Things have been a bit doom and gloom for the last few weeks. I’ve been turning to music even more than usual, and an artist who has had me in a chokehold in the last year is Olivia Rodrigo.
Olivia’s lyrics are punchy and her production effective, however, what I love about her album is how unapologetically teenage it is. I love that the subject matters circle around first heartbreak and unrealistic expectations, frustrations at the prospect and then the realism of being replaced by someone and the envy we’re all guilty of experiencing. Of the initial singles, ‘Deja Vu’ was my favourite. I feel as though it got the middle child treatment - it performed well commercially but didn’t receive the same attention as ‘Driver’s License’ and ‘Good 4 U’. I especially loved the references to Billy Joel and jacket swapping.
A trend I’ve seen amongst book bloggers lately is finding a book that matches, or at least has similarities, to the lyrics within a song. My friend Daisy did an amazing post on Harry’s House (follow her Instagram @daisdoesbooks, she’ll teach you things) where she paired all the songs on the album with a book. I thought it would be fun to do it with Sour - not a single person amongst my group of friends hasn’t had the album on repeat when it came out.
Brutal - Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
When I first heard the album beginning to end I became infatuated with Brutal - it was so ranty. I found myself screaming along with Olivia (in my head). What can I say, I’m still pretty salty about not having a teenage dream.
In Albertalli’s novel, Simon Spier is a sixteen-year-old who the reader learns at the beginning of the book is gay. Aside from the reader, the only other person who knows is Blue, a pen-pal he meets through Tumblr. I read the book during the first lockdown and found myself infuriated with Simon’s friends in the book. Granted, the falling out is worse in the film - you see all of Simon’s friends yelling at him in the motion picture, the character Leah in particular angry at Simon for not fancying her back. They all fall out with Simon individually in the book and whilst it doesn’t last more than a few chapters, I found it maddening to read. If Simon wasn’t the collected individual he is, I’m sure he’d be screaming ‘Brutal’ from the rooftops. He quite literally only has two real friends. His parents.
Simon is blackmailed by classmate Martin in the book after the protagonist forgets to log out of his email account. Martin asks Simon to help set him up with his friend, Abby, and Albertalli’s illustration of the subsequent frustration and anxiety Simon experiences bares similarities to Rodrigo’s striking libretto. I found traces of Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallfower in Simon as well - the underlying wish to be understood is a trait I wish was more defined in male characters, particularly in young adult fiction.
Traitor - It Only Happens In The Movies by Holly Bourne
I read this over three or four days last year on my train commutes to work last summer. Up until I began reading Holly Bourne’s novels, I found it difficult to find British young adult authors who accurately depicted what the sixth form experience is really like. In my experience, in year 11, everyone and everyone was talking about and having sex. Probably too much information...but when I got to year 12, people stopped caring about who was doing it. It had become far too normalised to be a hot topic of conversation and I much preferred it that way.
In the book, Audrey finds the topic unsettling, not helped by the messy divorce going on between her parents. She is left to look after her mother, who is struggling both financially and mentally, whilst her brother is off at university. Audrey takes up a job at an independent cinema in her town which is where she meets the effortlessly cool and seemingly innocent Harry, whose bright smile and brazen attitude could win over any reader. The pair eventually begin a relationship, during which Harry introduces new films to Audrey. I loved the film references in the novel; in one particular chapter, Audrey discusses amongst her friends what the best film kisses are. Personal favourites for me include Spiderman, the ending of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the final kiss and deft lift between Johnny and Baby in Dirty Dancing.
Harry’s effortless charm doesn’t go unnoticed, especially by those who he was once involved with. Without giving too much away, the lyrics of ‘Traitor’ very much match Audrey’s situation in the novel both in her own circumstances and the situation her father leaves her mother in.
Drivers License - Birthday by Meredith Russo
I purchased this book on a Waterstones date with my friend Sana. We became friends through University, both of us having studied English, and we trawled through the store recommending each other different books on the shelves that one of us had indulged in last November.
I loved this book; Russo’s diction is indescribably profound and heartwarming. Best friends Eric and Morgan share a birthday and each chapter details their special day, however, unknown to Eric from the beginning of the book onwards, is that Morgan is a transgender girl. Morgan’s mother passes away at the beginning of the novel and every birthday, she opens a letter left for her, in which she writes of the “incredible man” she believes she’ll have grown into.
