Tegan and Sara: Junior High

Quin, Tegan and Sara Quin. Tegan and Sara: Junior High. 2023. 304p. ISBN 9780374313029.

Tegan and Sara: Junior High is a fictionalized account of the famous Canadian indie musicians, identical twins Tegan and Sara Quin, transporting their 1991 middle school experiences into the present day. Tegan and Sara have just moved to a new city with their mother and stepfather, and they're entering into a new middle school with its social dynamics and cliques. The sisters attempt to navigate the challenges of a new school, the complexities of early adolescence, and the evolving dynamics of their twinhood while improving their musical talent. 

While they face the universal experiences of first crushes and the anxieties of puberty, Tegan and Sara also grapple with emerging differences as they grow into their own persons, forging individual paths and exploring their burgeoning queer identities. As they make different friends and develop an understanding of who they are attracted to, the twins remain best friends, even as they seek to answer the question of who they are when their twin is not around.

This coming-of-age story offers a unique perspective on the twin experience, exploring the intricate balance between sisterhood and individuality. Through their honest and insightful portrayal of their early lives, Tegan and Sara provide a glimpse into the roots of their musical journey and offer a poignant reflection on the complexities of growing up and finding one's own voice.

An Appetite for Miracles

Kemp, Laekan Zea. An Appetite for Miracles. 2023. 448p. ISBN 9780316461733.

Danna knows she's a little on the chunky side ... actually, a lot on the chunky side. She loves food. She loves to cook it, and she loves to eat it. Her mother is always after her to lose some weight, and she closely monitors what Danna eats. Danna wishes her mother would just accept her as she is, not as she could be. The family has bigger problems anyway. Danna's grandfather, who lives with them, suffers from Alzheimer, and he is gradually forgetting more and more as the disease progresses. It's becoming difficult to keep hum safe.

Raúl loves to play music, and his favorite thing is to play guitar for the elderly. It helps them remember their lives' happy events and memories. And it lets Raúl forget that his mother has been in prison for the last two years. Raúl and his uncle travel to old folks' homes, and also play in people's homes. This is how he ends up at Danna's house, and a spark is lit between the two of them.

When Danna comes across a journal he wrote in his youth about the places he visited with his wife and the wonderful foods they ate, Danna decides she will prepare those dishes, with the hope that it will spark a memory and help slow her grandfather's descent into a deeper state of Alzheimer. Raúl, meanwhile, is dealing with his mother being released early from prison. The two years she was gone were rough, but now she's a changed person, and not necessarily for the better. 

As Raúl and Danna navigates the waters of a budding relationship while dealing with dramatic family issues, can they rely on each other to get through these changes?

Malcom Kid and the Perfect Song

Paramore, Austin; Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (letterer), and Sarah Bollinger (illustrator). Malcom Kid and the Perfect Song. 2023. 208p. ISBN 9781637152232. Available as a graphic novel on the library shelves.

Malcolm loves music, and he is pretty good at it. His father, however, sees Malcom's choice of a career to be wrong, and he would prefer his son do something else, anything else. Plus with the death of his older brother, Malcolm has to be the oldest brother to his younger sibling. Malcom is poor, and even the subway robber takes pity on him, earning him the unflattering title of "2 Poor to Rob." When his friend accidentally destroys his portable keyboard, Malcolm is crushed. What will he do without a musical instrument? 

January was Malcolm's best friend before she moved away. Now that she's back, she's dating the friend that destroyed his keyboard, and she feels partly responsible for that because he was chasing her. So she reconnects with Malcolm, and she offers to replace his keyboard. She's located a pawnshop a few blocks away, so Malcolm and her visit the place. The man offers to sell him a wonderful LK-2000, but at a price that does not include money. January immediately accepts, though Malcolm has misgivings.

That night, Malcolm falls into a dream that feels very real. An older musician sits at a piano, looking for the perfect song. Malcolm awakes to find this was not a dream. The keyboard is actually haunted. Malcolm unloads his keyboard to January, who has the same dream the following night. Unlike Malcolm, however, she talks with the musician, and learns that his name is Midnight, and he was a famous jazz artist in their town. He is stuck here, until he completes the perfect song. January promises that Malcolm will return, and will help him complete his song. The old man is thrilled.

