I’m hard at work on my presentation for the Children’s Literature Association Conference, and I thought that others might find my list of YA books with music as a central theme or catalyst helpful. The books below range from contemporary YA to historical fiction, from the literary to the commercial. I’ll be talking more about music in YA literature as we get closer to the conference, but please let me know if I’ve left anything off this list!
After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
Battle of the Bands by K. L. Denman
Beige by Cecil Castellucci
Born to Rock by Gordon Korman
Candor by Pam Bachorz (not music, but town controlled by subliminal messages)
Chartbreak by Gillian Cross
Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys by Francesca Lia Block
Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers
Dirty Jersey by Phillip Thomas Duck
Don’t Sleep With Your Drummer by Jen Sincero
Fat Kid Rules the World by K. L. Going
Geniuses of Crack by Jeff Gomez
Girl by Blake Nelson
Heavy Metal and You by Christopher Krovatin
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert
In Mozart’s Shadow by Carolyn Meyer
Jesse’s Girl by Miranda Kenneally
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
King Dork by Frank Portman
Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Orfe by Cynthia Voigt
Pop Princess by Rachel Cohn
Resurrection Blues by Mike Tanner
Rock ‘n’ Roll Nights by Todd Strasser (published in 1982 “the granddaddy of all YA band books”)
Rock Star Superstar by Blake Nelson
Somebody Everybody Listens To by Suzanne Supplee
Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron
The Carbon Diaries 2015 and The Carbon Diaries 2017 by Saci Lloyd
The Commitments by Roddy Doyle
The Divas Series by Victoria Christopher Murray
The Exes by Pagan Kennedy
The Orpheus Obsession by Dakota Lane
The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur (Tupac’s book of poetry.)
The Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, by Bryan Lee O’Malley
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Vandal by Michael Simmons
What Matters Most by Melody Carlson
When You Wish by Kristin Harmel
Edited to add:
Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
So Lyrical by Trish Cook
Overnight Sensation by Trish Cook
Indigo Blues by Danielle Joseph
The Girl Who Became a Beatle by Greg Taylor
The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz
(Thanks Wendy!)
(This list was also compiled with help from Reading Rants and the Duraleigh Library.)
Last updated: July 31, 2015
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What a cool list! I know of a few of these, but most are new to me. Interesting topic!
Oh, goodness. Adding this to my delicious because I want to read all of these, especially Don’t Sleep With Your Drummer. HA.
There are some really good books for adults too that I had to stop myself from adding to the list. Have you read Rob Sheffield?
I am in the midst of creating a blog completely dedicated to music-themed YA novels. I just came across your post and wanted to thank you for the list. Even though I’ve heard of many of the books you listed, there are a few I had not. Here are some to add to your list:
Adios, Nirvana
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour
So Lyrical
Overnight Sensation
Indigo Blue
The Girl Who Became a Beatle
Vinyl Princess
That’s an awesome idea for a blog. I’d love to see the link when it’s live, and thanks so much for the suggestions!
Audrey, Wait! was *the* book of my ninth grade. Love it!
It’s on my to-read list! Love the cover though — definitely eye catching.
I’m also grateful for this list–and hope your talk went well. I see Wendy Wallace has already chimed in; she’s got a great blog with a musical theme. She’ll be reviewing my first self-pubbed novel in the near future: When I Am Singing to You. As you can tell from the title–:)–it’s got music running through it (in this case, Spanish lullabies).
I’m also going to be publishing a YA novel called The Ahimsa Club with a strong musical theme (playing the French horn/being saved by Paul McCartney!). Mostly, however it’s about a young girl who becomes an animal rights activist. My own agent, at the time I wrote it, would not look at it (scared of the subject matter). And when I found a small, good publisher on my own, they chickened out. Oy vey. Where is Paul McCartney in real life when you need him.
I’ll be checking in here regularly to see what nuggets I can learn from. Good luck with all your projects!
I am currently shopping out a novel that would appeal to a YA audience that has a strong musical element to it. It’s set in the 1970s and is about a young abused girl who finds some unexpected friends in a rock band trying to be the next AC/DC.
Thanks for this list! I’ve read a dozen or so. One to add might be Frances O’Roark Dowell’s “Ten Miles Past Normal.”