The reason I think ‘Driver’s License’ is a good fit? Unlike the song, the book has a moderately happy ending. Morgan gets her first car in the book, a bittersweet and poignant moment, and I have a visual of her driving past the streets where she used to walk with her mother alone. I’d like to believe her bond with Eric remains solid after the events of the novel but the back-and-forth they experience growing up leads to several separate occasions where at least one of them felt lost and alone.
1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back - The Places I’ve Cried in Public by Holly Bourne
This is probably my favourite song on the album. Typical that it’s the only one which Olivia has yet to perform live in full. Singing a verse of it in between another song doesn’t count before anyone emails a link over to me.
Initially, I was going to have Holly Bourne’s The Yearbook for ‘Brutal,' however, I figured three Bourne books on the list wouldn’t be very diverse. Nonetheless, I couldn’t not include The Places I’ve Cried in Public - Amelie finds herself retracing her relationship with Reese, visiting all the places she cried over the toxic relationship in the hopes of getting over him. Amelie’s role in the teenage love affair is very much a constant debate of ‘will you walk me to the door or send me home crying?’. She realises and notes that love isn’t supposed to hurt you in the ways that she aches.
Deja Vu - Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
This book, for want of a better word, was very very sweet. Or maybe it was bittersweet because it didn’t have the ending I was wishing for.
Zarr’s novel is about two childhood best friends, Jennifer and Cameron, who bond as youngsters over not fitting in with others. One day, Cameron fails to turn up to school, a common event, but doesn’t return after several days. When Jennifer asks where he is, she is told by her teacher that he moved away. A classmate later tells Jennifer that Cameron passed away, fellow playground acquaintances nodding and agreeing and taunting her into the point of believing it.
When Jennifer turns seventeen, Cameron makes an unexpected return to her life. In the lost time between the pair of them, Jenna, as she now goes by, grows up - she loses the weight she was bullied for, acquires friends and a boyfriend, Ethan. Her mother remarries an ordinary and caring man called Alan, and the family move. Cameron’s reappearance unsettles the normality Jenna has built for herself - the bullied Jennifer she had long murdered and buried begins to turn in and claw at her grave. Cameron brings with him the chaos he elicited as a child, disarray Jenna can’t help but jump into. As a result of the deja vu Jenna finds herself literally experiencing, the new relationships she has taken such care to build begin to unravel.
Good 4 U - Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
Similarly to the plotline of Grease, this book takes place after a summer love. Ollie believes he has found the love of his life in Will, who then proceeds to ignore his text messages. After a family emergency that sees his family moving, Ollie realises he is transferring to the same school as Will who, as it turns out, is nothing like he was at the lakes. The Will Ollie got to know was ready for a relationship - he was neither the jock or the class clown.
Ollie’s doesn’t exactly seem as angry as Olivia, though it’s clear throughout the text that he is disheartened at Will’s disinterest in him.
Enough for You - Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
I purchased this in the week between Christmas and New Years and then started reading it shortly after the New Year was rung in (riveting way to celebrate 2022, I know). The book takes place during the Christmas and New Years period and I got to a chapter that started with ‘Happy New Year’ before I feel asleep that night.
The book is my ideal love story - prior to the novel, Rachel left a love letter tucked into Henry’s favourite book in their family bookshop. This reminded me of Dash and Lily’s love story, except for the fact that Rachel moves city and Henry doesn’t follow. After the death of her brother, Rachel returns to the city. Henry’s family bookshop is suffering due to the lack of funds and his parents are on the verge of a split. Rachel’s grief is incessant and her hurt at Henry’s lack of contact is agonising to read. She laments throughout the novel, especially at the beginning, that her efforts weren’t ‘enough’ to save her brother or keep Henry in her life. She feels alone, lost, used and discarded. And rebuilding her relationship with Henry through letters hidden within a bookshop on the brink of closure may or may not be just what she needs.
Happier - The Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me by Jimmy Rice and Laura Tait
I read this book a while ago and it inspired me to write the play I submitted to the Papatango Theatre Competition last year. I don’t know if I believe in soulmates but I do believe in childhood sweethearts. I know of so many couples that fell in love in school and then went on to get married years later. A couple in particular in my school got together when they were thirteen and are still together now. I’ve known the guy since nursery school and he has always been an extremely polite and caring individual - his future wife is a lucky girl.
