This book was outstanding! I love that it was so well written and handled the topics of race so well! I found this to be one that I wanted to pick up again right after I finished.

Breaking my Goodreads break to say wow, I saw my teen self this in this. Inland Empire? Yes. Indie Music that you feel is the only way to cope with this bullshit called existence? Yes. Depression/anxiety/mental illness? Mmhmm. 2000s teen culture? Yep. Skeptical of Christianity yet also terrified of it? Yep.

I really felt like this some alt-dimension me wrote this. I loved the exploration of what it means to be Black in SoCal, that supposedly progressive area. I had other issues that our main character didn't have, but it was heart-wrenching to imagine how my Black friends and other friends of color must have felt growing up, all the while dealing with all of the other nonsense teens deal with.

My "Otherness" wasn't as hypervisible as theirs, so our struggles were different, but this book has me reminiscing about that time and how I and my other friends were complicit in perpetuating some of the things Morgan deals with. Her identity as a Black girl is central to this story, interwoven through her experiences, so I don't want to focus too much on how I relate to the other things as a white girl, but I loved all of the bits and pieces of my teenage life.

But enough about me. This book was funny and relatable enough for today's teens to appreciate -- I hate when YA authors write about their teen escapades and forget that modern teens won't really appreciate or care about the references; you need substance beyond that. This is a coming-of-age story, a finding-where-you-belong story, a love story focused on the self, a story that destigmatizes the conversations about mental health, esp. I think in marginalized communities. It's about feeling isolated and the odd one out, both because you're a teen and because you're a hypervisible other in a sea of whiteness that doesn't want to talk or acknowledge race, Blackness, or privilege. It's about being "too much" for your family, your friends, your stifling hometown, and only finding refuge in sad, good music. It's about questioning existence and god in that way that curious teens do. It's about finding friends who make you feel good about yourself, who fuck up and apologize, and who make you want to try another day of living. also, like i said -- it's really funny. i listened to this on audio and e-book, and i have plenty of highlights. i felt seen and felt like i was seeing things i should've seen about my friends and classmates a long time ago.


I don't know how you couldn't root for and relate to Morgan. It's a specific story about a specific time and place, but as with all wonderfully-told fiction, it's a story with universal appeal. I recommend it.

Loved this! Appreciated the print copy and apparently never came back here to say so. I enjoyed moderating the panel at the LA Times Festival of Books with Morgan on it.

5 stars out of 5 stars. This was a well-written young adult contemporary novel that deals with topics like race and depression. I struggled a bit to read this one because it hit too close to home but it was a well-done novel.

In a small, very white town, Morgan is trapped in the expectations and assumptions of everyone around her. She hasn't found a place to fit in, and her head is full of a pain she can't shake. Learning to live, learning to thrive, with depression is no easy task in any circumstance, let alone hers. But as Morgan finds new people and music, she discovers how to put her mental health first and how to flourish in the world she's in.

WHO PUT THIS SONG ON is a fantastic addition to the list of YA books that tackle mental health in an authentic way. Depression looks different for everyone, and marginalized identities alongside that create unique experiences. Morgan's depression involves tears, feelings of isolation, and loneliness. It also involves people second guessing her mental health and doubting her experience, something that is unfortunately all too common. Those who have experience with depression will likely find a strong connection with Morgan and those that don't will get an authentic glimpse into what living with depression can look like.

Morgan Parker has a distinct voice that makes these characters feel real and immediate, though the story is set in the 2000s. Young readers will get to view what it was like being a teenager, and specifically a Black teenager, as the Obama era was just starting. Music also plays a huge role in WHO PUT THIS SONG ON, highlighting the power of connection to discovering music that fits exactly what you feel, as well as the connections that can be formed when you share music with others.

Morgan Parker's WHO PUT THIS SONG ON pairs well with books like Tiffany D. Jackson's LET ME HEAR A RHYME and Cindy L. Rodriguez's WHEN REASON BREAKS.

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.

Excellent and topical book which was an insta-buy for my school library once I read it. Highly recommended read.

I don’t feel that this book was FOR me, but I also kinda do. I wanted to DNF this, but I also couldn’t stop listening because I knew how important it was to the African American community. I really hope this gets into the hands of those who need it.
Morgan is a 17 year old African American girl who’s been having a hard time. She’s tired of being teased for being the only Black person at sleepovers, being told she’s not really Black, and a host of other things. She uses this time to find all the ways she can stay afloat.
I can’t believe I finished this one. I’m not a huge fan of drugs and alcohol in YA books because my uncle was on drugs most of my life. There was even a point in my life where he got my cousin taken away because of this. And to this day, reading this always triggers me. I think that’s why I didn’t run to this one. I think had I been reading this and not listening, I wouldn’t have finished it. But because I I was able to speed it up and get past those scenes, I ended up finishing it.
The reason I finished this anyway is the mental health theme. In the Black community, mental health is something like a stigma. And most of our people don’t even believe it’s true. Parker clearly portrayed this in her story. I got a bit teary-eyed while reading this because I could relate. It hurt to listen, but it was still so real.
Morgan was also a big part of why I didn’t stop reading this. I related to her so hard. In elementary I went to a Catholic school where I was the one of two Black people in my class. And then in high school I was in a relationship with someone outside my race. I was influenced by them, wearing Famous, and slip on Vans, and letting them do my make up with the wrong shades. I got told more than once I wasn’t “really” Black. I felt for Morgan and wanted to show she was not alone.
As for the plot, I think this is why I didn’t really care for this. It had too much going on at once. It seemed like there was nothing happening, and then, a bunch of things happen, and then nothing, and then a whole bunch of things at once again. I just wished she had spread some of the events out some.
This book wasn’t something I was supposed to like, but I guess times are changing because I did. It wasn’t my favorite, but it still had some good enough points that I had to make sure I didn’t miss it.

