The Songs You’ve Never Heard by Becky Jerams and Ellie Wyatt

I have to be honest, I don’t read many books aimed at the Young Adult audience. With the children that I teach being too young to read such titles, and my own children now in their twenties, most of what I read I read with a view to it being suitable for my class. This new title, however, has been a most welcome change from my usual reading diet over the past few days after being sent a proof by the wonderful Clock Tower publishing (an imprint of Sweet Cherry Publishing) ahead of its publication later this year.

Promising a story highlighting the dangers of social media bullying and inspiring body positivity through the new-found friendship of two teenage girls, this debut novel by Becky Jerams and Ellie Wyatt has been heavily influenced by their own experiences of the music industry, and shared passion for words and music, and is not only certain to be a huge hit when it is released, but is going to be an important and inspiring read for so many readers who doubt themselves.

Somebody who most definitely does not give the impression of doubting herself is Meg McCarthy, who is settling her restaurant bill when she is approached by two young fans of her pop star brother Caspar. Not wanting to speak with the girls, who she knows are only interested in her famous sibling, Meg tries to make her excuses to leave only to be met with a hurtful barrage of abuse – something with which she is, sadly, all too familiar. It is the start of the summer holiday and Meg is half-heartedly looking for a job for the break within the busy streets of Brighton’s centre but finds herself entering Aladdin’s Cave – a treasure trove of second hand items – where the love of her life Matty works.

After an incident in the shop leads to Meg being rude to some of the girls with whom she goes to school who are shopping there – and Matty – she flees, cursing herself that she is always horrible to him; leaving him utterly bewildered as to why. Returning home in the hopes of finding some peace, she instead stumbles across her mother taking pictures of the family cat for his Instagram page and the unspoken pressure of having to update her own social media as Caspar’s sister. Her only respite from the endless circus that is the McCarthy Brand is privately writing and recording her own music and sharing it online with virtual bestie Band-Snapper, who has no idea as to who she really is.

As if all of this was not enough to contend with, Meg’s mother breaks the news to her that she has set her up with a job at a frozen yoghourt shop run by a friend which she hopes will help Meg to make friends. Dutifully trekking over to Dodo Yoyo, Meg is introduced by owner Laura to seemingly more confident fellow employee Alana. At first, Meg is wary of Alana having been stung too many times by those who only want to be friends to get to Caspar, but soon the two girls realise that they have a shared love of music and songwriting and Meg starts to open up to her. Before long the two of them start to make plans to make music together but Meg has not considered the impact on Caspar’s delicate ego and up until now, Alana has not encountered the cruelty that comes from putting yourself out there. Can the two girls support one another to overcome the obstacles put in front of them, or are they both destined to forever be in someone else’s shadow?

The one theme that shines out from this book to me is just how much we are all guilty of judging other people by what we think we know about them. For years, Meg has had to play second fiddle to Caspar and rather than relishing the supposedly great opportunities with which she has been presented, has had to grin and bear them for the sake of the McCarthy Brand. Having had her fingers burned too many times by friendships that have been entirely one-sided, she has turned in on herself and shut out everyone except her family and Band-Snapper who she can be confident is interested in her just for herself. When she meets Alana, who takes her for who she is and has shared interests, Meg is finally able to pull down her defensive shields and open up to someone she sees as a soulmate.

For Alana, whose background is so entirely different, her only experiences of making her own music have been positive and it comes as a huge shock to her that suddenly she is judged not on her many talents but on her appearance when she is drawn into Meg’s family’s world. As someone who was a fat child, then a fat teenager and then a fat adult, and spent much of that time yoyo-dieting, I so felt for her. I remember well the occasions on which I would be judged while eating in McDonalds, with people craning to see what I was eating and passing judgement on me long before the pressure of being Insta Perfect was a thing. Now in my fifties, I am proud of what my body has achieved but as an impressionable young woman I can see that social media could have driven me so easily towards eating disorders or self-harm – something that is a frightening reality not only for girls, but many of our young people.

By addressing issues such as fat-shaming and cyber-bullying through the pages of this novel, the authors are giving their intended audience of 14+ readers much to reflect on. The importance of being true to yourself and supporting others to do the same shines out from the pages and this would make a great read for a book club where its readers could not only discuss the story but their own experiences of the themes covered.

As well as being a great read, the story is part of a booksical, with an accompanying album including the songs from the book being released alongside the novel. The Songs You’ve Never Heard will be published June 16th and is definitely one to pre-order.