Review
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Praise for The Music of What Happens:
* "Konigsberg demonstrates once again why he is one of the major
voices in LGBTQ literature." -- Booklist, starred review
* "Give to fans of Benjamin Alire Saenz's Aristotle and Dante
Discover the Secrets of the Universe and Laurie Halse Anderson's
Speak. A first purchase for public and high school libraries." --
School Library Journal, starred review
"The result is a story with imperfect characters who are,
refreshingly, called out on problematic behaviors and to do
better. A fresh addition to the menu of queer teenage love
stories." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Konigsberg explores how conventional ideas about masculinity
trap young men into believing they must act a certain way.... A
fun, romantic, and moving novel." -- Publishers Weekly
"Readers seeking an unusually thoughtful gay-positive romance
will find this moving." -- BCCB
"This book offers an interesting perspective on growing up and
coming-of-age by crafting two main characters who offer unique
points of view for an often underserved audience. This is a
much-needed book in every high school library." -- School Library
Connection
"With The Music of What Happens, Bill Konigsberg serves up a
profound examination of masculinity, consent, and relationships
through the eyes of two of the most endearing narrators I've ever
read. Jordan and Max are vulnerable, sweet, funny, and flawed.
Teens, whether they identify as LGBTQIA+ or not, are lucky to
have this book in their lives." -- Shaun David Hutchinson, author
of We Are the Ants
"The Music of What Happens is a compelling, laugh-out-loud story,
as swoon-worthy as it is deeply affecting. Max and Jordan grabbed
hold of my heart from the moment I met them and I don't see them
letting go any time soon. Konigsberg has a way of making me see
the world--and food trucks!--a little differently." -- David
Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland and The
Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik
"Bill Konigsberg has a way of creating characters that could be
your next door neighbor, your best friend, or that cute boy who
once helped you change a flat tire. Max and Jordan will find
their way into your heart, and after the last page, you'll regret
that they aren't real. Once you start reading The Music of What
Happens, you won't be able to stop." -- Brigid Kemmerer, author
of Letters to the Lost
Advance Praise for :
"Bill Konigsberg has a way of creating characters that could be
your next door neighbor, your best friend, or that cute boy who
once helped you change a flat tire. Max and Jordan will find
their way into your heart, and after the last page, you'll regret
that they aren't real. Once you start reading The Music of What
Happens, you won't be able to stop." -- Brigid Kemmerer, author
of Letters to the Lost
Praise for Honestly Ben:
* "Konigsberg has again done a remarkable job developing
characters and inviting readers to consider the meaning of
friendship with all its rewards and challenges. Extremely well
written, this novel of ideas is deeply satisfying and as honest
as its appealing protagonist." -- Booklist, starred review
* "Well-rounded characters take readers from serious, thoughtful
discussions to typical teen pranks with ease . . . Equal parts
serious and funny as it addresses phobia, hazing rituals, and
cheating while also delighting readers with a slice-of-life tale
set at a private academy." -- School Library Journal, starred
review
* “Konigsberg again realistically explores what happens when
one's self butts up against . . . the world's expectations and
assumptions . . . The result is a refreshingly honest exploration
of modern relationships and an understanding that love can take
many shapes and forms.” -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Honestly Ben is funny, complex, joyful, heartbreaking, and
exceedingly wise all at once. A teenager with any question about
the right way to live couldn't ask for a better read." -- Geoff
ach, author of Anything You Want and Stupid Fast
"It's hard to write a good sequel, keeping what people loved
about the first book, but adding something fresh and new. Not
surprisingly, Bill Konigsberg pulls it off wonderfully in
Honestly Ben." -- Brent Hartinger, author of Geography Club and
Three Truths and a Lie
Praise for Openly Straight:
Winner of the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
"Funny, unexpected, peppered with terrific dialogue -- and best
of all, achingly honest." -- Ned Vizzini, author of It's Kind of
a Funny Story and House of Secrets
"For anybody who ever wished they could be someone else (and who
hasn't?), Openly Straight provides a fun and intriguing,
twisting-and-turning romp through sexuality, identity,
friendship, and love." -- Alex Sanchez, author of Rainbow Boys
and Boyfriends with Girlfriends
"Bill Konigsberg hands a great high concept to a really
compelling narrator and presents us with a terrific read. Openly
Straight is smart, funny, and unflinching. Read this book." --
Chris Crutcher, author of Deadline, Whale Talk, and Period 8
"Konigsberg's lovely novel invites us to walk with Rafe through
his season of assumed identity and his costly emergence into
honesty. It's beautiful. It's a story of salvation." -- The New
York Times Book Review
* "Lambda Literary Award-winner Konigsberg has written an
exceptionally intelligent, thought-provoking, coming-of-age novel
about the labels people apply to us and that we, perversely,
apply to ourselves... Openly Straight is altogether one of the
best gay-themed novels of the last ten years." -- Booklist,
starred review
* "Readers and discussion groups looking for new and deeper ways
to think about what it means to live honestly in a world that
sorts by labels will find this fresh and evocative." -- The
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
"For a thought-provoking, creative, twenty-first-century take on
the coming-out story, look no further." -- The Horn Book Magazine
"An original, thought-provoking, hilarious story about the
importance of embracing your true identity, and the cost to
yourself and others when you don't." -- Julie Ann Peters, author
of Luna and Keeping You a Secret
"Openly Straight sports a sharp plot with a twist, sympathetic
(and totally hot) characters, and universal appeal. It's a
must-read for openly everyone!" -- Lisa McMann, bestselling
author of the Wake Trilogy
Praise for The Porcupine of Truth:
Winner of the Stonewall Book Award
Winner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Children's/Young
Adult
A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection
"Words like 'brilliant' are so overused when praising novels--so
I won't use that word. I'll just think it." -- Benjamin Alire
Sáenz, author of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the
Universe
"Bill Konigsberg's The Porcupine of Truth is at once heartwarming
and heartbreaking, a funny and thought-provoking road trip with
remarkable friends Carson and Aisha, who share tough lessons
about mending fractures, forging bonds, and discovering grace.
Undeniably human and unforgettably wise, this book is a gift for
us all." -- Andrew Smith, author of Grasshopper Jungle and Winger
* "Konigsberg weaves together a masterful tale of uncovering the
past, finding wisdom, and accepting others as well as oneself."
-- School Library Journal, starred review
* "Konigsberg... crafts fascinating, multidimensional teen and
adult characters. A friendship between a straight boy and a
lesbian is relatively rare in YA fiction and is, accordingly,
exceedingly welcome." -- Booklist, starred review
"Equal parts funny and profound." -- Kirkus Reviews
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From the Back Cover
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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.
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