Tag: Headphones and Heartaches

My Favorite Non-Crime Fiction of 2021

2021 Favorite Non-Crime
Back when I started this site, I knew the content would be largely “genre”-oriented. I’d have wagered the content would be roughly 1/3 Mystery/Detective fiction, 1/3 Urban Fantasy, and slightly less than 1/3 SFF, with “non-genre” fiction, humor, and non-fiction being enough to make my one-thirds just an approximation (honestly, if you asked me what I read regularly, that’s pretty much how I’d describe it today). Actual numbers show that’s wrong—it’s almost 40% Crime/Thriller Fiction, and Urban Fantasy has only topped 20% once in the last decade—it was 16% the last two years, SFF combined for about 14% in 2021.

Which is just a long-winded way to get to these two points: because Crime Fiction takes such a big chunk of my reading, it gets its own “Favorite” list, but none of the others really garner enough numbers for their own.

As always, re-reads don’t count—only the works that were new to me.

(in alphabetical order by author)

We Could Be Heroes

by Mike Chen

My original post
A super-hero and a super-villain become friends after meeting (as civilians) at a support group meeting and delve into their shared past to figure out how they got their powers and who they used to be. That old story. 🙂 In typical Chen fashion, the SF/super-hero elements are just an excuse to tell a story about friendship, memory, and identity. It’s a story about people, who just happen to be super-powered.

4 Stars

LoveLove

by Roddy Doyle

My original post
This is about as close as you can get to a novel without a plot. You’ve got a pair of old friends, getting together for drinks (many, many drinks) and to catch up on each other’s lives. They end up revisiting their past (as you do), arguing about what really happened then, and seeing how it’s impacted where they are now. There’s more to it, but that’ll do for our purposes. The novel is primarily told through dialogue (although we do get memories and internal commentary from one of the men). As is to be expected from Doyle, that dialogue sings. You can practically hear it jump off of the page–I’m not sure I could conjure up a mental image of anyone in the book, but I know exactly what they’d sound like.

4 Stars

Tom Jones Original CoverThe History of Tom Jones, A Foundling

by Henry Fielding

My wrap-up post for the project
I read most of this in 2020, but didn’t finish it until 2021, so it goes on this list. Just for the (mostly rewarding) time spent on this book, it deserves a spot on this list. It’s not really the kind of book I thought it would be, but it’s so much more interesting. I’ve said enough about this book, I don’t really have it in me for more–it’s a classic, anyway, what can I say that hasn’t been said for hundreds of years?

5 Stars

All the Lonely PeopleAll the Lonely People

by Mike Gayle

My original post
This is nothing but an all-out attack on the cockles of your heart. I described it to a friend, “Imagine a book by Fredrick Backman–but instead of a crotchety old Swedish man, it’s about a lonely man who left Kingston for London in the 50s.” It’s so heartwarming, so Capra-esque, so…eh, you get the point.

5 Stars

Not AwkwardNot Awkward

by Matthew Hanover

My original post
Hanover’s third Wallflowers novel came out last year and shows real growth as a writer, while not losing any of the charm, heart, and likability of his previous novels. Just before his wedding, Scott goes to the funeral for his ex’s father, and somehow ends up spending a few days with the family. Not Awkward is a warm and heart-filled story about revisiting the past, finding healing (whether or not you thought you needed it), and embracing a future that doesn’t look like you expected it would (and is probably better). It’s the kind of book that’ll make you feel a little better about life for a while—and who doesn’t want to read something like that?

4 1/2 Stars

RisenRisen

by Benedict Jacka

My original post
The twelfth and final book in the Alex Verus series blew me away. It’s one of the best series finales I remember reading. It was hard to say good-bye to this world and these characters, but Jacka did such a satisfying job with this novel that it took some of the sting out of it.

5 Stars

When Sorrows ComeWhen Sorrows Come

by When Sorrows Come

by Seanan McGuire

My original post
If (and that feels like a big “if”) October Day is going to get a Happily Ever After, it’s going to be years down the road. Thankfully, she got a “Happy Right Now” by marrying Tybalt. That’s pretty much what this novel is–a big dollop of happiness (with Toby putting down a palace coup along the way). It was so nice seeing that.

