Who Put This Song On?

Author: Morgan Parker

Publisher: Delacorte Press (2021)

In the vein of powerful reads like The Hate U Give and Girl in Pieces comes poet Morgan Parker's pitch-perfect novel about a black teenage girl searching for her identity when the world around her views her depression as a lack of faith and blackness as something to be politely ignored.

Trapped in sunny, stifling, small-town suburbia, seventeen-year-old Morgan knows why she's in therapy. She can't count the number of times she's been the only non-white person at the sleepover, been teased for her "weird" outfits, and been told she's not "really" black. Also, she's spent most of her summer crying in bed. So there's that, too.

Lately, it feels like the whole world is listening to the same terrible track on repeat—and it's telling them how to feel, who to vote for, what to believe. Morgan wonders, when can she turn this song off and begin living for herself?

Loosely based on her own teenage life and diaries, this incredible debut by award-winning poet Morgan Parker will make readers stand up and cheer for a girl brave enough to live life on her own terms—and for themselves.

"Unflinchingly irreverent, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartbreakingly honest."

–Elizabeth Acevedo

“It’s rare to find a book that aptly balances the comedy and tragedy of being human. Morgan Parker put THIS song on—and I hope it never turns off.” 

–Nic Stone

“As a weird, depressed, Radiohead-obsessed black post-teen myself, it’s clear Morgan ripped my heart out and splattered it across the pages of this book. It’s perfect.” 

–Samantha Irby