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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Mixed feelings.
I guess I can start with the audiobook as read by Anthony Ray Perez and Joel Froomkin. In terms of the actors, it was great! Both had great voices and acted their characters really well. It took a while to get used to their different interpretations of different characters (it was weird because the book said that Max didn't really have an accent but then Froomkin... gave him one?) and there were a couple of weird pacing moments in terms of speech and speed that might just be down to editing. But overall I really enjoyed listening to this book.
As for the content, it was also good? A sweet and cute teen romance and coming of age story, where the protags battle life and parents and friendships and other all too real problems. I really liked how it dealt with friendship, and the hurtful things we say to each other without knowing they're hurtful. I also liked how Max and Jordan didn't like every single thing about each other (though at times it was like, wait DO you like each other?) as they became boyfriends. And I like acknowledging that sometimes, parents aren't good for you, and you have to let them go. Its lessons and themes aren't new, but they're important, and it doesn't hurt having them repeated in books for teens. The writing wasn't... great, but not bad, and I enjoyed it mostly.
My nitpicks are varied.
- I liked the characters but their chemistry was... let's go with unconvincing. Like I said above, there were times when I really didn't get why they were into one another.
- At one point Max refers to Jordan using the word "latinx" as "PC bullshit" and that was a big yikes. Also a handy way to confirm that the author is white and cis. I get that it was kind of part of Max's journey, as near the end he does seem to acknowledge that microaggressions are a thing and he's allowed to be upset about them but something about that moment and his commentary felt... bad.
- The writing felt near wooden at times. I wish I had the words to explain it, because it sounds like a condemnation and I'd like to explain exactly WHAT I didn't like about it... but idk. It just wasn't very good!
- I reaaaaaaally didn't like the theme of 'do the things you can't until you can'. Jordan nearly passing out in the desert? Wasn't him being dramatic. His dislike of exercise? Totally valid. The scene where Max gets him to do it and pushes him and pushes him and Jordan is having an absolutely awful time and Max realises but STILL PUSHES him... it felt AWFUL to listen to. Awful! Yeah, yeah, Jordan eventually starts to ~feel the burn~ and decides that he likes it, but god, that was not enjoyable. And Jordan resentfully going along with it and hating it but not saying anything felt especially gross in a book that deals with consent.
I don't know. It's not a bad book. I don't know that I'd recommend it to anyone, but it's not a bad book. I wish it was better, though.
I guess I can start with the audiobook as read by Anthony Ray Perez and Joel Froomkin. In terms of the actors, it was great! Both had great voices and acted their characters really well. It took a while to get used to their different interpretations of different characters (it was weird because the book said that Max didn't really have an accent but then Froomkin... gave him one?) and there were a couple of weird pacing moments in terms of speech and speed that might just be down to editing. But overall I really enjoyed listening to this book.
As for the content, it was also good? A sweet and cute teen romance and coming of age story, where the protags battle life and parents and friendships and other all too real problems. I really liked how it dealt with friendship, and the hurtful things we say to each other without knowing they're hurtful. I also liked how Max and Jordan didn't like every single thing about each other (though at times it was like, wait DO you like each other?) as they became boyfriends. And I like acknowledging that sometimes, parents aren't good for you, and you have to let them go. Its lessons and themes aren't new, but they're important, and it doesn't hurt having them repeated in books for teens. The writing wasn't... great, but not bad, and I enjoyed it mostly.
My nitpicks are varied.
Spoiler
- The premise. Yeah, I get that Jordan's mother isn't in a great space, but who hires a teen boy to run their food truck at first sight? Not even a teen boy who wanted the job, just one who happened to be standing there at a difficult moment. A teen boy whose cooking you've NEVER EATEN. And Jordan, whose knowledge of Max is 'dudebro from school', just goes along with it. Wtf. Later in the book Max or Jordan says something like "it's unbelievable how we met a month ago" and I'm like YEAH LITERALLY UNBELIEVABLE.- I liked the characters but their chemistry was... let's go with unconvincing. Like I said above, there were times when I really didn't get why they were into one another.
- At one point Max refers to Jordan using the word "latinx" as "PC bullshit" and that was a big yikes. Also a handy way to confirm that the author is white and cis. I get that it was kind of part of Max's journey, as near the end he does seem to acknowledge that microaggressions are a thing and he's allowed to be upset about them but something about that moment and his commentary felt... bad.
