The Music of What Happens

By: Bill Konigsberg

Narrated by: Joel Froomkin, Anthony Ray Perez

From the award-winning author of Openly Straight, a story about two teens falling in love over a summer that throws everything possible to keep them apart.

Max: Chill. Sports. Video games. Gay and not a big deal, not to him, not to his mom, not to his buddies. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn't want to think about, ever.

Jordan: The opposite of chill. Poetry. His "wives" and the Chandler Mall. Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won't like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he's the only one who can keep the family from falling apart.

Throw in a rickety, 1980s-era food truck called Coq Au Vinny. Add in prickly pears, cloud eggs, and a murky idea of what's considered locally sourced and organic. Place it all in Mesa, Arizona, in June, where the temp regularly hits 114. And top it off with a touch of undeniable chemistry between utter opposites.

Over the course of one summer, two boys will have to face their biggest fears and decide what they're willing to risk - to get the thing they want the most.

©2019 Bill Konigsberg (P)2019 Scholastic Inc.

Critic reviews

"Through the empathetic performances of two narrators, we meet gay Arizona high schoolers Jordan and Max, and their families and friends.... Froomkin and Perez's heartfelt portrayals ensure that listeners are in sync with the characters as they deal with everything from a traumatic sexual encounter and mental health issues to toxic masculinity and figuring out how to be true to oneself." (AudioFile)

real life issues tackled well

sligh spoiler alert: I love how the book addresses sexual assault and the struggles of survivors.

A story of life’s music

A growth story
A strength story
An acceptance story
A finding your voice story
Life’s beautiful and ugly stories.
Thanks

Very Close to Perfect

I loved this story, it delt with the heavy topics in a beautiful and realistic way, the characters, especially the main two, were wonderful and as someone who adores characters driven stories it was wonderful. The voice acting was great, I know some people found Jordan's VA to be annoying, I really liked it. I found he captured Jordan's personality very well. My biggest complaint is the amount of, "telling not showing" a lot of moments that could have been fantastic were knocked down a peg because we simple got a one liner explaining something without going into depth. And lots of events happened off stage that I really would have liked to see go down on page. The ending also left a couple unanswered questions that I wish has been resolved. Other than that I found the story to be beautiful, I loved both characters stories, though I enjoyed Maxes more, and I really enjoyed the audiobook and the voice actors did an amazing job.

It took me a while, too long really, to read...

this beautiful book. Not because it's a bad book in any way, but it is a challenging read. I loved it, even with months' long pauses to process the feelings it brought up. I can't recommend it enough. I think the most amazing thing is the way Bill Konigsberg handles the growth in both characters. You see them develop and change as they inspire each other. The difficult part for me were the parents, who are well...less than ideal. I can't recommend it enough. I also just really loved how the friendships for both guys evolve, which is something I feel like YA doesn't do often enough.

Great voice acting and sweet story

I liked this story a lot and how it covers so much but not having a solid ending bugged me