Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences.
Today we are featuring THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS by Bill Konigsberg!
Max and Jordan couldn’t be more different on the outside. Max is an athletic, half white/half Latino dude bro who is in the closet about his sexuality with his classmates and buds. He’s tough, like his dad expects him to be, and won’t let anything get to him. Jordan is a skinny white poet who is in a co-dependent relationship with his emotionally unstable mother. He is very in touch with his feminine side and feels most comfortable around his two female BFFs, who he refers to as his wives. Max just so happens to stop by Jordan’s food truck on the first day he and his mom have hatched a plan to bring them out of financial ruin, caused by his widowed mother’s addiction to gambling. After he witnesses Jordan’s mom go into complete emotional meltdown (because they are clueless about how to run a food truck), Max offers to help them. Though Jordan and Max may seem very different, both are working through understanding their sexuality and carrying some heavy secrets.
Max and Jordan bond over prickly pears, frozen lemonade, and chicken in the nearly unbearable Mesa, Arizona summer heat. And while they’re out on food truck and hooligan do-goodery adventures learning about each other and themselves, they both realize that their only chance of being happy requires facing their biggest fears and risking opening themselves up to the love and support of others.
Major applause to Bill Konigsberg for this heartfelt story about male friendship, male rape, learning to trust others, and learning to advocate for ourselves. Max and Jordan’s wildly fun adventures offer relief from some very tough topics including male rape, death of a parent, homelessness, and addiction gambling.
What makes this story shine:
*A delightful blend of humor and kindness, a thoughtful commentary on serious circumstances, and a sweet romance.
*Konigsberg has marvelously defeated male rape and white savior stereotypes. Max who is biracial and very athletic is raped. Jordan who is white and self-hating has to learn to lean on Max to save him from himself and his destructive family environment.
*By opening up to one another, both Max and Jordan discovery a lot about themselves and their abilities. This enables them to become comfortable with talking to their friends and family about their struggles, evolving their relationships to become deeper and more supportive. It also gives them the strength to stand up for themselves and face those who have wronged them.
–>STRONG MEN TALK. HONESTY IS A SIGN OF STRENGTH.
*A beautiful story about supporting others through trauma and deep love. The level of care the characters all develop as the story progresses makes you sad you don’t really know each of them in real life. Hugs to Max, Jordan, the Three Amigos, the wives, and Max’s mom who learn to care for each other thoughtfully.
*THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS will makes someone’s life better. It will help those suffering with sexual assault and those of us who support them. It will help us all evolve our personal relationships.
THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS goes on sale 2.26.19. It is available for preorder at your favorite book store or for request at your library today! Thanks to Scholastic and author Bill Konigsberg for sharing this upcoming YA book with the Kitlit Exchange network. THE MUSIC OF WHAT HAPPENS releases 2/26/19. All opinions are my own.
Bill Konigsberg is a Stonewall, Sid Fleischman, PEN Center USA and Lambda Literary award-winning author of five books for young adults. To find out more about Bill, check out his website and be sure to read his Proud Fierce Papa Bear speech delivered at NCTE 2018. You can also find him on Twitter and Instagram.