Angry, Malcolm reluctantly agree to help Midnight. As he and January begin to look for clues as to where the perfect song would be, they learn details about themselves and about Malcolm's family that shines a light on secrets that were long buried, and reveals the power that music has on his life.

Swing

Alexander, Kwame. Swing. 2018. 448p. ISBN 9780310761914. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Seventeen-year-old Noah is in love with his best friend Sam, ever since she saved him from a pounding in third grade. But Sam likes Noah as a friend, and nothing more. His mind filled with poetry, Noah keeps trying to convince himself to speak to Sam and confess his love for her. His friend Walt, who calls himself Swing, keeps pushing for Noah to finally step up and take a chance that his love for Sam might be reciprocated. And Walt knows just how to get the girl: Noah needs to talk to his cousin, who bills himself a relationship guru. The cousin's advice? Listen to the Woohoo Woman podcast, and learn what women like!

The boys have tried out for the school's baseball team for three years in a row, and each time they haven't made the cut. Swing swears that he will play on the team, despite the fact that he is not really good. Noah doesn't really care, and wouldn't mind to stop trying for it. For his mother's birthday, Noah scours the thrift store and finds a keepall, a type of bag that can be used to keep papers. Inside are dozens of love letters, each a spark of inspiration for Noah, who begins writing anonymous poems to Sam.

As Noah navigates the choppy waters of unrequited love, he also learns about jazz, and discovers that to be cool does not mean following the crowd. Risking his friendship with Sam, Noah decides to take a swing, hoping for a home run ....

Written in the free verse style, Swing will not leave the reader indifferent. The characters are realistic, and their relationships are complicated and representative of a turbulent period in one's life. Fans of poetry will appreciate this story with a bittersweet ending.

Give Me Some Truth

Gansworth, Eric. Give Me Some Truth. 2018. 432p. ISBN 9781338143546. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Maggi, 15, and her family are Native-Americans who left the reservation near Niagara Falls years ago. Maggi has worked with her mother, her older sister Marie and her twin brother Marvin, to create traditional artwork they sell at the Niagara Falls park to tourists. Marie has met a secretive man, and she wishes to move back to the Reservation, so at the beginning of the story Maggi finds herself once again living in a shack without much creature comforts. 

Carson, 17, is a great musician, and he yearns to get off the Reservation. His ticket to New York City starts with winning the upcoming Battle of the Bands. Problem is, he doesn't have a band. So he needs to convince his friend Lewis to join the band. Carson is focused on his own problems, but his abusive father keeps distracting him with his brother's foibles. Derek, Carson's brother, held up a local restaurant, General Custer, and was shot in the behind. Everyone on the Reservation knows everyone else's business, and they now calls him the Hamburglar. 

When Maggi moves back to the Reservation, Carson remembers when she was a younger kid, but now finds her attractive. Maggi, for her part, is infatuated with an older man, who works for the school district maintenance team. And that man is the uncle of the boy who has been harassing Lewis, with whom Maggi also works. 

As the three of them navigate life, form a band, and learn how to play together, they will learn some hard truths, make some mistakes, and figure out what life really has to offer.

Crescendo

 Cheney, Allen and Julie Cantrell. Crescendo: The Story of aMusical Genius Who Forever Changed a Southern Town. 2019. 336p. ISBN 9780785217404.

On the day that Fred Allen died, his sister, who was pregnant, went into labor and delivered a healthy baby boy that she named Fred in honor of her deceased brother. The midwife who helped deliver baby Fred was also known as an oracle, and she predicts that the baby will be very smart, but also very different. Born in striking poverty in rural Georgia during the Great Depression, Fred soon reveals that he is a gifted musician when at three years of age he can play full pieces on the piano without missing a single note. 

