BookFronter
Azar on Fire by Olivia Abtahi

Azar on Fire

Olivia Abtahi

Penguin Young Readers Group · Hardcover · August 23, 2022

Finding her voice takes on a whole new meaning when fourteen-year-old Azar Rossi sets out to win her local Battle of the Bands contest in this heartfelt and hilarious contemporary YA.

Contemporary YA RomanceYA LGBTQ+Music Stories for Teensyoung
More
girls
Buy on Amazon

We earn from qualifying purchases.

Who it’s for
A warm, funny YA story about music, guarded conversation, and finding a way onto the stage.
Themes
Music and songwriting, Finding your voice, Making new friends
Genres
Music Stories for Teens, Contemporary YA Romance, YA LGBTQ+

Nearest books

Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved.

  1. An Impossible Thing to SayArya Shahi54% match
  2. How to Succeed in WitchcraftAislinn Brophy56% match
  3. Jagged Little Pill: the NovelEric Smith, Alanis Morissette58% matchShares YA LGBTQ+
  4. Gita Desai Is Not Here to Shut UpSonia Patel55% match
  5. Time OutSean Hayes, Todd Milliner54% match
  6. How Girls Are MadeMindy McGinnis53% match
  7. How the Boogeyman Became a PoetTony Keith Jr.54% match
  8. The Story of My AngerJasminne Mendez53% match

For younger readers: Kyra, Just for Today, Crushing It, Select

Start with three books, and this one can be the first.

Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.

Start with this book

About this book

Finding her voice takes on a whole new meaning when fourteen-year-old Azar Rossi sets out to win her local Battle of the Bands contest in this heartfelt and hilarious contemporary YA. Fourteen-year-old Azar Rossi’s first year of high school has mostly been silent, and intentionally so. After a bad case of colic as a baby, Azar’s vocal folds are shredded—full of nodules that give her a rasp the envy of a chain-smoking bullfrog.

Continue reading

Her classmates might just think she’s quiet, but Azar is saving her voice for when it really counts and talking to her classmates is not medically advisable or even high on her list. When she hears about a local Battle of the Bands contest, it’s something she can’t resist. Azar loves music, loves songwriting, but with her vocal folds the way they are, there's no way she can sing her songs on stage. Then she hears lacrosse hottie, Ebenezer Lloyd Hollins the Fifth, aka Eben, singing from the locker room. She’s transfixed. He's just the person she needs. His voice + her lyrics = Battle of the Bands magic. But getting a band together means Azar has a lot of talking to do and new friends to make. For the chance to stand on stage with Eben it might all just be worth it.

Voice and Volume

A warm, funny YA story about music, guarded conversation, and finding a way onto the stage.

Come here for

  • Songwriting, a Battle of the Bands, and an unlikely musical partnership
  • A teen romance threaded through the work of making new friends

Expect

  • A heartfelt, lightly comic contemporary YA read
  • A heroine saving her voice for what matters most

Where it sits

Music Stories for Teens71%
YA LGBTQ+39%
Contemporary YA Romance28%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Music Stories for Teens
  • Romantic Comedy for Teens
  • Friendship for Teens
Authors
Olivia Abtahi
Publisher
Penguin Young Readers Group
Published
August 23, 2022
Format
Hardcover
Theme
Music and songwriting · Finding your voice · Making new friends
Reading lane
Music Stories for Teens