Music of What Happens, written by Bill Konigsberg, reviewed by Kalie Mehaffy

Summary: The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg is a story of two boys, Max and Jordan, and their crazy, terrible, awesome summer. Max has a terrible encounter with a boy but doesn't know how to talk about it. Jordan and his mom will lose their house if they cannot make their food truck work. Max and Jordan, although they are in the same AP Composition class during the school year, meet each other at the food truck in a farmers market, where Max sees Jordan's mom breakdown. Max offers to help Jordan with the food truck, and as the summer progresses, the two boys become close. As their friendship turns into a relationship, their deepest secrets start to come out, and both boys have to learn how to navigate the unfamiliar waters of deep communication and trust.

Straight Talk for Librarians: I think that this is an amazing book that absolutely deserves a space on the classroom library bookshelf, but it is also a book that should come with warnings. This book covers very heavy topics that could be very triggering for some readers, but the way Bill Konigsberg approaches them is so real and so relatable. I think this book could be something very beneficial for students, but it is a book that I would want to have a conversation with the student about before letting them read it. I think this book has some amazing themes that students can learn from and apply to their everyday lives, and if it could be used as a class novel there is some amazing character analysis that can be done. The point of view switches back and forth from Max to Jordan, and I think it adds some depth to their characters and interactions to occasionally see the same scene from both character's points of view. I do not think I would use it as a class novel, but I absolutely would have it available for students, with the proper warnings.