His parents work in the cotton mills, and their abject poverty and crushing existence lead to Fred being neglected and sexually abused by an uncle. He finds salvation in music, however, and rediscovers his love for singing and playing. Motivated and encouraged by dedicated educators and mentors, Fred escapes his family and heads to college. There he meets Winnie, the love of his life, and after graduation they marry. Fred continues to play music and to seek out a career in the field. Having made many contacts along the way, he moves to New York City with his wife and young daughter and enrolls at the Juilliard School, Union Theological Seminary, which possesses the best organ anywhere in the world, and Columbia University. Juggling all three schools, playing in a church in New Jersey, and his wife and daughter, Fred earns a position at RCA records, and wins Grammies for his producer talents.

None of these accomplishments are fulfilling, however, and Fred still dreams of Broadway. A crushing depression brought on by the developing awareness of his abuse as a child forces him to re-evaluate his priorities, and he moves his family away from New York back to Thomasville, Georgia, where he becomes the leader of a youth choir, and soon joins the faculty at the local high school. With his wife and daughter, he creates an amazing musical program that forty years later continues to be successful.

Fred's life as a musician and educator forever changed so many lives. His positive outlook and his dedication transformed sulky and taciturn teenagers into some of the best singers of his time. Fred's life is proof positive that the impacts educators have on their students can never truly be measured.

The Book of the Bagpipe

Cheape, Hugh. The Book of the Bagpipe. 2000. 77p. ISBN 0-8092-9680-2. Available at 788.4 CHE on the library shelves.

For many, bagpipes are synonymous with reverent music and Scotland. Though the origins of the bagpipe is unknown, historical records and illustrations suggest that ancient Egyptians possessed winded pipe instruments similar to bagpipes. Other examples from ancient Greece and Rome indicate that they were played at least since antiquity. 

In Scotland, the bagpipe most likely spread from continental Europe with a musical renaissance that followed the clash of civilizations between the Crusaders and Islam in the 11th and 12th century. By the 13th century, there is clear evidence that the bagpipe was already used by minstrels and in royal courts. By the 15th century, various styles of bagpipes had evolved, and the piper had acquired an important social role as the spreader of information.

The rise of the industrial revolution and changes in social mores spelled the end of the local piper, but the rise of an industrialized military force paradoxically increased the need for bagpipe while standardizing both the instrument and the music. Remaining a Scottish emblem, the bagpipe continues to fascinate and delight music lovers everywhere.

Operatic

Maclear, Kyo. Illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler. Operatic. 2019. 160p. ISBN 978-1-55498-972-0. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

In a few short months, Charlie is leaving middle school and heading to high school. Her favorite class in 8th grade is Mr. K's music class. Her best friends, Addie, Rachel, and Mayin are also in the class with her. Mr. K. enthusiastically presents the world of music, and asks each student to find the song that inspires them and that represents their life. For the rest of the year, Charlie and her classmates will be exploring different music genres, trying to find the song that defines them.

Charlie is not sure what music most represents her, and she finds it difficult to concentrate when Emile, a quiet student, is in the same class as her. She breaks out sweating whenever he talks to her. Emile has not been the same since Luka disappeared from their music class. Luka moved in the area a few months ago and immediately struck the school as eccentric. When Luka declared his love for Emile in front of the music class, the laughter that resulted drove him out and he hasn't come back since.

As she searches for her song, Charlie comes across Maria Callas, an operatic singer from the 1940s to the 1960s. Maria Callas was not appreciated by her schoolmates, but she ignored her detractors and achieved her goal of being an opera singer. She transformed herself into a glamorous woman and lit up many theatres throughout her career. Even at the height of her skills, however, she had detractors that found her voice lacking. Charlie relates to Maria's story, and is moved by her music. She has now found her song.

With only a few weeks left and a performance in front of the school, can Charlie manage to reunite Emile and Luka, help her friend Addie with her anxiety, and learn some truth about herself in the process? 

This is Your Brain on MusicThis is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

Levitin, Daniel J. This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession. 2007. 314p. 490 mins. ISBN 9781101929162. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive as well as at 781 LEV on the library shelves.

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For most people, music is something we enjoy listening to, but we don't really think about what impact music has on our brain. Sophisticated artists have figured out how to appeal to various aspects of our brain by creating music that resonates with the audience. Behind all of this, however are neurological and behavioral sciences that explain what actually happens to your brain when you hear music, what evolutionary part music played in humanity's history, and how it continues to be enjoyable from our formative moments in our mother's womb to our teenage years and beyond.

