Publisher Description
A daughter of rock ’n’ roll royalty has a secret crush. A lonely ticket taker worries about his sister. An almost-famous songwriter nurses old wounds. A stage manager tires of being behind the scenes. A singer-songwriter struggles to untangle her feelings for her best friend and his girlfriend. In this live-out-loud anthology, the disparate protagonists of sixteen stories are thrown together for one unforgettable event: their high school’s battle of the bands. Told in a harmonic blend of first- and third-person narrative voices, roughly chronological short stories offer a kaleidoscopic view of the same transformative night. Featuring an entry from Justin Courtney Pierre, lead vocalist of Motion City Soundtrack, Battle of the Bands is a celebration of youth, music, and meeting the challenges of life head-on. Edited by Lauren Gibaldi and Eric Smith, this astonishing collection also includes stories by both editors as well as thirteen other beloved young-adult authors: Brittany Cavallaro, Preeti Chhibber, Jay Coles, Katie Cotugno, Shaun David Hutchinson, Ashley Poston, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Sarah Nicole Smetana, Jenn Marie Thorne, Sarvenaz Taghavian, Jasmine Warga, Ashley Woodfolk, and Jeff Zentne.
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About the Authors
Eric Smith is an author, prolific book blogger, and literary agent from New Jersey, currently living in Philadelphia. He cohosts Book Riot’s podcast, HEY YA, with non-fiction young-adult author Kelly Jensen. He can regularly be found writing for Book Riot’s blog, as well as Barnes & Noble’s Teen Reads blog, Paste magazine, and Publishing Crawl. He has a growing Twitter platform of over 40,000 followers.
About the Narrators
Neil Hellegers grew up in New Jersey and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a BA in theater arts and a minor in psychology before getting an MFA in acting from the Trinity Rep Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island. He moved to New York City in 2003 and, since then, has made a career of theatrical performance, percussion, theater education, and audiobook narration. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.
Nick Mondelli is an actor, poet, and accomplished audiobook narrator from Northwest Ohio. He has narrated a wide range of titles, from My Antonia by Willa Cather to Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner, which AudioFile magazine called, “a sensitive, expressive performance.” Nick graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Toledo before moving to Los Angeles.
Born in the United States and based in France, Hope Newhouse comes from a stage background ranging from medieval farce to contemporary drama to children’s theater. Now more often found behind a microphone, her warm and engaging voice has been heard on commercials, video games, e-learning programs, institutional films, and audiobooks.
Gabra Zackman is an actress, author, and narrator who has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards. She was educated at Northwestern University. A classically trained actress, she has appeared in theaters all over the country as well as on film and television.
Stewart O’Nan is the author of more than a dozen novels, including West of Sunset; The Odds; Emily, Alone; and Snow Angels, as well as several works of nonfiction, including, with Stephen King, the New York Times bestselling Faithful. His novel Last Night at the Lobster was a national bestseller and a finalist for the 2007 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He was born and raised and lives with his family in Pittsburgh.
Nick Mondelli is an actor, poet, and accomplished audiobook narrator from Northwest Ohio. He has narrated a wide range of titles, from My Antonia by Willa Cather to Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner, which AudioFile magazine called, “a sensitive, expressive performance.” Nick graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Toledo before moving to Los Angeles.
Zondervan, part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, is a
world leading Bible publisher and provider of Christian communications. For
more than eighty years, Zondervan has delivered transformational Christian
experiences through its bestselling Bibles, books, curriculum, academic
resources, and digital products. The company’s products are sold in multiple formats,
worldwide in more than sixty countries, and translated into nearly two hundred
languages.