A review by katie_greenwinginmymouth
Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker

4.0

I’m a big fan of Morgan Parker’s poetry so was really curious to read this YA novel she’d written based on her own experiences as a teenager. It’s a really smart, funny, tender portrayal of a 17 yr old black woman living in a very predominantly white suburban area and her experiences with depression and anxiety and how that intersects with her experiences of racism and discrimination. It’s so well written and I would massively recommend gifting this book to any teenagers you know whether they are dealing with similar issues or not. She so nails the description of the complex emotions the Morgan of the book is going through and how she grapples with coming to an understanding of her depression. She also brilliantly demonstrates how this process is utterly interwoven with Morgan coming to a greater understanding of her own position in the world as a black woman and the wealth of black history she is missing out on learning because of the inadequacy of the curriculum at her very conservative Christian school. It never feels preachy or didactic though, it’s just a super honest portrayal that obviously speaks from very personal experience. Morgan Parker is such a great writer