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The Music of What Happens

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The Music of What Happens

By: Bill Konigsberg
Narrated by: Joel Froomkin, Anthony Perez
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Summary

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.

©2019 Bill Konigsberg (P)2019 Scholastic Inc. Bullying & Abuse Dating & Sex Difficult Situations Family & Relationships LGBTQ+ Literature & Fiction Racism & Discrimination Romance Dating Discrimination
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Critic reviews

"Through the empathetic performances of two narrators, we meet gay Arizona high schoolers Jordan and Max, and their families and friends.... Froomkin and Perez's heartfelt portrayals ensure that listeners are in sync with the characters as they deal with everything from a traumatic sexual encounter and mental health issues to toxic masculinity and figuring out how to be true to oneself." (AudioFile)
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Insane good. Shut up and click buy, you won’t regret it. Love the ending wish it was like 20 hrs longer.

Wow just wow

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Nice story. I particularly liked the character Max his approach to life was something I would like to imitate, always cool and collected. Jordan practically the opposite I just didn’t connect to. I think I might have found him cuter if the narrator hadn’t been so over the top. Sure his character was termed “dramatic” but he did over use the !!!! 100%. For all the characters as well, even J’s mom had the “OMG!” factor which made no sense because why would she talk like the teenagers do? I found myself turning the volume down when his chapters came on (it was like he was shouting into the microphone) and then turning them up again for Max who was just so much more pleasant to listen to. Even when Jordan was talking in Max’s chapters the narrator for Max made Jordan alot more tolerable than he was in his own chapters. I was determined to finish the story as it had a good story but I have to admit I did almost stop from how much cringe Jordan’s chapters were. He just came across less likeable and at times I even questioned what Max saw him really. I think that was 99% the narrator that made me feel that way. Sorry but thats the truth.

The story was right up my street. One of the narrators slightly ruined my experience though

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I’ve listened to some Bill Konigsberg books before and this did not disappoint. It was a rollercoaster of emotions that I was not expecting to go on. Amazing depth of characters and well read by both!! Worth a listen to!!

So many emotions

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I really loved this book. Brilliant, deep characters...excellent narration.... fabulous writing. Take the plunge. Read it.

Incredible!

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The voice of joel frumpkin is the one downside of this story, he has the perfect voice for the part but he comes at the narration very harshly you often feel attacked when he suddenly exclaims something which doesn't need to be, especially compared to the other narrator who is in contrast much more calm and measured. The story is a great blend of tones and personalities with a nice balanced ending and well worth the listen.

Narration a little Jarring But Story is Great

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