Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Most Anticipated LGBTQIA+ Books: Young Adult Literature —LAMBDA Literary
Must-Have 2023 Queer Book Releases —The Nerd Daily
Most Anticipated Young Adult Books —LGBTQ Reads
Recommended LGBTQ+ YA —Reads Rainbow
Acclaimed musician Jessamyn Violet’s debut LGBTQA+ novel sizzles with a coming-of-age story set in an industry of ambition, secrets, lies, and utter joy.
Eighteen-year-old Kyla Bell dreams of one day being a professional musician... but gets little to no support from her parents. Still, she practices every day and performs locally, harboring her own secret hopes. One night, her dreams are answered in the form of sultry rocker Ruby Sky, the magnetic frontwoman of her favorite band, Glitter Tears. Ruby hears Kyla perform and asks her to join the band on keys for their upcoming tour.
In order to accept, Kyla must drop out of her Western Massachusetts high school and move to Los Angeles immediately to live with a renowned yet highly volatile producer who has agreed to put her through "rock star boot camp" in a matter of weeks. Blindsided by her emerging feelings for Ruby Sky, Kyla tumbles through the lights and shadows of the 90s music scene in Los Angeles.
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Musician Violet's edgy debut spotlights art and queer identity through a teenage keyboardist's turbulent introduction to the 1990s Hollywood music scene. Whenever she feels overwhelmed by her mother's concerning PTSD-induced nightmares and flashbacks, 18-year-old Kyla Bell escapes via composing and performing music to take her "far away from reality." After a gig in her rural Massachusetts hometown nets an invitation to tour with her rock star idol, Ruby Sky, Kyla drops out of high school and moves to L.A. There, straight-shooting, middle-aged music producer Robert Jeffs facilitates her "rock star boot camp makeover," during which she's encouraged to diet and take up smoking in order to fit the mold. She soon flounders under pressure from Robert and "walking landmine" Ruby, with whom Kyla is falling in love. As fissures appear beneath her new associates' picture-perfect personae, Kyla fears her ticket to stardom might end up breaking her. Violet persuasively develops a vivid setting that epitomizes Kyla's dreams and aspirations, while also providing light fodder for discussion surrounding personal agency, and complexly rendered relationships ground this wish-fulfilling love letter to rock music and the whirlwind of fame. Characters read as white. Ages 14–up.
