Seventeen-year-old Carley Allison had it all. She was on the edge of fame as a singer and was reaching for the highest levels as a competitive skater. Her world came crashing down when she was diagnosed with a rare kind of cancer in her trachea. Faced with an uncertain future, Carley rose to the challenge and performed on television for an audience of millions. Now her memory lives on in the countless people she touched with her courage. Bestselling author Alice Kuipers weaves their stories together with the blog Carley kept in the final months of her life and her personal rules for living well in the worst of times. A catchy title can be a great thing for a book! It rolls off the tongue easily and can be recalled instantly. And what makes for better catchy, memorable titles than song lyrics? There are lots of great books out there named after song lyrics, and it’s fun to see how they embody a completely different story than the one their songs tell. Here are a few books with song lyrics as the title—and sorry in advance for the earworms!
I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest
For fans of romcoms, ballet, and road trips, this is the book for you. Dancer Chloe is desperate to audition for her dream conservatory, despite her mother’s refusal to even let her try. She plans a secret road trip to the closest auditions, but her neighbor Eli leans of her plan and threatens to tell Chloe’s mom her plan—unless she gives him and his dog a ride. This is the perfect title for a romcom road trip novel, and how adorable is that cover? Out June 4th.
The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo
Clara is a prankster, but when one of her tricks goes too far and nearly burns down her school, her father decides enough is enough. Her punishment? Spending her summer in her dad’s food truck, working alongside her longtime nemesis. Clara is certain her summer will suck, but is surprised to find friendship, romance, and a deeper understanding of her father.
The Story of Us by Deb Caletti
This summer read from YA superstar Deb Caletti has all the feels and magic of an early Taylor Swift music video. Cricket’s mom is getting married, which is awesome…except that it means change. And change is hard, especially for Cricket. And especially this week, because Cricket made a mistake that could cost her Janssen, her boyfriend. As she struggles to navigate this important week, she also has to reckon with the fact that the only guaranteed thing in life is change.
(Don’t You) Forget About Me by Kate Karyus Quinn
The plot of book might be slightly at odds with the sentiments of the famous song, but you can’t deny that it’s memorable. In Gardnerville, every four years brings a strange sort of madness to the teens who live there, propelling them to commit terrible crimes. Four years ago, Skylar’s sister Piper was affected. And now the only way to get her back is break the curse. Pitched as a YA thriller in the style of Stephen King, I’m sure it’ll stick with you just as closely as the Simple Minds lyrics…but probably in a much darker way! Want more “3 On A YA Theme” posts? Gotcha covered.
