“Must-Have 2023 Queer Book Releases” —The Nerd Daily
“Most Anticipated Young Adult Books: January-June 2023" —LGBTQ Reads
“Recommended LGBTQ+ YA Releasing in Spring 2023” —Reads Rainbow
“An evocative ’90s vignette.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Jack Kerouac collides with Lester Bangs, cynicism with hope, and the result is a book that is as sweetly pop as it's starkly punk. Violet's work will seem familiar, for better or worse, to most that have sought to make music their life. It's that authenticity that makes it such a valuable read.” —Brett Callwood, LA Weekly
"This is a sparkling, exhilarating, and moving debut about a young woman on the cusp of everything—but it's an even greater meditation on the ways in which, to paraphrase Kyla, we rough ourselves up in the name of art. I loved it!" —Jessie Ann Foley, author, The Carnival at Bray and You Know I'm No Good
“A rockstar tale of a young queer woman navigating coming out while also diving pink hair first into a caffeine-fueled Boogie Nights-esque Los Angeles night life. I definitely would have dog-eared so many pages if I'd gotten to read this kind of book when I was a teen.” —Maya Miller, drummer, The Pack A.D.
“Jessamyn Violet presents readers with the sights, sounds, smells, and, above all, the tumultuous thoughts and feelings of a young life in music. This story rings true from its overture to its coda.“ —Susan Rogers, Director of Berklee Music Perception & Cognition Lab; Author, This Is What It Sounds Like: What The Music You Love Says About You
"This striking debut about an up-and-coming young musician feels reminiscent of the captivating fictional celebrity of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling Daisy Jones And The Six with its own lighthearted, YA sense of fun and wonder . . . A sparkling debut that will become a favourite and comfort read . . . Violet’s stellar wit and pacing never allow for a dull moment, sweeping the reader up into a world of glamour, uncertain romance and rock stardom.” —The National Scotland
“Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar breaks open the experience of being a new-to-the-scene musician to reveal the glittery tangle of excitement, inspiration, and danger that comes with sudden success. Jessamyn Violet’s queer protagonist, Kyla Bell, might be green, but she is the only person we can trust to teach us the rules to surviving—and maybe even thriving—in the 1990s Hollywood music industry. An impressive, introspective debut!” —Kelly Ann Jacobson, author, Tink and Wendy and Robin and Her Misfits
“Jessamyn Violet is a real rocker and a real writer. You will love her as much as I do.” —Alice Hoffman, NYT bestselling author of Practical Magic
"Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar is a magical story that reminds me of when we were first getting started with Skating Polly. I could not put this book down and definitely cried at parts. I'm proud to support such a cool, fun and feminist tale. It’s the book I dreamed of reading as a teenager!!" —Peyton Bighorse, musician, Skating Polly
“Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar is a colorful story full of hope and wonder, immersing the reader in the near-dystopian dreamscape of the music industry in 1990s Los Angeles—and I know because I lived it.” —Eva Gardner, bassist for P!NK, Cher, Tegan & Sara
“Jessamyn Violet’s riveting debut novel, Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar, gives us Kyla Bell, an endearing character who strives to balance the life of a rockstar with that of the honest and loyal daughter and friend she has always been. For this, Kyla needs a complicated set of rules, and the journey that follows—vivid and wise—is both poignant and exhilarating." —Jill McCorkle, NYT Bestselling Author