Music is like any skill. Though there are some prodigies who master it very quickly, for most it is countless hours of practice that leads to mastery. Music itself plays upon the same neuron pathways that language uses, and can be used to communicate information. We may not consider ourselves musical, but our ears are perfectly evolved to detect and appreciate harmonics that even a super computer has trouble processing. How music affects our brain helps us understand not only how our brain works, but how our species evolved rhythms and sounds to attract mates and how this then led to actual language.

Fans of music will appreciate the research behind how we hear and appreciate music, as well as the history of how it has come to be an important part of humanity.

Pharrell

Vetere, Lori. Pharrell. Part of the Hip-Hop & R&B Culture, Music & Storytelling series. 2019. 80p. ISBN 978-1-4222-4183-7. Available at B WIL on the library shelves. 

 

Pharrell Williams is a famous singer and music producer known for his mega-hit Happy. An accomplished artist, Pharrell's work touch more than music, with dives in fashion, movies, and writing as well. Born in 1973 in Virginia, Pharell quickly demonstrated an interest and a talent in music. His mother encouraged him to learn and practice, and he joined the school band in 7th grade, where he met his lifelong friend and group member Chad Hugo. Together they created the Neptunes, a production company that since the 1990s has created some of the most famous songs for artists, movies, video games, and commercials. 

Attracted by various sounds and inspired by world music, Pharrell's style has evolved and remains eclectic. He created his own lines of clothing, produced the movie Hidden Figures, and sponsored many philanthropical endeavors. Pharrell remains motivated to increase school graduation rates and increase the number of students who go to college to pursue their dreams.

Fans of music will appreciate Pharrell's hard work ethic and his dedication to being a mogul with a social conscience.

The Sound of Freedom

Kacer, Kathy. The Sound of Freedom. 2017. 249p. ISBN 978-1-55451-969-9. Available at FIC KAC on the library shelves.

Ever since Hitler came to power in neighboring Germany, the Jews of Poland have lived uneasily. Over the last three years incidents of antisemitism have been on the rise, and violence against Jews is tolerated and even encouraged by local authorities. In Krakow, Anna’s father works for the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra and teaches students. Anna herself is a talented clarinet player, and she hopes to follow in her father’s footsteps. When Anna witnesses the old butcher’s assault by a gang of thugs while the police observes but does not interfere, she knows it is time to leave the country. Yet Jews are not welcomed anywhere, so obtaining transit papers to live somewhere else is almost impossible. Her father does not want to leave anyway.

An announcement in the local newspaper declares that Bronislaw Huberman, the world-renowned violinist, seeks to create the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra and is hiring Jewish musicians from all over Europe. Anna sees this as her father’s chance at an exit ticket, and encourages him to apply. He demures, saying that things are not as bad. Anna and her grandmother, who lives with them, conspire and write a letter to Herr Huberman anyway, asking him to allow her father to audition. When Anna and her father are attacked by thugs at the Philharmonic Orchestra, he is forced to agree that the situation for Jews is worsening, and that he must find a way out of Poland.

As Jewish persecution intensifies throughout Europe, and as the seeds of the Holocaust are being sowed, the family’s future rests on the success or failure of this audition. But even if it is successful, they will have to adapt to a new country, where the return of Jews is not welcomed by the local Arab population.

Inspired by true events, The Sound of Freedom discusses a little-known aspect of Jewish immigration in the tense years leading to the Second World War and the Holocaust. Fans of historical fiction will appreciate Anna’s efforts to save her family from a doom she cannot identify but that she can feel is about to strike.

All the Crooked Saints

Stiefvater, Maggie. All the Crooked Saints. 2017. 320p. ISBN 9780545930802. Available both on the library shelves at FIC STI and as an audiobook from Overdrive.