Okay I loved this book.

I went into it sort of blindly so I just assumed it was some sort of YA book with music relation but I was fully blown away. While yes, I would still consider it YA, it was so much more than that. This book hurt, but in a good way. It made me feel seen and brought back so many pained feelings from my teenage years that I thought only I was going through at the time regarding mental health, anxiety, and overall feelings of suicidal thoughts. Also I was raised in nothing but catholic schools and around Christians even though I didn't consider myself much of anything, so a lot of her school days felt familiar too.

Everything mentioned and handled in this book was done so perfectly but also honestly. When I finished the book and realized this is more so a memoir from the author I was shocked. This read as such a good read I'd never believe it was all more or less true.

I don't know Morgan Parker but if I did I hope we'd be friends...especially because she has a killer sense of music (and also, fashion as it seems!)

I love reading books by black authors, especially debut authors of color, and this book was really good. I liked the writing and the characters. The story was very good and I look forward to reading more from this author.

This book was about a teenage girl named Morgan who goes through her high school career with severe depression and anxiety. We learn so much about what a person with severe depression goes through while reading this book. It honestly opened my eyes on how much therapy could help a person. Once we get to the end of the book and if you read the authors note we find out she actually wrote the book about herself and I do believe that takes some serious talent. Her writing is beautiful and l really enjoyed all the characters but not only that but the book in its entirety.

The first book on my “WOW, I REALLY NEED TO CATCH UP ON THESE ARCS” list was Who Put This Song On?, which was published back in September. I was super excited about this one and then life happened and I totally forgot about it until well after it was published.

I have some conflicting thoughts about this book, but overall, I really enjoyed it.

The first thing I want to mention is the nostalgia factor. This book is set in 2008, when emo music was at its height and Barack Obama had just been elected. This was such a throwback for me. I was 18 in 2008, and Morgan is 17. It felt like I was reading a book about my own teenage experiences, because let me tell you… I also can sometimes not make it through a party without crying (or at least getting super anxious) and, back in 2008, I also got joy by locking myself in my bedroom and screaming along with Bright Eyes. (Road to Joy was my go-to.)

Morgan’s struggle with her faith while attending Catholic school was another thing that took me right back to 2008. I attended thirteen years of Catholic school and everything that Morgan talks about is accurate. Going to mass every week with your class because that’s what you’ve always done, listening to teachers awkwardly drone on about resisting temptations, weird religious versions of popular songs, the lack of sex ed (which in this book leads to a pregnancy scare)… all of that was my high school experience.

And the music! I loved how Morgan loved all of the same music that I did back then. (And, okay, I’m still an emo kid even though I’m in my late 20s.) I’m a sucker for music references, and I loved how Morgan and her friends made mixes for each other all the time. I loved making mixes for my friends back then!

I also appreciated the exploration of Morgan’s anxiety and depression. While mental health is a big thing now that people make a point to talk about and prioritize, it definitely was not in 2008. It was something people actively avoided talking about, and if they did talk about it, it was in whispers or just vaguely alluded to. That’s really captured well in this book, and the intersection between Morgan’s depression and her race adds another level to the story.

There were, however, some things I didn’t particularly like.

The pacing was, I think, my biggest issue. The book is only 336 pages, but it definitely drags at times, and especially at the beginning. There were some chapters that didn’t really seem to serve a purpose, which, because this is a semi-autobiographical novel, I feel kind of bad saying.

Another issue I had was the sheer amount of issues this book tries to tackle. I’ve included several of them in my list of content warnings below, and there are definitely more that I’m forgetting. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a heavy book, but it does deal with some very difficult topics. This on its own wasn’t really an issue for me, but the fact that very few of these issues were actually resolved was. A lot of things happen to Morgan, and then the book just kind of ends. I know that this book is based on the author’s life and real life doesn’t always have a neat and tidy ending, but, at least for me, that didn’t translate into a novel very well.

Overall, I think this book is definitely worth a read if you can relate to being an anxious teenager who felt like an outsider and was obsessed with emo music in 2008. That might be a very specific demographic, but it’s one I fit into.