- The writing felt near wooden at times. I wish I had the words to explain it, because it sounds like a condemnation and I'd like to explain exactly WHAT I didn't like about it... but idk. It just wasn't very good!
- I reaaaaaaally didn't like the theme of 'do the things you can't until you can'. Jordan nearly passing out in the desert? Wasn't him being dramatic. His dislike of exercise? Totally valid. The scene where Max gets him to do it and pushes him and pushes him and Jordan is having an absolutely awful time and Max realises but STILL PUSHES him... it felt AWFUL to listen to. Awful! Yeah, yeah, Jordan eventually starts to ~feel the burn~ and decides that he likes it, but god, that was not enjoyable. And Jordan resentfully going along with it and hating it but not saying anything felt especially gross in a book that deals with consent.
I don't know. It's not a bad book. I don't know that I'd recommend it to anyone, but it's not a bad book. I wish it was better, though.
“I sometimes think we’re like space dust,” he says as my head is cradled in his chest.
“Like our problems are small, all things considered?”
You know how when you've been wanting to read a book for so long and then you finally get to read it, and you're so happy it's not a disappointment? Yeah. This is like that for me. I love it. It's not perfect but it made me feel things.
For example, I was quite annoyed with Jordan because he whined a lot and even Max was done with his attitude at some point. But the annoyance made me realise something. There are people like Jordan and Max out there and that's what made it more real. They're both singing different tunes, they're both going at different notes, yet they made the music of life. And it fits the title so well. The music of what happens. They are what happens.
I think just like all romance books, I expected a happy ending. But this isn't a love story. Not necessarily. If you're here for the romance, please just go back. But if you're here for some drama and conflicts, by all means, stay.
“Like our problems are small, all things considered?”
You know how when you've been wanting to read a book for so long and then you finally get to read it, and you're so happy it's not a disappointment? Yeah. This is like that for me. I love it. It's not perfect but it made me feel things.
For example, I was quite annoyed with Jordan because he whined a lot and even Max was done with his attitude at some point. But the annoyance made me realise something. There are people like Jordan and Max out there and that's what made it more real. They're both singing different tunes, they're both going at different notes, yet they made the music of life. And it fits the title so well. The music of what happens. They are what happens.
I think just like all romance books, I expected a happy ending. But this isn't a love story. Not necessarily. If you're here for the romance, please just go back. But if you're here for some drama and conflicts, by all means, stay.
This was really funny and touching, and it realistically portrayed teenagers as far as how they interact with each other, AND how they deal with major issues. A lot of YA books have big dramatic plots that feel forced, but this felt natural and it was really good. It made me laugh a lot. I wish I knew what happened next!
Wow. What an amazing read. Powerful, poignant, silly at the perfect time and simultaneously heartfelt.
Konigsberg has crafted a story with so much heart.
Konigsberg has crafted a story with so much heart.
This is a really sweet book involving some heavy subject matter (cw: rape flashbacks & aftermath, addictive behavior in a parent, casual homophobia, casual racism, much related emotional constipation). Not an issue book, just two boys spending a summer working together, getting to know each other, and opening up to the world. I really liked that both Max and Jordan's relationships with their best friends and parents were just as central as the relationship between the two of them, and needed just as much work. And the work is always mutual--no one can fix each other but they can be there for each other in different ways. Balancing comfort (and performance, and stereotypes) with sincerity is a running theme. Definitely recommended :)
This was such a heartbreaking but hopeful story. So relatable and wholesome and so, so real. I don’t have any other words. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.
TW for rape, homophobia, addiction, racism
TW for rape, homophobia, addiction, racism
TW: rape/sexual assault
I totally did not expect to love this book the way that I do. Max’s story really hit me in the gut; it’s so intense and mind-boggling and confusing. And I felt pain for him, like I was there with him.
I totally did not expect to love this book the way that I do. Max’s story really hit me in the gut; it’s so intense and mind-boggling and confusing. And I felt pain for him, like I was there with him.
A layered, beautifully written, laugh-out-loud-at-times funny book. Audio is great.
Max and Jordon could not be more of opposites but when they spend a summer in a food truck trying to save Jordons home, they realize opposites attract.
This book was not on my radar until I met the author at the Colorado Teen Literature Conference. His passion for creating safe spaces was so captivating and I knew I had to read one of his books. I checked out the book and audiobook from my library and gave it a shot.
