Staff Picks
Jams to Go for Teen
- Diamond T.
- Monday, June 06, 2022
Collection
From K-Pop to Hip-Hop, turn up the volume and tune in to one of these great reads.
Muted
Published in 2021
"For seventeen-year-old Denver, music is everything. Writing, performing, and her ultimate goal: escaping her very small, very white hometown. So Denver is more than ready on the day she and her best friends Dali and Shak sing their way into the orbit of the biggest R&B star in the world, Sean Mercury Ellis. Merc gives them everything: parties, perks, wild nights -- plus hours and hours in the recording studio. Even the painful sacrifices and the lies the girls have to tell are all worth it. Until they're not."-- Publisher's description.
More Than Maybe
Published in 2020
""Like your favorite song, More Than Maybe burrows inside your heart and stays there. Vada and Luke's story of music, family, and first love will shoot to the top of your book playlist. A rich, sweet, rock and roll ride." - Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces and How to Make Friends With the Dark Growing up under his punk rocker dad's spotlight, eighteen-year-old Luke Greenly knows fame and wants nothing to do with it. His real love isn't in front of a crowd, it's on thepage. Hiding his gift and secretly hoarding songs in his bedroom at night, he prefers the anonymous comfort of the locally popular podcast he co-hosts with his outgoing and meddling, far-too-jealousy-inspiringly-happy-with-his-long-term-boyfriend twin brother, Cullen. But that's not Luke's only secret. He also has a major un-requited crush on music blogger, Vada Carsewell. Vada's got a five year plan: secure a job at the Loud Lizard to learn from local legend (and her mom's boyfriend) Phil Josephs (check), take over Phil's music blog (double check), get accepted into Berkeley's prestigious music journalism program (check, check, check), manage Ann Arbor's summer concert series and secure a Rolling Stone internship. Luke Greenly is most definitely NOT on the list. So what if his self-deprecating charm and out of this world music knowledge makes her dizzy? Or his brother just released a bootleg recording of Luke singing about some mystery girl on their podcast and she really, really wishes it was her? In More Than Maybe, Erin Hahn's swooniest book yet, Luke and Vada must decide how deep their feelings run and what it would mean to give love a try"-- Provided by publisher.
Let Me Hear a Rhyme
Published in 2019
After their friend Steph is murdered, Quadir, Jarrell, and Steph's sister Jasmine promote his music under a new rap name, the Architect, but when his demo catches a music label rep's attention, the trio must prove his talent from beyond the grave.
Kiss & Tell
Published in 2022
On boy band Kiss & Tell's first major tour, lead singer Hunter Drake grapples with a painful breakup with his first boyfriend, his first rebound, and the stress of what it means to be queer in the public eye.
K-pop Confidential
Published in 2020
"Candace Park knows a lot about playing a role. For most of her life, she's been playing the role of the quiet Korean girl who takes all AP classes and plays a classical instrument, keeping her dreams of stardom-and her obsession with SLK, K-pop's top boyband-to herself. She doesn't see how a regular girl like her could possibly become one of those K-pop goddesses she sees on YouTube. Even though she can sing. Like, really sing. So when Candace secretly enters a global audition held by SLK's music label, the last thing she expects is to actually get a coveted spot in their trainee program. And convincing her strict parents to let her to go is all but impossible ... although it's nothing compared to what comes next. Under the strict supervision of her instructors at the label's headquarters in Seoul, Candace must perfect her performance skills to within an inch of her life, learn to speak Korean fluently, and navigate the complex hierarchies of her fellow trainees, all while following the strict rules of the industry. If she doesn't have what it takes to become a perfect, hair-flipping K-pop idol, what will that mean for her family, who have sacrificed everything to give her the chance? And is a spot in the most hyped K-pop girl group of all time really worth risking her friendships, her future, and everything she believes in?"-- Provided by publisher.
XOXO
Published in 2021
"Jenny never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk"-- Provided by publisher.
Can't Take That Away
Published in 2021
When Carey Parker, a genderqueer teen who dreams of being a diva like their hero Mariah Carey, is cast as the female lead in the school musical, they must fight against discrimination and injustice from their closed-minded school administration.
Smash It!
Published in 2020
Challenging herself to overcome long-held insecurities at the beginning of her junior year, Liv lands an unexpected role in her high school’s hip-hopera production of Othello that helps launch her journey of self-empowerment.
Last Things
Published in 2019
"Anders Thorson, front man of his metal band, Last Things, is unusually gifted for a teenager, but strange things in the Minnesota woods near his hometown are threatening him. Thea, the new girl in town, says she's there to protect him, but is that the whole truth?"-- Provided by publisher.
Super Fake Love Song
Published in 2020
When new-girl Cirrus mistakes self-described nerd Sunny Dae as the lead in a rock band, Sunny rolls with it forming a fake band with his friends, but as the lies continue he risks losing both Cirrus and his friends.