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The Music of What Happens
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The Music of What Happens
Unavailable
The Music of What Happens
Audiobook9 hours

The Music of What Happens

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

From the award-winning author of Openly Straight, a story about two teens falling in love over a summer that throws everything possible to keep them apart.

Max: Chill. Sports. Video games. Gay and not a big deal, not to him, not to his mom, not to his buddies. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn't want to think about, ever.

Jordan: The opposite of chill. Poetry. His "wives" and the Chandler Mall. Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won't like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he's the only one who can keep the family from falling apart.

Throw in a rickety, 1980s-era food truck called Coq Au Vinny. Add in prickly pears, cloud eggs, and a murky idea of what's considered locally sourced and organic. Place it all in Mesa, Arizona, in June, where the temp regularly hits 114. And top it off with a touch of undeniable chemistry between utter opposites

.

Over the course of one summer, two boys will have to face their biggest fears and decide what they're willing to risk - to get the thing they want the most.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 26, 2019
ISBN9781338331202
Unavailable
The Music of What Happens
Author

Bill Konigsberg

Bill Konigsberg is from New York City. Konigsberg was a sports writer and editor for years, earning a GLAAD Media Award for his ESPN column Sports World Still a Struggle for Gays. He won the Lambda Literary Award in 2007 for his first novel, Out of the Pocket. Konigsberg lives in Arizona with his husband, who is clearly too good for him, and their dogs, Mabel & Buford.

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Reviews for The Music of What Happens

Rating: 4.047169811320755 out of 5 stars
4/5

424 ratings28 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    *spoilers*Jordan and his wives were infuriating, like I sympathized with him… but most of the time he came off as selfish. Especially when he found out about Max’s rape. Him finding a way to somehow make it about him had me floored. Max is such a great character, he was written beautifully. His friends came off real and not like the idea of what friends are.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The start of this book grabbed me and kept my attention but the ending just kept dragging on.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Good book with good plots and characters. Gets a bit heavy talking about sexual assault, trauma, gambling, and addiction. Probably 21+ for thematic issues.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This did not turn out the way I expected, and it touched on some hard topics. I commend the author for taking that on in a young adult fiction novel. Very well written; I could see every scene in my head!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    wow not what I expected

    if I thought picking up this book in order to avoid books on serious and hurting topics was to avoid serious and hurting topics i was soooo wrong

    this wasn't an easy book to read

    it deals with really heavy topics, about us being influenced by what we hear and feel as kids and about realising at some point how toxic ppl can be and how it's not always obvious for the involved parties

    I won't name the actual topics or will I?

    just read it

    it's a well-structured book

    you can tell what's going on and be upset about it from the beginning without the narration explaining it to you - it's all there though! but if you don't have the knowledge that this things are out there AND how problematic they are you will understand as the book goes on and I think that's how ya books should be! you learn with the characters main and supportive ones

    I'm super upset that some ppl dropped it because they didn't like the main characters - eh? - because they didn't get them? and it hurts



    I hated the obviously toxic relationships and I hated the shit talking with friends that seemed to be cool for the biggest part of the book, but it wasn't ! and I couldn't tell if the book will address it - that's how perfect the pov and the measuring of the character growth is - I was SOOOO relieved when the characters finally stopped that train and starter talking for real - from then on - I cried, ok?

    romance is written in tiny letters here

    the boys are a gift to eo

    they help eo figure out things become stronger (in different ways) and i love them and I'm really emotional now because I can relate big time and I'm happy to know books like this exist

    I wish ppl read it or have ppl tell them that the boys learned
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Spoilers! I will be controversial here and would say that it's Max who makes me question listening it further. Half through it, but he still is presented like this reliable, perfect guy, aware of privilege of others, but he seems like not the least insensitive guy to me. How asking a private question is worse than reading a private journal? He doesn't lash out on his friends because of that. He makes Jordan feel like as if he should apologize for his (almost) heatstroke and "whiny" personality. It's on Jordan's low self-esteem, sure, but Mr SuperMax is not so great either with social clues and validating others. Except it's not presented like a problem, it's Jordan who is dramatic and has to 'man up.' I would say they both flawed except the authour seems to favor Max who doesn't seem too aware of his actual shortcomings (and mostly mentioning his friends as obstacle in getting to know Jordan. Dude.) Not sure if like their dynamics - one person being insecure and dependent, the other this too chill dude with barely acknowledged communication problem. Although it all could be a part of the plan and probably it gets better.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book took me completely by surprise.

    Not only does it show an honest story between two young gay boys, it shows the relationship between mother and son, father and son, and friendships. It shows how men can just as easily be sexually assaulted and raped as women; and and that addiction comes in many forms. If I didn't know any addicts, I wouldn't have been able to sympathise with Jordan's mum. For addicts to truly get the help they need, they have to want it because nothing is more important than their fix, not even their kids. I adored that Max was Hispanic/Latino, as it showed brought another layer of male posturing and homophobia, not only within sports but also within other cultures.

    Jordan and Max had a really cute relationship, the way they argued and grew as a couple, with all their own issues before realising that a problem shared is a problem halved, and eventually knew that they could rely on each other no matter what.

