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A review by ashandtheink
Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker
3.0
♡ Find this review and more on my blog ♡
"She tucks a piece of thin long hair behind her ear with a sense of satisfaction and ease that you have never experienced and probably never will...Everyone you can't be is a Marissa, and you are surrounded by Marissas."
Who Put This Song On by Morgan Parker is the first book I've ever read that so harshly illuminated the parts of my story I long ago shoved into the dimmest, dampest corners of my mind. I've never felt so seen--or I guess, to put it more aptly-- exposed.
⠀⠀⠀
17 year old Morgan hates her life in the suburbs so much that one summer, she does something that she regrets. Out of fear and worry, her parents require Morgan to begin meeting regularly with a therapist. Everyone in her life accepts how things are, but Morgan wants desperately to drown out the monotony of their daily soundtrack by dancing to the beat of her own drum. ⠀
But how can you be at peace with who you are when you know your world will never accept you?
What I Loved: ⠀
+ Parker did a phenomenal job of capturing Morgan's voice and personality (likely because the book is based on Parker's own diary entries from her teen years). It is impossible not to love every part of her: the bold, the uncertain, the passionate, the overwhelmed. Readers have the privilege of truly getting to see Morgan for not only who she is, but also how she wishes she could be seen by others. This kind of insight into her mind is a salve for all the broken-hearted Black girls, and an offering of communion and compassion for all other readers.
+ Stories of Alt/weird/quirky Black girls deserve to be told. Investing in Black stories means opening your heart and mind to ALL of our voices. Growing up in a predominately white Southern town, I was Morgan! The "whitewashed," intellectual Black girl who listened to "weird" music and dressed like a "freak." Reading this book as an adult healed me in way I never could have anticipated, but it also dredged up pain I sunk to the bottom of the ocean over a decade ago. Read this book. Let it rip you open, let it heal you, let it teach you a different way of understanding.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
+ The author’s note offers advice on how to find mental health support. Parker closes the book by reminding her readers that there is always support available (no matter what you're dealing with) & things will get better. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
What I Didn't Quite Like
- The pacing of the book felt a little off to me. Moments I read as major skirted by and the climax wasn't at all where I thought it would be. As a result, when the ending (finally) arrived, it fell flat. I wasn't quite sure what the ending offered me as a reader that I hadn't gotten earlier on. Some of this may be because the book is aimed at Young Adult audiences, but I felt the book could've easily been at least 50 pages shorter.
- Some parts of the story remain unresolved. Oof. Maybe this is because the story hit um... a little too close to home for me, but there are some heavy topics explored that never get resolved. For example, one of Morgan's family members makes a harmful comment about Black women that is never addressed. Similarly, there's a scene that offers commentary on the fetishization of Black women that we don't see Morgan heal from or discuss with her therapist.
Yes, this mirrors real life (maybe Morgan wasn't ready to talk about either of these incidents directly, maybe the family member never changes their mind, etc), but I wish at least a paragraph or two would've explored with readers how to handle similar situations that may come up in their own lives.
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"She tucks a piece of thin long hair behind her ear with a sense of satisfaction and ease that you have never experienced and probably never will...Everyone you can't be is a Marissa, and you are surrounded by Marissas."
Who Put This Song On by Morgan Parker is the first book I've ever read that so harshly illuminated the parts of my story I long ago shoved into the dimmest, dampest corners of my mind. I've never felt so seen--or I guess, to put it more aptly-- exposed.
⠀⠀⠀
17 year old Morgan hates her life in the suburbs so much that one summer, she does something that she regrets. Out of fear and worry, her parents require Morgan to begin meeting regularly with a therapist. Everyone in her life accepts how things are, but Morgan wants desperately to drown out the monotony of their daily soundtrack by dancing to the beat of her own drum. ⠀
But how can you be at peace with who you are when you know your world will never accept you?
What I Loved: ⠀
+ Parker did a phenomenal job of capturing Morgan's voice and personality (likely because the book is based on Parker's own diary entries from her teen years). It is impossible not to love every part of her: the bold, the uncertain, the passionate, the overwhelmed. Readers have the privilege of truly getting to see Morgan for not only who she is, but also how she wishes she could be seen by others. This kind of insight into her mind is a salve for all the broken-hearted Black girls, and an offering of communion and compassion for all other readers.
+ Stories of Alt/weird/quirky Black girls deserve to be told. Investing in Black stories means opening your heart and mind to ALL of our voices. Growing up in a predominately white Southern town, I was Morgan! The "whitewashed," intellectual Black girl who listened to "weird" music and dressed like a "freak." Reading this book as an adult healed me in way I never could have anticipated, but it also dredged up pain I sunk to the bottom of the ocean over a decade ago. Read this book. Let it rip you open, let it heal you, let it teach you a different way of understanding.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
+ The author’s note offers advice on how to find mental health support. Parker closes the book by reminding her readers that there is always support available (no matter what you're dealing with) & things will get better. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
What I Didn't Quite Like
- The pacing of the book felt a little off to me. Moments I read as major skirted by and the climax wasn't at all where I thought it would be. As a result, when the ending (finally) arrived, it fell flat. I wasn't quite sure what the ending offered me as a reader that I hadn't gotten earlier on. Some of this may be because the book is aimed at Young Adult audiences, but I felt the book could've easily been at least 50 pages shorter.
- Some parts of the story remain unresolved. Oof. Maybe this is because the story hit um... a little too close to home for me, but there are some heavy topics explored that never get resolved. For example, one of Morgan's family members makes a harmful comment about Black women that is never addressed. Similarly, there's a scene that offers commentary on the fetishization of Black women that we don't see Morgan heal from or discuss with her therapist.
Yes, this mirrors real life (maybe Morgan wasn't ready to talk about either of these incidents directly, maybe the family member never changes their mind, etc), but I wish at least a paragraph or two would've explored with readers how to handle similar situations that may come up in their own lives.
Pinterest| Blog| Instagram