Music From Another World has made me discover this: I need, need, NEED, need to read more by Robin Talley. Like, immediately. Now. Yesterday. Please.


Music From Another World
by Robin Talley

It’s summer 1977 and closeted lesbian Tammy Larson can’t be herself anywhere. Not at her strict Christian high school, not at her conservative Orange County church and certainly not at home, where her ultrareligious aunt relentlessly organizes antigay political campaigns. Tammy’s only outlet is writing secret letters in her diary to gay civil rights activist Harvey Milk…until she’s matched with a real-life pen pal who changes everything.

Sharon Hawkins bonds with Tammy over punk music and carefully shared secrets, and soon their letters become the one place she can be honest. The rest of her life in San Francisco is full of lies. The kind she tells for others—like helping her gay brother hide the truth from their mom—and the kind she tells herself. But as antigay fervor in America reaches a frightening new pitch, Sharon and Tammy must rely on their long-distance friendship to discover their deeply personal truths, what they’ll stand for…and who they’ll rise against.

A master of award-winning queer historical fiction, New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley once again brings to life with heart and vivid detail an emotionally captivating story about the lives of two teen girls living in an age when just being yourself was an incredible act of bravery. 


There's one thing I know about Robin Talley: she represents WLW relationships in a way that feels real. She also provides some of the best representation that the young adult literary community is desperately lacking. And she does so beautifully, believably, and with her whole heart.

Honestly, there's something that makes me want to swoon about this book. Straight up swoon out of my chair and just lay around for a while. Talley is that great of a writer. She compels you instantly. She grips you and her prose doesn't leave you for quite some time. She has that spark.

To put it bluntly: Music From Another World is proof that Robin Talley needs to be praised far more than I hear. Because, holy crap, I adored this book. Aside from the obvious facts (representation and the era in which it takes place) there was a lot to be admired within Music From Another World. It tackles many issues and topics that were relevant then, and still relevant now.

Not only does it tackle these serious issues and handle them with a sensitivity that doesn't feel like a cheesy, badly written after-school-special, it will give readers the warm and fuzzies. It goes without saying that it takes a particular special ability, a gift, to write stories that balance both honesty (harsh realities, check) but still gives you hope and feels soft/safe. Robin Talley is a pro at this.

If you love love-stories that give you a buzz of electricity, set with backdrops in music and activism, this book is for you.  Ultimately, Music From Another World feels like a triumph in young adult fiction. It reaches great heights in terms of honesty, representation, historical settings and so much more.