In a dusty desert corner of mid-1960s Colorado stands Bicho Raro, a small ranch populated by the extended Soria family and by pilgrims, people who have come to Bicho Raro seeking miracles. Members of the  Soria family possess the unique ability to perform miracles. The first miracle reveals the truth about a person. The second miracle frees that person from that truth. There are three types of pilgrims: Those whose first and second miracle happen almost simultaneously, those who need time to deal with their issue and accept the truth, and those who never complete the second miracle. Travelers from all over the United States come here, sometimes with nothing but a sense of desire for change, guided here by the pull of miracles.

Daniel Soria is the current saint, but when he falls in love with Marisita, who is perpetually under a cloud of rain, and refuses to remove her wedding dress. Sorias and pilgrims are not supposed to mix, and anytime a Soria has attempted to help a pilgrim things have gone bad for the Soria, and three lifesize wooden statues of Soria ancestors demonstrate that. Having endangered himself, Daniel runs to the desert so his family cannot help him.

Beatriz and Joaquin Soria are cousins, and they have built a pirate radio station out of an old pickup truck. Cruising the desert at night, they broadcast a low signal to whomever is listening in their corner of the desert. When it becomes clear that Daniel took a radio with him and is listening to them, the cousins decide to keep broadcasting and invite Marisita to sit down for a live interview. Beatriz is emotionless and rational, much like her father, but deep down, could there still be hope for her? Joaquin wants to become a professional broadcaster, but who in the desert will ever hear his voice and give him a chance?

Pete is on his way from Oklahoma to Bicho Raro because he saw a sell ad for a pickup truck. He’s picked up by a disc jockey from Philadelphia, who’s also pulled towards Bicho Raro for his own reasons. A hard worker, Pete is the only person at the ranch who is neither a Soria nor a pilgrim. All he wants is to purchase the truck, but now it’s used as a radio station. And why is Beatriz so alluring?

As miracles are performed, and the Soria family struggles with rescuing Daniel from the desert, a disparate cast of characters works through their issues and darkest fears, hoping to ultimately find themselves and shed what holds them back from a better life.

Stiefvater once again offers a masterful book with excellent character development and an engaging plot. Fans of The Scorpio Races and of the Raven Boys will enjoy this standalone story of a dysfunctional family with a hint of paranormal activity.

Solo

Alexander, Kwame. Solo. 2017. 464p. ISBN 9780310761839. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Rutherford Morrison is multi-millionaire star that struck it rich with amazing music, Morrison eventually lost his guiding star when his wife, died of a heart attack following an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Now addicted to drugs and hoping to accomplish a comeback that never concretizes, Rutherford is more famous for his antics and his myriad rehab stints than his music.

Morrison has two kids, Storm and Blade. Storm has released her own music album, but everyone except her find it a terrible mismash of sounds and a clear lack of talent. Blade is ready to graduate high school and move on. He misses his mother terribly, and he wishes his father would reconnect with the music he loved so much. Blade is in love with Chapel, a beautiful girl, but her parents have forbidden them seeing each other based on the pretext they don’t want her introduced to drugs, even though Blade is the opposite of Rutherford.

When the valedictorian bows out, Blade, as salutatorian, is expected to deliver a speech. A born songwriter and poet, Blade is encouraged by Chapel to write a song instead of a speech and perform it in front of his peers. Unfortunately, Blade’s performance never gets off the ground as his father, drunk and high, crashes graduation on a motorcycle accompanied by a scantily clad woman. In an event recorded by many and posted online, Rutherford ruins Blade’s graduation. During a particularly epic fight that night, Storm reveals that Blade is in fact adopted.

Crushed by this revelation, Blade turns to Chapel for comfort, only to discover her in someone else’s arms. Feeling abandoned by the love of his life and by a birth mother who gave him up and never looked for him, Blade decides to look for her. Unfortunately, she now works in Ghana as a missionary. Blade resolves to find her and forge a relationship with someone he didn’t know he missed until now. Will going to Ghana help Blade heal his mind and emotions from his chaotic life?

Filled with mentions of rock and roll and interspersed with original songs, this audiobook is a classic coming of age and finding oneself novel using a slightly different approach. Blade is self-centered, but he is a realistic teenager, and his desire to know more about his roots and reconnect to the music he loves drives this story. Readers who enjoy books about music will appreciate this tale.