5 Stars

Headphones and HeartachesHeadphones and Heartaches

by Wesley Parker

My original post
Percy’s a teen who gets put into Foster Care after his mother’s latest OD. While she’s in a treatment program, Percy comes to trust and love his foster mother–a woman with a huge heart, who takes in this boy and gives him a safe place to be for the first time in his life. This is a sweet book, a touching book—an occasionally hilarious book (with some truly cringe-worthy beats)—I guess it’s best summed up as a very human book. Parker got me to feel all sorts of things for these characters, to a degree I didn’t expect or was prepared for.

5 Stars

PurePure

by Jo Perry

My original post
(sure, you could make the case that this is Crime Fiction, but I don’t buy it) After Ascher gets quarantined in her late aunt’s retirement condo during the early days of COVID. She sneaks around volunteering for a Jewish Burial Society, and then becomes convinced that one of the women she helped with was the victim of foul play. So Ascher tries to figure out what happened and who is responsible–again, while sneaking around the retirement community’s quarantine. This is a mystery novel about something—it’s more than a whodunit (assuming there was something for a “who” to have “dun”). It, like pretty much everything Perry writes, is about death and how we deal with it as humans (and one neurotic and grieving Mini-Pinscher). THere’s more to chew on, too, but that’d be telling…

This is one that’s going to stay with me for a while.

4 Stars

In Ten YearsIn Ten Years

by Ian Shane

My original post
A contemporary When Harry Met Sally that makes me just as happy as the movie ever did. Tried and true plotlines that felt fresh thanks to Shane’s light touch and ear for dialogue. It contains what’s probably my favorite chapter of 2021–and more than a couple of my favorite lines. I wanted to race through it to see how it ended, and I wanted to slow down to savor it (the impulse control side lost–what do you expect from someone who tagged himself “Irresponsible”?).

5 Stars

The Friday 56 for 9/17/21: Headphones and Heartaches by Wesley Parker

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it

from Page 56 of:
Headphones and Heartaches

Headphones and Heartaches by Wesley Parker

We share a long hug, and I apologize for being so moody lately.

“You’re a teenager. I’d have you committed if you weren’t.” She pecks me on the forehead and all is well in our house again. “I was thinking, you start school and your new job on Tuesday, so what would you say about getting a hotel and spending the weekend in New York City?”

“Are you serious?”

She frowns. “No, I enjoy getting your hopes up and crushing them. Of course I’m serious.”

Headphones and Heartaches by Wesley Parker: Sweet, Honest, Heartbreaking, and Heartwarming

You know how sometimes just the right book comes at just the right time? A book you don’t realize you needed until it had done its job on your psyche? As you’ve probably guessed, that’s what Headphones and Heartaches was for me. So, yeah, this is going to be a rave. It’s also going to be shorter than I want it to be, but that’s only because this won’t ever get posted if I keep tweaking and rewriting it (this was supposed to go up seven days ago).


Headphones and Heartaches

Headphones and Heartaches

by Wesley Parker

Kindle Edition, 324 pg.
2021

Read: September 2-6, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

“One day you’re gonna look back and realize these are the best days of your life.”

I’m living in a foster home while my mother is getting treatment for a heroin addiction. If these are the best days, maybe I should just give up now.

What’s Headphones and Heartaches About?

Percy Martin is sure that the social worker he meets next to his mother’s hospital bed means well. But Percy’s not interested in what he’s offering, Percy trusts that he can do better on his own than any foster situation that Alex can put him in. When they meet, no one’s sure that Percy’s mother will survive her latest overdose, and Alex’s hands are tied.

So he makes Percy an offer—stick with this foster parent a year, and Alex will do what he can to reunite Percy and his mom. There’s an earnestness about Alex, and (he won’t really admit this to himself) Percy just wants a break from it all—so he accepts the offer.

Alex brings him to Grace Wilson*. A kind, gracious, waitress who has decided the right thing to do is open her heart and home to a teen who needs both. Percy’s life is changed forever immediately.

* I should devote 3-4 paragraphs to her, but I don’t have the time, but she’s a great character.

He has food—and never has to worry about where the next meal is coming from. She helps him get money—and learn to manage it. He learns to sleep on a bed. He makes friends—real friends. He falls for a girl. He—and he says this several times—has a chance to be normal.

And he loves it. How could you not?

But he’s torn—because the cost of all of this change is the relationship with his mother. He feels he’s abandoned her, taken away her motivation to change, removed his support from her when she needs him the most. Is having a better life worth that?

Opium’s Victims

Percy’s mom, Wanda, is never made out to be the villain of the piece. Never. She is deeply flawed, and Percy doesn’t flinch from that. But she’s also the one constant in his life and has clearly done what she can to be a mother and provider to him. She clearly loves him.

