7 Must-Reads For Every Riot Grrrl

Save Me Kurt Cobain, by Jenny Manzer
It’s 2007, and Nico Cavan is so the outcast. She’s a music-obsessed loner who’s focused on the disappearance of her mother over a decade earlier. When she finds a stash of her mom’s old stuff—including CDs that Nico herself treasures—she knows it’s a sign. She heads off to visit her aunt in Seattle, then takes an unexpected detour on the way home in the hopes of finding some answers. The thrum of music, specifically that of Nirvana and tragic figure Kurt Cobain—are a strong current here, propelling the story along as Nico unravels the mystery that has haunted her young life.

For the Record, by Charlotte Huang
After a failed stint on a TV talent show, Chelsea finds herself fronting Melbourne, an established rock band that just lost its original frontwoman, and getting cozy on camera with heartthrob Lucas Rivers, whose paparazzi posse means that Chelsea’s star is rising fast. But fame and its heady trappings are not quite what she expected, and things get complicated when she finds herself falling fast—for Beckett, the band’s bassist. Will Chelsea be a one-hit wonder? Or will she do what it takes to win rock success, even if it’s not what she really wants?

Amplified, by Tara Kelly
When buttoned up Jasmine tells her dad she wants to skip Stanford to explore other possibilities, he gives her 15 minutes to pack her stuff and get lost. And she does, heading to Santa Cruz with her guitar and a dream. There, she meets prickly Sean and the members of C-Side, a band looking for a guitarist. Only problem? For all her bravado, Jasmine has never performed on stage before. Can she grab her dreams and make them real before they slip right out of her grasp?

After Tupac and D Foster, by Jacqueline Woodson
Okay, so hip-hop is not punk rock. But Woodson’s 2008 tome echoes many of the same notes—self-discovery and exploring the world through music and words, and the way a song can shift everything, create clarity and community, and make you shed an old skin in favor of something that fits better.

I Want to Be Your Joey Ramone, by Stephanie Kuehnert
Girls with guitars? Check. But this punk rock classic has plenty of heart, and self-discovery, too. Set in the thick of the ’90s, it follows Emily Black, who has grown up lost since her own rocker mama abandoned the family when Emily was four. She’s hoping the right song will help her find her mother, but instead she ends up finding her own voice.

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
A frenetic, he-said-she-said take on one magical night, this now-classic YA by two of your favorite writers still holds up nearly a decade later. Nick is a lovelorn not-quite-rock god who’s still smarting from a split. Nora’s the smart, funny chick he doesn’t realize is everything he ever wanted. One wild night, they finally connect—and how—talking music, religion, sex, and everything else. And yes, it’s as amazing as it sounds.

Beige, by Cecil Castelluci
Katy can’t believe she has to spend the summer in Los Angeles with her deadbeat dad. After all, how great a father can a former heroin addict punk rock drummer nicknamed The Rat really be? Plus, his track record is not so hot. And she just doesn’t feel at home in the downtown punk scene he’s a part of—until, slowly, she starts to figure herself out, learning to “be loud.”