Beautiful Music

March 1, 2018
A teenager in 1970s Detroit takes his first steps toward hard-rock rebellion after a soft-rock upbringing.Zadoorian's third novel (The Leisure Seeker, 2009, etc.) is narrated by Danny, a white kid in Detroit who's slowly getting pushed out of his bubble. The 1967 race riots introduced him to racial divides, starting high school makes him absurdly anxious about becoming a drug addict, and a classmate who prankishly played the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" in class reveals the existence of a louder, more profane world. His father's tastes run to the "beautiful music" of the title (the Carpenters, John Denver, etc.), but after he dies, Danny begins a slow-motion process of acting out, developing an affection for Led Zeppelin and Iggy Pop. That connects him to a fellow record nerd named John, who introduces him to the charms of British rock mags and weed. Increasingly confident thanks to John's friendship and a stint at the school radio station, Danny begins to push back against his grieving mother, who's been drinking heavily. The novel is notable for being a coming-of-age story without a romantic peg, Danny being too emotionally formless to pursue a relationship. But Zadoorian keeps the tone upbeat in other ways: He's skilled at capturing the feeling of release that music can provide ("something snaps in your heart and a jolt of pure happiness shoots through you better than all the dope in the world") as well as the anxiety the novelty of that experience can produce in a sheltered kid. The emphasis on those lighter elements soft-focuses the drama of the final pages, where racial tensions and mom's drinking come to a head. But that captures Danny's character too: The real world is encroaching, but he can keep it at arm's length just a while longer.A likable bildungsroman that cannily evokes how music transforms teenage identity.

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March 5, 2018
In this raucous bildungsroman from Zadoorian (The Leisure Seeker) set in Detroit in the early 1970s, Danny Yzemski turns to rock and roll as an escape from his freshman year of high school, family tragedy, and the fallout from the recent race riots. Danny is a nervous kid, happiest when building model cars and listening to the radio. When his father suddenly dies of a heart attack and his mom sinks into instability, Danny gets a job selling blueprints of cookie-cutter homes to keep the family afloat. At work, his coworkers blast rock—Led Zeppelin, MC5, Iggy Pop—and soon Danny falls in love with the music and decides to become a radio DJ. Danny’s endearing, sweet-yet-snarky voice drives the novel (“I have always been a model of good attendance and student citizenship. Then it occurs to me: where has it gotten me? I became bully bait”). As he delves deeper into rock culture, makes a friend, and confronts his mother’s (and his own) racial prejudices, his nervousness gives way to a kind of confidence. Zadoorian touches on white flight, iconic radio stations, and the racial history of Detroit, but remains rooted in Danny’s transition out of his shell. With its echoes of works by Nick Hornby and Stephen Chbosky, Zadoorian’s ebullient novel is full of energy, pain, growth, and great music. Agent: Jud Laghi, Jud Laghi Agency.

March 15, 2018
It's 1970s Detroit, and 15-year-old Danny is head over heels in love with rock 'n' roll; it's a panacea, a sovereign remedy. When his father muses about music, Danny's comment is simple: It just makes me happy. Music will need all its power when the father dies suddenly and the boy is left alone with his mother, who begins drinking heavily, sitting, drink in one hand and cigarette in the other, doing nothing but staring glassily at the TV. Danny must take over the family chores, becoming in effect his mother's father. And then there's school, where Danny is classic bully bait until two things happen: he acquires a friend who loves music as much as he does, and he is selected to be on-air talent and music director for the school's radio station. True to its time, there are occasional mini-race riots at school, but they seldom touch him?until they do, with dire consequences. This affectionate, nostalgic novel about a sometimes-troubled teen is a crossover delight with appeal to both adults and teens.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)