But her addiction runs her life, she battles it, but not effectively, and that has consequences for both of them.

One of Parker’s most successful moves is showing that the statistics and reports about the opioid epidemic underreports its victims. It’s not just Wanda—it’s Percy. It’s Grace. It’s Percy’s friends. If Wanda had other family or friends, they would be in that number. And it’s likely that the turmoil, emotional upheaval, and financial impact goes beyond Grace and Percy’s friends to their friends and family…and so on. Percy thinks he can even see the toll this takes on the Judge dealing with his foster care. Yes, Wanda is the primary victim, and addicts like her ought to be the focus of the efforts to combat the epidemic—but not the sole focus.

Headphones, Comedy Albums, and Mixtapes

The 3.5mm jack connects my favorite artists right into my soul like an IV, securing my hopes and dreams that wither under the assault of everyday life. They’ve been there on the nights when the heat wasn’t, at the dinner table when the food wasn’t, reminding me that better times would come, even if they couldn’t give me an estimated arrival date.

Percy finds refuge from his circumstances in movies (VHS tapes he can buy at pawn shops and the like) and music (largely pirated from public library offerings). Music is the one he talks more about, and he has strong opinions about it—while also having very eclectic tastes.

What kind of strong opinions? Aside from Rob Sheffield or Nick Hornby’s creation, I haven’t seen anyone with such detailed specifications for putting together a mixtape—and I loved watching him obsess about things like that. He has much more to say on the subject of wired headphones than I quoted above—and who cares that much about those? I could go on, but you get the idea.

Along the same lines…what he and Grace say about comedy albums? I didn’t realize other people felt that way about them, too. I really would like to see a second edition of the book (or a companion book) containing essays Percy writes for English class about things like comedy albums and their impact on his life, and various topics related to music/music appreciation. Just based on what he says in this book, they’d be fantastic.

It’s things like this that transform Percy from a pitiable kid in hard circumstances to a rounded character that you can develop an emotional bond with. Parker truly nailed this kind of thing.

Categorizing

By and large anymore, it seems that if the book is about a teenager, it must be a Young Adult novel. But it doesn’t seem as if this is being marketed as one. Would it work for a YA audience? Sure. Well, at least I think it would. But really it works for anyone who likes a good coming-of-age tale.

Percy is a teen—and his emotions swing widely and quickly as such. But anyone who is, or who can remember, what that’s like will easily be able to appreciate that. At the same time, thanks to his hard life, he has a certain perspective that gives a layer of maturity to his thinking—so snooty “adult” readers don’t have to sully themselves with something like a book written for teens.

So, what did I think about Headphones and Heartaches?

On Wheel of Fortune there’s always one guy that keeps asking for letters even though it’s clear to everyone else what the answer is. I feel like that guy right now, because in my heart I know the answer, I’m just hoping that it’s the wrong one.

With only a couple of exceptions, the adults that Percy meets after his mother’s overdose are almost too good to be true. I’d be tempted to call them all Mary Sues/Marty Sues. But part of it is that for Percy, these are responsible, caring, adults trying to help him—it’s easy to see why Percy would largely describe them in glowing terms. And even then, the adults aren’t boring—they’re interesting, funny, and inspirational.

But the exceptions? Boy howdy, they are definitely not too good (nor are they too bad to be realistic…). But let’s not focus on them

But Percy and his classmates, playmates in flashbacks, and friends are absolutely well-rounded and developed—as they’re (largely) the focus of the book, that’s the important part. They sound like, think like, and feel like teens (with varying degrees of maturity). They’re some of the better teen characters I remember reading.

You take characters like that and put them out into the world, and you’ve got yourself a good start to a novel. Add in a compelling story—and an emotional depth that fits the characters, and you’ve got a knockout. This is what Parker has delivered.

As the end neared, I jotted a note,”I am going to end up crying.” And while I didn’t technically weep, there were several moments as I finished the book that I came awfully close to it. Those moments were all over the map, I should add—heartbreaking, tragic, heartwarming, and just sweet. Parker just doesn’t get you with human grief and anger, he gets you with the wonderful moments, too.

This is a sweet book, a touching book—an occasionally hilarious book (with some truly cringe-worthy beats)—I guess it’s best summed up as a very human book. Parker got me to feel all sorts of things for these characters, to a degree I didn’t expect or was prepared for.

This is a special one, reader. You’d do yourself a favor if you picked it up.


5 Stars

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