#tbt: Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick

Image: LBYR

Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick. 384 p. Little Brown Books for Young Readers. 

Happy Thursday TMS Readers! #tbt features Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick. I believe I have shared that I am an unabashed crier over books and boy did I cry over this one. But I also laughed a lot. I have also shared that there is a space in my heart where some favorite characters reside forever. A place where, just thinking about them or the book brings on a flood of feelings. Amber resides there.

Sorta Like a Rock Star was published in 2010 and was Matthew Quick's debut YA. He had previously published a novel for adults you may have heard of called, The Siliver Linings Playbook. Amber is the princess of hope even though she lives in "Mellow Yellow," the school bus her alcoholic mother drives part-time. She relies on her faith in Jesus Christ, who is "sorta like a rock star" to get her through the tough times. She loves her mom but can't rely on her so Amber has surrounded herself with a found family of a sort. This compelling novel of faith, family, friendship, forgiveness and grief landed on several "Best" lists, including Best Fiction for Young Adults and was a Bank Street Best Book. It was optioned for film, with the author hired as the screenwriter and was recently released to Netflix under the title All Together Now. If you're a teen who loves to cry over books, Sorta Like a Rock Star is for you.