Content warnings: depression (including suicidal thoughts), anxiety (including panic attacks), homophobia, drug and alcohol use, racism, attempted sexual assault

I related to this book a bit too hard. The depression and anxiety rep hit TOO CLOSE TO HOME for me here. The fact that those two things aren't talked about in the black community, the themes of colorism and finding yourself... I'd recommend this book for that ALONE. The writing wasn't my favorite thing in the world, the the representation made that up for me.

As much as I wanted to like this book it just didn't work out in my favor. I really couldn't connect to Morgan. The writing at times felt off. Some chapters are short and some are long and it messed with the pacing of the story for me as I read. I normally don't rate books I haven't finished but since I am required to review this book I gave it 3 stars.

I liked this book. Morgan is an interesting protagonist and experiences growth. I enjoyed the focus on mental health, particularly anxiety and depression. Many scenes were poignant. The author portrays Morgan’s emotions well. I enjoyed the song references.

Unfortunately, most of the other characters are flat. Morgan’s friendship with Meg, David, and James progresses too quickly to be believable. All three characters had interesting moments, but none of them felt three dimensional. Kelly serves no purpose. There’s conflict with Morgan’s parents, but it’s unresolved.

While I believe mental illness was represented well for the most part, the therapy aspect was questionable. We’re told therapy helped Morgan immensely, but in the novel her therapist Susan doesn’t seem particularly helpful.

Additionally, the pacing off the book is poor. Many relationships proceed too rapidly. Several interesting events are summarized, rather than experienced in the story.

Though I found elements lacking, I liked this book because I loved following Morgan’s journey.

I related to Morgan's isolation in a very visceral way. While her racial isolation was outside my experience, her depression and her parent's inability to understand it was very relatable. I wasn't a big fan of the portrayal of all the Christian school kids as arrogant, ignorant jerks, inherent bullies. I don't deny that those people exist in religious schools but I reject the notion that the only "clear-headed" students are the handful of athiests. I reject the notion that all convicted religious people are narrow-minded idiots. I chafe at painting a whole group with a single brush. There's some important points made about the understanding of mental illness and racism, so the narrowmindedness regarding religion was disappointing.

Funny, nostalgic, emotional , relevant. I know so many Teens that news this book! I’m a 30 year old white teacher but I still connected to the main characters struggles with feeling like she doesn’t fit, her depression, and her friendships.

3.5 stars

I had mixed feelings on this one. While I thought it was a good book for the most part I did have some issues with it.

Just to quickly deal with writing style & plot: I had no problem with the writing style, I've seen other reviews complain about the use of parentheticals, but as I tend to use those a lot I didn't mind them a lot. As for plot, there's very little of that here which, once again, isn't a huge bother to me as I'm more of a character based reader (especially for contemporaries).

I liked that this showcased a teenager with depression and all the complex feelings that come with dealing with that. I also appreciated how it showed the complex relationships you can have with your family when you're dealing with mental illness. I really felt for Morgan when her parents weren't as supportive about her mental illness, but also appreciated the bright moments she had with her family as I felt that was realistic.

I liked that the book showcased her going to therapy, but I think it would have been really helpful if it was more clear how it was helping her. Morgan spent a lot of time complaining about her therapist (which was fair), but her valid complaints were never dealt with?

I felt that the relationship between Morgan and her friends was unbelievable and not fleshed out enough. At the beginning of the book it felt like she barely knew them, but it's implied that they've been friends for at least a while. But there seemed to be no real reason for a transition into a closer friendship.

The biggest part of the book that I appreciated was just how it dealt with/showcased what it's like growing up in a white/predominately not black suburban area. Especially just thoughts that occur when you're the only black person in class. I know a lot of "issue books" deal with this, but for some reason I related to this one a lot more, maybe because this isn't really an "issue book"?

Overall I did really like this, I think teenage me would've really appreciated it, and if you're interested in contemporary's with less of a straightforward plot I think you'll appreciate it too.

Morgan Parker uses her own experiences as a teenager to write this novel about a 15 year old, Morgan Parker, who struggles to find balance after being diagnosed with depression. Not only that, she is one of the only students of color in her private Christian school (and in her neighborhood, suburbia) where she is discouraged from having her own opinions. I like how her identity is also part emo, with all the appropriate musical references, and also a slight tribute to The Golden Notebook maybe?

I had a copy of this from the publisher through NetGalley. I am already a fan of Parker's poetry and although this YA novel is for a different audience, I think her selfhood and strength shine through here as well. This came out September 24, 2019.

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
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3,5*
Pros: PoC activist lead. Awesome introduction of black activism and fight for equality. Talks about suffering from racial stereotypes, even within black communities. Important take into religion and self-discovery. Crucial PoV into mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, emotional disconnection...
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Cons: Overlooked secondary characters. There is a correlation between being emo and having mental health issues, which is not only non-exclusive, but even harmful. Anyone, and I mean anyone, no matter the race, gender, age, fashion style, music preferences, hobbies... can suffer from mental health issues and that does not mean they are emo.