The novel tells the story of Holly and Alex who went to school together and were best friends. The beginning of the novel sees Holly making her way to Alex’s. It’s the end of their final school year and his mother passed away a few months prior. Holly has been supporting her friend throughout the year, resulting in more teasing from friends than usual. Holly plans on telling Alex her true feelings for him, however, she is heartbroken to discover that Alex not only kissed a ‘Jane’ the day before but plans on seeing her again that night. He tells her he’ll see next see her at their ten-year school reunion despite their long friendship and Holly leaves the house in despair.
They reunite years later, Holly under the impression that Alex had spent the time with Jane travelling and then later moving in together. It’s during that time I can see Olivia’s lyrics come into play, despite what Alex tells Holly later really happened.
Jealousy, Jealousy - Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi
I thought about putting Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon here, a novel where the protagonist, Maddy, is allergic to sunlight. She consequently spends her time indoors with only her mother and nurse for company, her father and brother having died in a car accident prior to the novel’s setting. She develops a friendship with her new neighbour, Olly, the pair eventually risking it all and going on a trip to Hawaii.
Instead, I opted for Perfectly Parvin. Parvin pines for Matty Fumero, hoping he’ll ask her to homecoming. In the hope he’ll find her attractive, Parvin begins acting like the women she has seen in her favourite romcoms.
I read this in one sitting a few months ago and related to Parvin’s need to change herself in the hopes to gain approval immensely. We’ve all been in a situation where we’ve had to put on a facade to impress - I feel as though I do this whenever I mingle with my extended family in particular. Parvin can’t help but be herself with her closest friends, either, and neither can I.
I don't find the song as relatable as I would have done when I was a teenager. I did a pretty good job of staying clear from social media (I've never had a Facebook account and I didn't use Instagram until after I left school) but I was constantly comparing myself to others back then. I was no where near as effortlessly cool as the other girls in my form. Granted, none of that matters now and I knew it wouldn't matter then, but I still craved to be liked by people who wouldn't give me the time of day.
Favourite Crime - The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu
This is probably the only book on the list that isn’t a conventional will they won’t they. The book follows Remy’s life over a few months, the narrative leaping from the shooting of her boyfriend Jack and the beginning of her friendship with Elise. Elise and Remy initially bond over their dysfunctional families, the pair of them meeting outside a school dance. Unbeknownst to Remy at that point however is that Elise is impulsive and uninhibited. Her friendship with Remy is obsessive, so much so that she can’t handle her emotions when Remy begins to spend more time with Jack. It turns out she is the one to pull the trigger.
I’ve always believed this song represented the lovers to enemies troupe really well, a label that fits over Remy and Elise perfectly. Both Remy’s love and apprehension for Elise leads her to question whether she intended to murder Jack or whether the act was self-defence. It’s a brilliant young adult thriller based around a ‘favourite crime’ of mine.
Hope Ur Ok - Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
To some degree, Sweethearts belongs here too.
I read Eleanor & Park about three months before I did my A Level exams; I finished it off in three bus rides to school. I loved everything about it - the undeclared bond in particular between the two characters was built up so beautifully. In the hopes of getting her in trouble, the children on Eleanor’s school bus rearrange their seats. Park reluctantly offers her the seat next to him and to avoid talking to her, turns up the volume on his headset. Park eventually realises that Eleanor is staring down at the comics he reads on the bus, and without saying anything, he just ‘held his comics open wider and turned the pages more
slowly’. He then wordlessly hands it to her when she gets off the bus a few days later.
Similarly to the reader, Park later finds out that Eleanor’s stepfather, Richie, is physically and emotionally abusive towards her, her mother and her four siblings. Eleanor was kicked out last year and returns to the house after staying with her biological father. Their bathroom has no door and their shower no curtain; Richie refuses to grant the family any privacy. Eleanor uses the likes of vanilla extract for fragrance and throws together colourful and outlandish outfits, one particular ensemble leading to Park comparing her to that of a Christmas tree. Park and his family are devastated to learn of Eleanor’s situation and try everything to help her and her family.
‘Hope Ur Ok’ is another favourite and I attribute it to those who disclosed to me their personal struggles when we were teenagers. The bridge in particular is overpowering; the reference to ‘monsters’ reminds me of Richie. I'd like to these are the kind of lyrics Park would relate to after the end of the novel.
Thank you so much for reading! This was so much fun to write. Take care of yourself and have a great week,
Karisma xxxx
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