Book
- Max and Jordon are complete opposites and through their journey together grow as men. They realize speaking up for what they dislike is an important factor in friendship and relationships in general. I did like the uncertainty of how each viewed each other and their self in society. It gave a realistic view of how adolescents can be when your sexuality does not match societies boundaries and rules. Their relationship had ups and downs and was influenced by exterior factors which are authentic to real life.
-Taboo Topics: Konigsberg does well in portraying difficult subject matter in a realistic way. It may not be idealistically how we would want to handle such situations but how they are handled in real life. The situation surrounding the rape was unfocused and the character had to work through it to fully understand the emotions and experience. It took time and effort for them to fully grasp what had happened, which I appreciate the journey. Konigsberg also brought to light how interactions between friends can be perceived differently. One joke is maybe funny to someone but insulting to another.
-Hispanic Family life: As a Hispanic, I often struggle with some literature because the defining characteristic is being the stereotypic brown character. I enjoyed Max having his own issues, of course with his father, but had a fairly stable home life. His mother was caring and present, establishing rules and boundaries. As well as pushing him to be better with voicing his emotions. Max was a jock who was more than the stereotype.
Audiobook:
-Character voices: I did like the voices for Max and Jordan. They fit the characters and what I would imagine they would sound like.
Con:
Book
- I know there is a HUGE debate over the use of Latinx. I felt Konigsberg glossed over why there is a movement for the Lantinx in speech and language. If this issue was to be brought up then it should have been an issue the characters discussed and not just in passing.
- Jordan's Wives I did not particularly enjoy. They seemed superficial and not that great of friends. It seemed their friendship hinged on Jordan being lower than them.
Audiobook
- JORDON"S VERSION OF MAX'S VOICE!!!! Could not stand it nor could I get behind the wives voices either. It was as if the narrator was trying to hard to make the voices diverse instead of authentic.
This book was not on my radar until I met the author at the Colorado Teen Literature Conference. His passion for creating safe spaces was so captivating and I knew I had to read one of his books. I checked out the book and audiobook from my library and gave it a shot.
Book
- Max and Jordon are complete opposites and through their journey together grow as men. They realize speaking up for what they dislike is an important factor in friendship and relationships in general. I did like the uncertainty of how each viewed each other and their self in society. It gave a realistic view of how adolescents can be when your sexuality does not match societies boundaries and rules. Their relationship had ups and downs and was influenced by exterior factors which are authentic to real life.
-Taboo Topics: Konigsberg does well in portraying difficult subject matter in a realistic way. It may not be idealistically how we would want to handle such situations but how they are handled in real life. The situation surrounding the rape was unfocused and the character had to work through it to fully understand the emotions and experience. It took time and effort for them to fully grasp what had happened, which I appreciate the journey. Konigsberg also brought to light how interactions between friends can be perceived differently. One joke is maybe funny to someone but insulting to another.
-Hispanic Family life: As a Hispanic, I often struggle with some literature because the defining characteristic is being the stereotypic brown character. I enjoyed Max having his own issues, of course with his father, but had a fairly stable home life. His mother was caring and present, establishing rules and boundaries. As well as pushing him to be better with voicing his emotions. Max was a jock who was more than the stereotype.
Audiobook:
-Character voices: I did like the voices for Max and Jordan. They fit the characters and what I would imagine they would sound like.
Con:
Book
- I know there is a HUGE debate over the use of Latinx. I felt Konigsberg glossed over why there is a movement for the Lantinx in speech and language. If this issue was to be brought up then it should have been an issue the characters discussed and not just in passing.
- Jordan's Wives I did not particularly enjoy. They seemed superficial and not that great of friends. It seemed their friendship hinged on Jordan being lower than them.
Audiobook
- JORDON"S VERSION OF MAX'S VOICE!!!! Could not stand it nor could I get behind the wives voices either. It was as if the narrator was trying to hard to make the voices diverse instead of authentic.
You know, I was really enjoying my mediocre queer summer romance. Then it had to take a bunch of serious turns. The Music of What Happens was like: "Hey, wanna confront your internalized homophobia?" and "Hey! Let's really deep dive into this sexual assault stuff." I just wanted to live on that Food Truck and watch Max and Jordan fall for each other in the Arizona heat. Instead we had to take a major detour into "too-heavy-land" and I'm not sure that we ever recovered.