The power of music in people’s lives is not to be underestimated, as the authors of the following three young adult novels deftly show. Many titles for this audience seek to tackle the challenges and changes that come with one’s teenage years, which these books achieve through smart explorations of the main character’s musical expression. The young adults use their love of music, be it pop or punk or classical, as a means self-discovery and a bridge to connect with others. Each, though facing challenges from bullying to childhood trauma to familial pressure, comes to realize important truths about his or her self—truths which are set to a soundtrack. In Leila Sales’s outstanding This Song Will Save Your Life (Farrar, 2013; Gr 9 Up), 16-year-old Elise knew by fourth grade that she didn’t fit in with her peers. One last effort at the start of her sophomore year fails, ending in an episode of self-harm. Afterward, Elise is further ostracized from her classmates when a blog about the incident, seemingly written by her, begins to circulate. That changes when she stumbles upon underground warehouse dance party Start. There Elise finds older teens who love the same music she does and, with their encouragement, realizes she has a talent and passion for DJing. A romance with her mentor Char (DJ This Charming Man, after The Smiths' song) begins to take shape, but ultimately, it’s her relationship with herself that’s most important. The weekly club night is an escape for Elise, and she manages to translate some of that confidence into her everyday life. She still feels out of place (“I’ll pretend to be anyone or anything other than myself, but the problem is that no one is ever fooled,” she says at one point), but the empowering turnaround by the novel’s end—complete with packed dance floor euphoria and DJ Elise in the booth—makes the teen realize that she can be no one but herself, and that it’s enough. Though Sales's book is set in the present day, fans of the music in Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013) will likely also appreciate the primarily 1980s-90s British indie and pop references (and appended “Recommended Listening” page) in this title. However, all readers who have felt a little less alone while listening to a favorite song—even if they haven’t yet experienced that wonder of finding others who feel the same way about it—will be able to relate to Elise. Harbinger Jones, in Len Vlahos’s forthcoming novel The Scar Boys (Egmont USA, Jan. 2014; Gr 9 Up), likewise experiences bullying and eventually turns to music as an outlet. The book, written as a personal statement for a college application that goes far over the maximum word count of 250, begins with the story of how Harry received the scars that have so impacted his life. The essay tells how at eight years old, he was tied to a tree by neighborhood bullies under the guise of a game. When a thunderstorm began, the boys left Harry to the elements; lightning struck the tree and it caught fire, leaving him with third degree burns on his face and upper body. While initially despondent and facing ridicule, in middle school he became friends with a popular boy and the pair later formed punk band The Scar Boys. Harry reconciles the physical and emotional wounds from the incident with the success and joy he found as the guitarist in the band. Music, he notes, “was a sanctuary, a safe place to hide, a place where scars didn’t matter, where they didn’t exist.” Still, despite the accomplishments, including playing shows at venues like CBGB’s and embarking on a summer tour, Harry remained in his own mind a “freak.” It is not until the novel’s end that the teen, with help from his childhood psychologist, recognizes just how much he’s achieved. With a strong narrator facing very real problems—Harry at one point has a harrowing panic attack when the band’s van breaks down during a storm, showing that internal scars can be just as hard to bear as external—this is a standout debut that will appeal to a wide range of readers. In contrast to the previous titles, the protagonist in Sara Zarr’s The Lucy Variations (Little, Brown, 2013; Gr 8 Up) has grown up in a family intent on musical success. Since she was a child, piano prodigy Lucy Beck-Moreau was pressured to live up to the demands of her mother and grandfather, even being homeschooled to allow her to travel to competitions. The novel begins eight months after Lucy, now 16-years-old, publicly stopped playing, as she adjusts to being both back in school and dealing with her non-musical place in the family. When her 10-year-old brother Gus’s piano teacher dies suddenly in the family’s home in front of the siblings, their mother and grandfather hire Will, a former child pianist himself. Though employed to teach Gus, Will forms a bond with Lucy, and is the first person to suggest that she can still play for her own enjoyment. The teen's friendship (and infatuation) with Will eventually leads to her signing up to perform at a public showcase; shortly before it, Will’s motives—industry acclaim for getting a promising talent to return to the stage—are revealed. However, in a demonstration of how she’s grown in the past eight months, Lucy chooses not to let her anger over someone's betrayal stop her from doing what she loves. And she loves playing the piano. Throughout the novel it’s evident that although she stopped competing, Lucy is passionate about music (“Yes, the world was beautiful. But music made that beauty personal. Nothing else could do that. Nothing.”), especially the classical pieces she grew up with. Classical music aficionados will enjoy those references, but this title about choosing one’s own path will appeal to many teens as they navigate their futures.