Jay Versus the Saxophone of Doom

Kootstra, Kara. Jay Versus the Saxophone of Doom. 2017. 182p. ISBN 978-0-670-06940-8. Available at FIC KOO on the library shelves.

One of the best hockey player in Parry Sound, Ontario, Jay Roberts lives and breathes the sport. His idol is Bobby Orr, who also grew up in Parry Sound. Jay proudly wears the #4 for his team, the Parry Sound Shamrocks. This year, he encounters a challenge he dimly expected but now must face full on. In music class, he gets an instrument, and he will be expected to perform in front of his entire class. If Jay doesn’t want to repeat 6th grade, he must quickly learn how to play an instrument.

Unfortunately for him, instruments are assigned in alphabetical order. By the time his music teacher gets to him, he gets stuck with the saxophone, this strange instrument that must be assembled every time. To say that Jay has no ear or rhythm for music is an understatement. Instead of cradling a saxophone, Jay would rather hold a hockey stick and push a puck forward.

Though one of the best players on his team, Jay’s often bullied by Mick Bartlet, a classmate who’s bigger and meaner. Avoiding Mick can be done at school, but it’s harder on the ice. With the saxophone now present in his life, Jay is not sure which one is worse: Mick or the sax? As the school year progresses, Jay will have to draw inspiration from his hero Bobby Orr and find a way to transform the saxophone in his clumsy hands into an instrument he can use to play passable music. What if learning how to play the saxophone was just like learning how to play hockey? On the ice or in the band room, Jay’s year is about to get challenging!

Going Bovine

Bray, Libba. Going Bovine. 2009. 480p. ISBN 978-0-375-89376-6, Available at FIC BRA on the library shelves and as an eBook on Overdrive.

During a trip to Disney World when he was 5, Cameron Smith jumped out of the It’s a Small World ride to join the land of the Innuit. At the time, he and his twin sister Jenna were best friends and did everything together. That trip was the highlight of Cameron’s life. Now at sixteen, Cameron is a loser. He’s failing school, he’s high at least once a week, he has a lame job at Buddha Burger, he doesn’t have a girlfriend and he has no prospects whatsoever, and his sister Jenna hates him. She’s one of the popular and smart kids at school.

His parents are concerned about him, but the only thing that lights Cameron up is the Great Tremolo, a Portuguese singer who uses a recorder. The music is so bad Cameron can’t get enough of it. When Cameron begins to see hallucinations, he first ascribes it to the drugs he’s doing, but soon the fire giants that haunt him feel more real. A series of medical tests later, Cameron is discovered suffering from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, otherwise known as mad cow disease. Always fatal, Cameron now finds himself in a hospital bed with no hope.

That’s when Dulcie shows up. An angel he saw at Buddha Burger, Dulcie tells Cameron that he must leave the hospital and take a road trip to find Dr. X. Dr. X discovered how to travel to other realities, and he unwittingly unleashed the fire giants on this world. Only Dr. X can provide Cameron with a cure. Accompanied with Gonzo, a high school acquaintance who occupied the hospital bed next to him, Cameron must now cross the United States looking for random events that seem out of place. Chased by men of the United Snow Globe Corporation, Cameron and Gonzo will rescue a Nordic god named Balder currently caught in the body of a lawn gnome, discover great music, find religion, meet the love of their lives (at least, they think), all the while with the fire giants and the Wizard pursuing them. Can Cameron find Dr. X before it’s too late?

A humorous and sometimes confusing book, Cameron never seems to know whether he is still hallucinating in the hospital or whether he is in fact traveling on the road. Fans of King Dork will appreciate the musical references and the contemporary language Cameron uses to explain away his mediocrity and his disease.

The Musician’s Daughter

Dunlap, Susanne. The Musician’s Daughter. 2009. 322p. ISBN 978-1-59990-332-3. Available at FIC DUN on the library shelves.

Theresa Maria is lucky to have a musician father who works for a Prince. Finding employment in 18th-century Vienna is hard enough, but for a musician it’s almost impossible. Having Prince Nicholas Esterhazy as a patron is a good thing for the family, as it keeps them fed and sheltered. A musician in her own right, Theresa aspires to join an orchestra but she knows her gender stands in the way of being able to secure such a position.

