is sucking on the microphone! You can gear her breathing, swallowing, FLUSHING THE DAMN TOILET EVEN!! I MEAN CONE ON LADY TAKE SOME PRIDE IN YOUR JOB! THIS AUTHOR HAS A GREAT BOOK & YOUR RUINING IT!

If you could rename A Song for Julia (Thompson Sisters), what would you call it?

I LOVE THE NAME I DON'T THINK I'D CHANGE IT! HOWEVER I'D DEFINITELY CHANGE HER VOICE! I KNOW, I KNOW I KEEP SAYING HOW HORRIBLE ALANA'S PERFORMANCE IS... BUT IT IS REALLY REALLY BAD!!!

Any additional comments?

I wish the author would get it remade WITHOUT THE ANNOYING ALANA RADER!!

A Sweet Love Song with an Edge

I discovered Charles Sheehan-Miles through an author Takeover on Facebook. I’m so glad I did, A Song for Julia was a remarkable young adult romance. Crank and Julia seem like a typical opposites-attract romance, but as we learn more about the characters, we see they complete each other. The two are strong and independent even though they are broken, they are doing just fine alone. Okay, maybe not fine but they are surviving. Survival isn’t the same as living and coming alive is what happens when two people who belong together, find each other. Burdened by their individual pasts, these two battle their attraction with passion, clashing and attracting each other in equal measures. As their friendship and romance grows these two very unique characters give each other the tools needed to fight their own demons. A true team, this young couple become partners and together, share a strength not often seen for years. Their desire to put each other’s needs and desires above their own is a love marked by maturity that unfortunately often only comes after having heart ache.

A young adult romance with the addition of other relationships and how the impact their lives. The differences between their two sets of parents, their interaction with their siblings, and their friendships with others all play a part in this dynamic love story.

If you love music, romance and hope after tragedy A Song for Julia is a great choice.

The narrators did an awesome job portraying the characters and adding another element to the story. My love for audiobooks continues.

The best Thompson Sister book so far!!

This book can be read as a stand alone, ironically, I hadn't realized until I started this book that I had already listened to the first Thompson Sister's book called Remember to Breathe. I enjoyed this book a lot better than the first. In the beginning, we get an opposites attract between a newbie playboy rock star and rich upper class Harvard girl. Julia has been struggling with a dark tragic event that took place yrs ago. Crank well he's that talented sexy rock star working his way to his dream. His parents are separated and Crank helps his father with his autistic brother. Basically, Julia makes an impression on Crank & he decides to write a song about her. That song gets their career started after signing with s record company. They both learn to break down each others walls, fall in love, and make their own future decisions. There is a lot more to the story so you'll just have to listen to it! I was interested from beginning to end.

Pleasantly surprised!

I really wasn't sure what to expect with this book. This is my first experience with this author and i was not disappointed. The story lacked nothing. the sound quality on the audio was not the greatest in parts, particularly the female character's. There was a weird echo and it sound quality was different than the male character's, however; the story was so good that after. awhile i was able to even overlook that. i highly reccomend this book and am looking forward to reading the others in the series.

Poor quality audio/narration

This may have been the poorest quality audiobook I've ever listened to. I had issues and inconsistencies with both narrators for Crank and Julia. I just couldn't stomach Crank's Boston accent. His voice for Julia didn't remotely resemble the hasty style she read with. He also didn't do a British accent for Serena, which the female narrator did. The female narrator did do a wonderful job on all the characters voices (I liked her voice for Crank better than his actual voice). However, she read so quickly, blowing past natural pauses and then creating pauses where there shouldn't be any. She also swallowed a lot (she was a noisy reader) and the overall recording when she read sounded "cheap" as if she were just pressing a tape recorder, not in any kind of professional sound booth.

The story itself was just OK for me. Although I understood Julia's difficult past; it was hard to watch her continually keep Crank at a distance because of her own insecurities

Could not finish! The Narration was horrible!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I think I will read the book to avoid the horrible narration.

What was most disappointing about Charles Sheehan-Miles’s story?

I am sure that it's a great story. I have never been disappointed by one of his books.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jack Wallen and Alana Rader ?

Anyone would do a better job.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

First I think that Jack Wallen sounded a little too old for Crank.

The main reason I hated the narration was due to Alana Rader. It sounded like she was in her bathroom recording herself. You could hear her swallow and move. She paused at strange times and she changed her tempo quite a bit. I had to give up on the book because I couldn't focus on the story. I was annoyed listening to the narration.

Any additional comments?

If possible the audiobook should be re-recorded by new narrators. It was really bad.