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The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg
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.
Review from Booklist Reviews:
Jordan is the skinny emo kid who sits in the back of Max's AP language and composition class. He also works in a food truck, which Max, a baseball jock, discovers when he walks up to check out the menu-just in time to witness Jordan's emotionally fragile mother's meltdown. When Max asks if he can help, he finds himself with a new summer job, working the truck's grill. At first, he and Jordan are uneasy around each other, but things change when they come out and gradually become friends and then boyfriends. Readers' understanding of the boys grows as the perspective moves back and forth between the two. Jordan, it turns out, is self-hating, believing that no one could love him or believe he is a true boy. Max uses his dazzling smile to cope with his problems, while telling himself he is a warrior. They sound like an odd couple, and so they are, save for the one important thing in common: their love for each other. Konigsberg's character-driven novel is expert in revealing the boys' growth and changes, as well as examining their innermost thoughts, the evolving nature of their relationship, and the music of what happens in their lives. In this ambitious novel, Konigsberg demonstrates once again why he is one of the major voices in LGBTQ literature.
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