Fiction for the Musician
Pop Princess
Rachel Cohn [YF COH]
Meet main character, Wonder Blake. "'Discovered' while working at a Dairy Queen, fifteen-year-old Wonder produces a demo, records an album, and goes on tour--all while grieving for her older sister, who died two years earlier just before signing her own record deal." (Horn Book Guide Reviews) This story is a fast read; light and fluffy like many of the current pop stars in the news.
Han Nolan [YF NOL]
"Nuthin' else in the world would matter if I could sing and people would listen." Janie (who changes her name to Leshaya) has a very rough life. She was only four years old when she nearly drowned due to her mothers neglect. Foster care became an unfulfilling escape, until she found a friend and her voice. Through her experiences of joining a blues band, drugs, and a dangerous world of careless sex, Leshaya struggles to accept herself, her race, talents, control, responsibility, and find the love, family, and life she has struggled for so unapologetically. Mature topics for high school readers.
K.L. Going
"Seventeen-year-old Troy, depressed, suicidal, and weighing nearly 300 pounds, gets a new perspective on life when a homeless teenager who is a genius on guitar wants Troy to be the drummer in his rock band." Ever had stage fright with an upset stomach? Vomit makes a big splash (pun intended) in this book!
The Haunting of Hip Hop: A Novel
Bertice Berry [FIC BER]
The Haunting of Hip Hop: A Novel Bertice Berry [FIC BER] Is there a direct link between the drums of African tribesman and hip-hop music? Successful New York City hip-hop producer, Harry "Freedom" Hudson, finds a house in Harlem that may be haunted. He goes on a journey to acquire this building and finds more. Read in a Booklist Monthly Review from 2001, about "voices from the past demand[ing] that their stories be heard and implor[ing] the young rapper to change his musical style and recognize that the drum is a gift from the ancestors." Click on the "More Information" link in the catalog to read more reviews.
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley [YF BRA]
"Despite the horrors of World War II, a French teenager pursues her dream of becoming an opera singer, which takes her to places where she gains information about what the Nazis are doing--information that the French Resistance needs." Transport yourself back in time and let the music take you away.
