Guest Post: YA Books Featuring Music by Annie Cardi

Guest Post: YA Books Featuring Music by Annie Cardi

We always love welcoming authors to the blog, and today we’re excited to feature a special guest post from Annie Cardi, author of the powerful YA novel Red, a timely and emotional story centered on the #MeToo movement, faith, and the fallout one teen faces after making an impossible decision.

To celebrate Red, Annie shared some of her favorite YA books that feature music at their heart, along with a perfect song pairing for each. Whether you love stories that hum with emotion or full-on jam sessions in your fiction, this list is full of books that strike the perfect chord.

Red is available now, and it’s a must-read for anyone looking for an unflinching yet compassionate look at friendship, faith, and finding your voice in the face of judgment.

Click below to read Annie’s full post and see which YA titles made her playlist-inspired list!

Red

by Annie Cardi
Published by: Union Square and Co
on January 30, 2024
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Bookshop
Goodreads

Moving to Hawthorne was something Tess and her mom never anticipated, but after Tess’s mom loses her job, it’s their only option. Tess’s grandparents welcome them into their home, but with the condition that Tess and her mom attend church, something Mom isn’t too pleased about. But Tess enjoys the church community, finding a place in youth group and the church choir. Faith fills a void Tess didn’t know she had.

After a very personal decision goes public, Tess faces daily harassment and rejection by her former friends, and singing in the church choir is no longer an option. When she meets some kids in the music room, her only place of solace in the school, who don't judge her for what's happened, she learns to find her voice again. Against the backdrop of the Spirit Light Festival, Tess will need to find the strength to speak out if she has any chance of ending a silent cycle of abuse in Hawthorne.

Guest Post: YA Books Featuring Music by Annie Cardi

I love writing to music. I know a lot of writers who can’t listen to anything while they write, or they can only listen to music without lyrics so they don’t get swayed by the words they’re hearing. But music is an essential part of my writing process. When I start a draft, I create a playlist for the manuscript. It ends up being like a movie soundtrack for me, underscoring the emotions for the scenes I write.

For Red, music was also an essential part of my main character’s journey. When a private decision is made public, Tess finds herself ostracized from her friends and turns to songwriting to help herself find her voice again. Even though I’m not musical myself (as much as I wish I was!), I had a fantastic time writing about open mic nights, learning new guitar chords, and how it feels to hear your own voice.

So it’s not a surprise that I have a special place in my heart for YA novels that feature music. It’s a tough job to be able to convey music in a way that doesn’t fall flat on the page, but there are several authors who have done so with grace and depth.

Here are a few of my favorites:

The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta. Marchetta is one of my all-time favorite authors and The Piper’s Son is an expertly crafted exploration of grief and love and trauma and hope. Music is woven throughout as an essential part of Tom’s life and his connections with his friends and family. Song pairing: “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan.

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour. A band book + a road trip book + LaCour’s insightful and striking prose = everything I want in a book. It’s a fantastic story of friends at the edge of their futures and how everything gets messy when art and love combine. Song pairing: “Adulthood” by Jukebox the Ghost.

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson. Jackson is the queen of YA contemporary thrillers and in Grown she tackles grooming and abuse in the music industry. It’s an arresting read as Enchanted finds herself caught up in an abusive situation and a murder investigation, all while trying to pursue her dream of singing professionally. Song pairing: “Man Down” by Rihanna

Fireworks by Katie Cotugno. Set in the late ‘90’s, Fireworks looks at the intense machinery of the Florida pop band industry from the perspective of a girl who never expected to be an up-and-coming star. Cotugno masterfully navigates both the fun and splashiness of the pop music industry while also diving into the darker aspects of the grind, along with the joys and struggles of friendships and new loves. Song pairing: “Never Ever” by All Saints.

You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn. A summer romance meets a glimpse into the country music scene in this sweet and thoughtful novel about a country music bad boy and the emotionally careful heir to a fraught country legacy. Annie and Clay have real chemistry and Hahn depicts both the stresses and the joys of performing. Song pairing: “Mine” by Taylor Swift.

Good Enough by Paula Yoo. Most books that feature music focus on one genre, but in Good Enough, Yoo touches on both classical violin and rock music. This book came out so long ago, but Patti and her humor, sensitivity, and fortitude hold a special place in my heart. Plus I adore her youth group friends. Song pairing: “Treat People With Kindness” by Harry Styles.

Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass. A vibrant remix of Jane Austen’s Persuasion set in Tobago, centered around a girl trying to manage her family’s hotel business while shouldering her own grief and dealing with seeing her first love return to the island, now an international music star. Song pairing: “Waiting” by DJ Ana & Ultra Simmo, featuring Rique Legend.

Make sure to check out these fantastic books, as well as Red, which is now available anywhere
books are sold.