Don't Blame the Music

by Caroline B. Cooney

In Caroline B. Cooney’s powerful novel about love, independence, and responsibility, a prodigal daughter returns—and a high school senior and her family must cope with the falloutThings are starting to come together for seventeen-year-old Susan Hall. She has great friends and a major crush on handsome, privileged Anthony Fielding, who has finally begun to show some interest. And she was just asked to be music editor of the yearbook.Suddenly, her older sister comes home. Ashley ran away at sixteen to join a rock band. For an impossibly short time, her star burned bright. She had a hit song. Now she’s back, filled with bitterness and anger. She hates her parents. She hates her younger sister. But most of all, she hates herself.As Ashley’s self-destructive behavior starts tearing the family apart, Susan’s life changes in unexpected ways. It becomes harder to maintain her equilibrium, both at school and at home. She still loves her sister, but she’s starting to see things—and people, like Whit, an outcast rock musician—in a different light.With charity, grace, and a generous heart, Caroline B. Cooney gives us an immensely moving story about what it means to be a family.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Teen, High School, Music, Realistic Fiction

172 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1986

About the author

Caroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com

Reviews

[Hester Rathbone]

I read this ages ago, I think sometime in middle school or high school. The cover of it originally attracted my attention - it's different than the one displayed here. Mine shows 2 girls, one plain Jane girl next door, the other dressed in leather, angry and sullen with shorn hair and the innards of a cassette tape wrapped around her. I loved the title too, and I'm sure I was on my Caroline B Cooney kick at the time. I spent years trying to track down a copy of this - I haven't seen it in a bookstore ever. Finally, I got a copy of it through Paperback Swap, after being on the wait list for it for a good 5 years or so.

It was a good reread - I couldn't remember most of it except that it's about 2 sisters, one who is completely imbalanced. I love the family conflict and how realistically Cooney captures that experience. What do you do when you have a child that is self destructive, out of control, and blaming everyone around them for how they're acting? How do you show love and compassion without enabling those hurtful behaviors, without making everyone around this person completely unsafe? How do you know when to say that enough is enough, and what happens after that moment? Do you kick them out? Do you try to help them? To me, this is about what it's like to want to be someone, to want so desperately to find your space in the world and how much of a struggle it is when we try to be someone other than who we are.

[Lindsey Kookaby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that fantasy and adventure books were my favorite novels. I saw this book in my school library, and because it had to do with music I grabbed it and read. Pulling an all nighter to read each and every word as clear as humanly possible was worth it. I love rock music, and this book made me feel even more inspired by all those bands and singers I adore. The main character didn't really understand that other people go through bad things too, it's not just her in the beginning. In the end, her 2nd crush cleared that up for her. But here's a quote from my favorite character in this entire short novel, that's words ripped my heart out, and put it back in with a different color. Here is the most amazing quote I've read about music through a novel I personally read:

" You know, when I'm in the lab, I feel as if music is in there with me. Music the person. Music like the ancient Greeks said: a goddess."

*pause*

"Ashley used music instead of loved music, and I guess you can't get away with that. And she didn't."

~Quoted by Whit Moroso~

Who was created by Caroline B Cooney.

[Melanie Wissel · Rating 5 out of 5]

YA A sweet normal family is faced with the return of one extremely dysfunctional daughter who’s come home to wreak toxic havoc on her family. Seen through the sister’s eyes who is traversing her way through high school drama and angst as well. I really liked it. Cooney is a favorite author and this genre is her specialty. She rarely lets me down.

[Elly Yandell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It's about a girl named Susan and her sister Ashley and Ashley is a burnt out rock star. The sister comes back home after a few years of being gone, but she is addicted to drugs. Ashley has a very destructive behavior towards her family after coming back and she does not like any of them. Things were going great for Susan in her life and she was doing good in school, but her sister came home and it went very crazy. They have to try to face the struggles with Ashley and get her back to being clean. I thought this book was a great demonstration of how no matter what, you have to be close to family and stick together no matter what. It's a good life lesson. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to see problems come together or to someone who likes the idea of the "rock star" lifestyle.

[Tacy Pomposello · Rating 4 out of 5]

i cant really remember what its all about but it has to do with this crazy girl named ashley, she does a lot of messed up stuff and she comes back home and she acts all psycho and stuff it was a cool book.

[Christal Esse · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good. Not so mystery. But i did like it

[Mariella Esquivel Tello · Rating 1 out of 5]

Three little words: Ashley is Toxic. Period.

And no, having failed at something she loved and all the awful experience is no - and I mean NO excuse for attacking her family especially psychologically torturing her own sister. It is unacceptable.

Let's be practical people, if it'd happened in this era everyone would be screaming to cut off all ties with Ashley for good. People are not punching bags.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

one star for being as mind-numbingly dull and placid as you'd expect a book with this plot description to *not* be, with only an extra star because Ashley didn't kill the family dog like I feared she was going to.

[flightyinagoodway · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intense tale of realizing that different doesn't always equal bad. About struggling to love someone even when it hurts. Also dealing with someone who has a mental illness. I recommend for mature readers who aren't sensitive to triggers.

[Tacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is about a girl named susanne, but everyone calls her beethoven. her crazy sister ashley shaved her head, lived in a tree, and ran away,but then she comes back and starts to mess up the whole family again...

[Brin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed re-reading this book. Just as good as I remembered. Full review to follow.

[A]

Solid, like just about everything she writes.