The Music of What Happens

By: Bill Konigsberg

Narrated by: Joel Froomkin, Anthony Ray Perez

Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

ended too soon,

so many unanswered questions, is there gonna be a sequel!?!? need 15 words so here are words to get to 15

loved the story

I really liked this story and it was kind of nice everything wasn't neatly wrapped up at the end. Both narrators were capable but the Jordan character sounded more like an eighty year-old man than an angsty teen. it was well dramatized but I just didn't 'buy' it. Otherwise there are moments of tenderness, humor and vulnerability from all the characters.

wow

there needs to be a follow-up on this story plz . it would be awesome to hear how the boys fair. what they made of their lives. please please please do a second book on this
Jim
[e-mail]

I need a peek into the future!

What an emotional story! I wasn't quite expecting to be tearing up on my drive to work, but found myself doing so a few times-Jordan and Max both had me going.
This wasn't just a story about a sweet summer fling, it had a lot of depth and dealt with some difficult topics that surprised me. Mr. Konigsberg handled both Jordan and Max's situations in a careful and considerate way and I appreciated that. My heart broke for both boys.
I understand Jordan's mother has some underlying issues, but I'm just going to put it out there- she's the kind of parent I hate to read about. Lady, you're his mother, the PARENT! Your 17yo son shouldn't be the one out there trying to save your house. Or at the very least, not the only one. Ugh. Poor Jordan.
Thank goodness for Max's mom. She's everything those boys needed. I love the relationship Max had with her, they were close but she was still his parent- not his friend, not his buddy, his mom.
I really enjoyed this story, even though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting- which was something a little more light-hearted and fun. It was both of those things, at times, don't get me wrong! It was just heavier overall than I had it in my head it was going to be, I liked both Jordan and Max, they were both very charming and compelling characters and I thought they were the perfect complement to the other.
I would have loved a little peek into the future. I know this is YA and you can't expect things to last, but I guess I hoped it would for these 2!

I loved the narration! Joel is always a winner in my book. This was my first Anthony Ray Perez book and I thought he was wonderful as Max. The only problem I had was the sound quality- about halfway through or so I would have to keep adjusting the volume between chapters. The ones in Jordan's pov, voiced by Joel, were much louder than Max's. It wasn't a big deal, just sightly frustrating.

could be a bit more realistic 17year old boys

could be a bit more realistic,17 year old boys are sexually charged, and are going to engage in sexual exploration with the guy they love

A heartwarming book - the reading? Not so much.

I wish the whole thing had been read by Anthony Ray Perez. Both because he has a nice voice, because Joel Froomkin's voice does a lot of unnecessary over-the-top exaggerations, and because I like it better when you feel like you know the voices of the characters. This wasn't really possible here, since both actors effectively read for both characters.