When her father is found assassinated near a gypsy camp and his priceless violin missing, Theresa’s world comes crashing down around her. Who would want to kill a court musician? Armed with the only clue she has, a mysterious gold pendant found around her father’s neck, Theresa decides she will investigate. Finding employment as a copyist for her father’s teacher, renowned composer Franz Joseph Haydn, Theresa discovers a plot involving blackmail and extortion and the local gypsy tribe. With the help of Zoltan, a dashing gypsy, Theresa hopes to find the murderer. But the issues that motivated her father’s death are still very much in play, and her life at risk.

The Musician’s Daughter is an excellent historical novel taking place in the best magical capital in the world, Vienna. Fans of history will appreciate the look at a society rapidly evolving and will appreciate Theresa’s hopes of escaping a marriage she does not want and finding out why her father was killed.

Falling Over Sideways

Sonnenblick, Jordan. Falling Over Sideways. 2016. 257p. ISBN 978-0-545-86324-7. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

An 8th grader in middle school, Claire’s life has not been easy. Her friends have graduated dance class and are now practicing with the high schoolers, while Claire remain stuck with the training bra crowd. Her brother Matthew, a junior in high school, is smart, dedicated and the clear favorite sibling in their household. She’s picked on at school, and even a once good friend, Ryder, is now her number one enemy, rubbing in when he makes the saxophone first chair and she only makes second.

But when Claire is the only person in the room when her father suffers a devastating heart attack, her life suddenly does a 180. She saved her father, and now she’s holding the family together. Her brother Matthew can’t handle the pressure and is starting to crumble in school. Her mother is convinced Claire’s father will get better and seems in complete denial. Dance, band, and school suddenly lose their urgency. And everyone who looks at Claire now see a different girl.

Claire doesn’t want any of this, however. She wants to return to the life she had before, when she was looking forward to her father joining her for the father daughter dance at her music studio. She wants a quiet 2nd chair band experience. She wants her friends back. But just like her father must work hard to regain some of his former strength, so must Claire. Can she survive being the hero?

P.S.: I Like You

West, Kasie. P.S.: I Like You. 2016. 329p. 6 hours 56 minutes long. ISBN 978-0-545-85097-1. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Lily stands out at her high school, and not for the better. Now a junior, her nemesis Cade gave her the nickname “Magnet” back in middle school, and it has stuck ever since. Cade is conceited, thinks he’s the most beautiful boy in the school, and bestows nicknames and insults to everyone that crosses his path. Her inability to catch a basketball was so funny to her classmates that they all kept passing her the ball, hence the nickname Magnet. Lily has never forgiven Cade, and when he dated her best friend Isabelle she did everything she could to undermine the relationship.

Lily wants to become a songwriter. She’s always writing lyrics and accompanying her songs on her trusted guitar. She’s not ready to share any of them, however, not even with Isabelle. Her home life is frantic and loud, with two younger brothers. She also has to share a bedroom with Ashley, her older sister who attends community college but stays at home. Her parents do their best, but there’s never peace at home.

During a moment of inattention in Chemistry, her teacher catches her writing away, and he tells her that from now on she cannot have her trusted green book in front of her. In her despair later on that week, she writes a song lyric on her desk. To her surprise, when she sits back down at her desk she discovers that someone completed the lyric. Soon, she’s exchanging old fashioned letters with an unknown male correspondent. With Chemistry classes taking place all day, it could be anyone. That guy is sensitive, with a distant father and a demanding stepfather. They share the same musical tastes, and they expose each other to new bands.

But when she discovers that Cade is her secret penpal, everything changes. How can the boy she’s falling in love with be the jerk that makes her life hell? Can Lily reconcile Cade’s two dramatically opposed persona into a person she can truly love and who will love her back?

King Dork

Portman, Frank. King Dork. 2006. 344p. ISBN 0-385-73291-0. Available at FIC POR on the library shelves.

