MarkAlan

What a wonderful book! The setting is Mexico City, and the novel tells the story of Mercedes, Sebastian, and Daniela, their dysfunctional families, how music can bring magic, how magic can be misused. What I especially like about the book is the way everyday lower-middle class and working class life is drawn in such a matter-of-fact, yet sharply delineated way. You recognise the characters and the family relationships, the high school homophobia and stigmatisation, but there's still the special Mexican flavour. It's a very non-clichéd coming-of-age YA, that can be read by everyone. Highly recommended. 

Here's the book blurb: 

Mexico City, 1988. Long before iTunes or MP3s, you said "I love you" with a mix tape.
Meche, awkward and fifteen, has two equally unhip friends Sebastian and Daniela and a whole lot of vinyl records to keep her company. When she discovers how to cast spells using music, the future looks brighter for the trio. The three friends will piece together their broken families, change their status as non-entities, and maybe even find love...
Mexico City, 2009: Two decades after abandoning the metropolis, Meche returns alone for her estranged father’s funeral.
It’s hard enough to cope with her family, but then she runs into Sebastian, reviving memories from a childhood she thought she buried a long time ago. What really happened back then? What precipitated the bitter falling out with her father? Is there any magic left?

The RT review is here