    I can't wait for this author's next book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I'm honestly kind of blown away by this one. It's not a plot I would usually like, but it's so well written and handled that I cant help but love it. I would love to read more of these boys one day. A beautiful story of finding your people, trusting and learning to open up and be honest
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I cried, amazingly written!! I might need to find a hard copy of this to put on my shelf!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have read many books/listened to audiobooks here, but it is the first time I'm writing a review. This book is honest. It is raw. It is real.
    It affected me in ways, I didn't think it would be possible.
    It is not a cheer up story, although it has a positive undertone. It makes you think, contemplate and evaluate life.
    It was not perfect, the end did not satisfy me although I understand why they did not give a different ending. But this book was perfect in other ways, in making me feel, think, and act.
    Great read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I feel weird having finished this book. I went in without any particular expectations. There were parts where I found myself running away from it but coming back because I knew I need to get through them. There were parts that made me truly appreciate a male perspective done this way, they were my favourite.
    While I think that the spin the author made on the events was interesting, they don't click with each other at times as well as I feel they could. Emotional bits were quite on point, the uneasiness, the complexity of it all. I did enjoy the ending, despite it's flaws, it took me off guard. Not what I was expecting but in a positive way, it fits the theme very well.

    Joel Fromkin's narration ticked me off. I think he was a fine voice for Jordan, quite fitting actually, but the way he changed his intonation for Max made him sound... well, a bit like a Neanderthal. I didn't like that, took me out of the story every single time. It makes me think that the narrators didn't work together. Whenever Joel Froomkin reads Max and Anthony Ray Perez reads Jordan, those characters don't sound right.

    Funnily enough, I had a friend who was a lot like Jordan. It's almost uncanny. It made this character very real for me, even if he had his bad moments. I found his stuggles with responsibility quite relatable. We may not admit that because it's an ugly feeling, but for normal people shouldering responsibility is hard and not always welcomed. It seems right and it is expected of a well adjusted person. A responsible attitude is likeable. Protagonists in media are usually the responsible, "take action" kind. On the other side is the shame of not being strong enough or having unwanted resentful thoughts. They may not be likeable but they are real.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I so, so wanted to like this book. the characters were well written, their struggles were genuine, and there were moments I just loved. but there were also spots where the interactions are a little "off"- not quite realistic, and just sort of left me thinking, "huh? do real people do that?". the pacing was a little fast, too- the characters go from total strangers to being in an extremely committed relationship over the course of a couple months, and that just didn't ring true to me. the ending also felt abrupt and unsatisfying- all the loose ends were tied up, but I still was unsatisfied, and I didn't feel like I'd gotten what I'd signed up for. maybe this just wasn't the book for me, but I didn't like it much and won't be reading it again.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I wanted to like this so bad and for the most part I was succeeding. BUT Jordan's character is one of the worst I have ever seen before. I get that characters are supposed to be flawed but Jordan moved past that and became someone extremely unlikable. In addition to that, there was truly an unnecessary amount of unaddressed racism, ableism, misogyny, and other issues. I don't think this book addressed these issues well at all and was disappointed.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    When I first began this audiobook I was excited to see where it was going, I downloaded it so that whenever I went for a walk I could listen to it but I got maybe to chapter 7 and I just stopped listening for about a month. Then for some reason I got the urge to continue this week, and while I am reading four other books at the moment ( I don't even know how I managed to do that) I kept finding myself drawn to this one and I finished it in 4 days. And I 100% enjoyed it and I so glad I read it and got to meet Jordan and Max and see them embark on their journey of love and healing and I just think this shows that sometimes when you are reading a book and you end up not finishing it, it doesn't mean the book is bad it just means you are in the mood for something else, but that doesn't mean you haven't stumbled upon a book you could end up loving so you should always give books a second chance because I for one and glad I did with this book!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Very well written. The audio version is a bit problematic because there is a volume difference between the chapters read by the two lectors .
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I think it’s a very important book, that talks about themes like consent, and when one parents suffer from mental illness/addiction. This struck me hard. But still I found myself not feeling the characters very deeply, sometimes they being annoying and cringy. I especially could relate to Jordan, from the way he felt about himself to what he had to face with his mother’s illness.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved the story and the writing. I will listen again.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really loved this book!!! It was a cute gay contemporary read and it was honestly just what I needed ❤️ it’s truly a beautiful book and it just talks about so many important topics and I love it so much

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love it so much so well written
    This book raises awareness to things that we as people are not encouraged to talk about such as race, the lgbt community, on how rape is rape, gambling and many other things. This is truly a work of art

    2 people found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was the first book I read/listened to post the Red White & Royal Blue high. Funny enough the story line had a similar blueprint but certainly came into its own.

    The shared experiences between the two main characters made me feel giddy at times yet there were occasions I didn’t want to read any further in fear of the possible outcomes.

    A solid read I couldn’t put down. Additionally, the audio was an absolute treat. I loved that they put the effort into having two different narrators, each portraying one of the perspectives/characters. Painted the picture so vividly. And easier to keep up with who’s speaking.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I- I am speechless. This was so so Beautiful.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Was good only some parts I feel could have been left out, and some other things like towards the end should have been better elaborated, like what happens with Jordans mom, Max's dad, and other things

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    hhhmmm. This book was okay. Not what i expected which is good



  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Horrible. The book completely relies on political and societal stereotypes. Shallow plot and characters. A complete waste of time.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Such a unique story with hard topics. Loved it

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    i read this expecting to dont like it. but it was actually kinda addicting and adorable. i really like how it brought up so many topics that needs to be more talked about! like queer stereotypes, hiv, mental illness and stuff like that. BUT jordan’s selfishness got be furious. and not to mention his “wifes”, i couldn’t stan them at all. anyways back to jordan, no matter the situation he found a way to make things about him self?? and his narrator was so bad he made me hate this character even more, he sounded like he was on verge of crying all the time.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4.5 stars. Quite an emotional rollercoaster, and it would be 5 stars, but Jordan is rather insufferable and whiny in the beginning

    3 people found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Perfect. Entertaining and heart warming and touched me in ways I never thought it would.

    1 person found this helpful