Sophomore Tom Henderson refers to himself as King Dork, the dorkiest person at his school. For the last several years, Tom has had a hard life. His father, who worked for the police department, died in a hit and run years ago. His mother never recovered, and even though she remarried (to a man named Tom), she’s not very present in her children’s life. His little sister Amanda hates Tom (the new husband, nor her brother, although that is still up for debate). Tom doesn’t have many friends, and he spends most of his time with Sam Hellerman, a fellow dork. The two of them have been talking about forming a band for years, but they don’t have instruments so that’s a problem.

They are picked on at school, both by the hateful girls and the depraved jocks as well as by Mr. Teone, the assistant principal responsible for freshmen and sophomores. Tom and Sam do not have girlfriends, and are unlikely to ever find any. In brief, their lives are the stereotypical maladjusted teenager suffering from angst and a propensity for prescription medication (in Sam’s case). So, the beginning of their sophomore year is guaranteed to be terrible, with books like Siddhartha. And it is, when for the second year in a row they are assigned The Catcher in the Rye to read. Tom really hates the Catcher in the Rye, not necessarily because of the story but because all of the adults consider it a rite of passage and apparently have drunk the Holden Caulfield kool-aid.

But when Tom discovers his father’s book collection, everything changes. There are several notes, underlined passages, and secret codes that seem to indicate that his father and a character named Tit, were involved in something big. Was his father actually murdered? Did he commit suicide? Who is Tit? Tom will take steps to investigate this mystery but by doing so will find himself hopelessly entangled with the Hillmont High School community. Who knows, he might even get a girlfriend out of this terrible year.

Fans of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl will thoroughly enjoy Tom’s outlook on life and the coarse language and vulgar thoughts that populate his mind. This book doesn’t mince words but is also hilariously funny. Want to experience rock and roll, teen angst and sex, and discover a mystery at the same time? King Dork is the book for you.

Kill the Boy Band

Moldavsky, Goldy. Kill the Boy Band. 2016. 320p. ISBN 9780545867474. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

The Ruperts are the newest British boy band, a sensation so powerful teenage girls all over the world are in love. Originally participants in a reality television show demonstrating their talents, the members of the band were put together by a marketing team due to their endorsement by the public, and by the catchy fact that their first names are all Rupert. The four of them have been driving their fans wild with pop songs, and their social media presence and public appearances are endlessly analyzed.

Told in the first person, the narrator, a teenage girl about to turn 16, never identifies herself throughout the novel, so we will call her X. X has social anxiety, and would rather spend time online with virtual friends than take the time to make real connections. However, she did meet Erin when they started 9th grade, and, as another fan of the Ruperts, hit it off immediately. They connected with two other girls online. Apple, who is adopted from China and whose parents love her so much they’re willing to let her do whatever she wants, and Isabelle, who has an acerbic personality and who publishes one of the most popular blog about the Ruperts.

When the Ruperts announce they will be performing a concert in New York City during Thanksgiving, the girls are completely beside themselves. The show sold out so fast they were unable to get tickets, but that won’t stop them. Their plan? They will book a room at the swanky hotel where the Ruperts are staying, so that unlike the fans who will wait outside hoping for a glimpse of the wonder boys, they will be in the hotel and that much closer to the objects of their affections.

But all of this is background knowledge the reader gains as pages are turned, for the novel starts in the hotel room where something has gone wrong. Apple, on her way to the ice machine, encountered Rupert Pierpont, body slammed him unconscious (Apple is, after all about 5 feet 2 and over 260 pounds), and dragged his body back to their room. When Rupert P comes about, he finds himself tied to a chair in the hotel suite of four teenage fans.

The girls don’t quite know what to do with Rupert P. Sure, he’s a member of the Ruperts, but he’s the ugliest and least talented of the four. Honestly, if they were going to kidnap a member of the band, wouldn’t they have been better off with one of the others? Rupert P. is Apple’s favorite, however, so she has trouble controlling herself. X, for her part, really wants nothing to do with this kidnapping, but unfortunately she’s already involved, as Erin reminds her. Plus, they have his room key, his cellphone, and the secrets they contain.

With such an opportunity at their fingertips, what else would diehard fans do but take it? Each girl has an agenda, however, and all is not well in the Ruperts universe. The decisions the girls will make are about to change the boy band forever.