jesus fucking christ8 s Elizabeth Sanders205 4

Content warnings; sexual assault, transphobia, homophobia, racism

Hansbury’s novel jumps between the mid-late 1980s (1984, 1987) and 2019. The 1st person narrator of both, Mel as a child and Max as an adult, is a transman who is balancing the potential loss of his job, cleaning out his dead mother’s place, and reconnecting with his sister, all of which inspire his looking back on his past.

The balance between the two time periods is done well, and both halves have interesting stories that speak to each other. Mel’s story of learning from a transfemme mentor is personal but also a fruitful place to explore what life as an emerging queer was ; these experiences directly contrast with Max’s contemporary experiences with younger individuals, including their niece. The descriptions of both worlds, and seeing how they flow into and then reflect each other, were the highlight for me when reading.

There were parts of the book that I didn’t that are probably more personal preference than an issue with the book. There is a lot of sexual content involving minors (14-15 year olds), not all of which is consensual, and predatory sexualization of minors by adults. Note that these are not worse than other coming-of-age novels, but I still didn’t care for it.

Overall, I do think the book is well-written and explores themes towards queerness and self-identity spanning very different periods of life and time periods, and I think many readers will enjoy this book.3 s Claire Mahon4

Really enjoyed this book. It’s a fresh approach to the familiar ‘coming of age in a small town’ story. The writing itself is lovely, poignant, and transports you right back to 1984. There are some heavy topics (assault, transphobia, gender) but overall it didn’t feel depressing. I couldn’t put it down and read the whole book within a few days! 2 s Christopher Berry261 26

Book 17 of 2024 is done! Some Strange Music Draws Me In by Griffin Hansbury was really good! This centers around our protagonist, Melanie /Mel, who grows up in a small Massachusetts town in the 1980s knowing that something is different about her. We follow our character as she nagivates life and what it means to wanting to belong and finding your way in a world that is not so ready to accept you for who you are and who you want to be. Mel befriends the town transexual Sylvia, who guides her through the rough waters of LGBTQ issues during that time, while being subject to ridicule herself for being who she is.

Jump to 2019, Mel has transitioned to Max, an English teacher, who is again trying to navigate an environment in which he is trying to adapt to todays LGBTQ issues, while trying to keep his job when he misgenders a student. All the while, dealing with his non-supportive right wing Trump loving sister, who has her own issues at home with a non-binary daughter.

I really loved everything about this! The story flowed very well, you got to know the characters, both main characters and supporting so well, they jumped off the page. The scenes from the 1980s, having grown up in that time, were spot on, and I could remember my Mom saying and doing most everything from that time, the phrases, right down to working out to Jane Fonda Workout tapes.

Really well done, and I cannot wait to see what the author comes up with next!
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