New Releases by K.M. Walton

A song to match everyone''s heartbeat. A soaring melody, a pulse-pounding beat, a touching lyric: Music takes a moment and makes it a memory. It''s a universal language that can capture love, heartbreak, loss, soul searching, and wing spreading—all in the span of a few notes. In Behind the Song, fourteen acclaimed young adult authors and musicians share short stories and personal essays inspired by the songs, the albums, the musicians who move them. So cue up the playlist and crank the volume. This is an anthology you''ll want to experience on repeat.

From the author of Cracked and Empty comes a gripping, emotional story of two brothers who must make the ultimate decision about what''s more important: family or their differences. It''s not Oscar''s fault he''s misunderstood. Ever since his mother died, he''s been disrespected by his father and bullied by his self-absorbed older brother, so he withdraws from his fractured family, seeking refuge in his art. Vance wishes his younger brother would just loosen up and be cool. It was hard enough to deal with their mother''s death without Oscar getting all emotional. At least when Vance pushes himself in lacrosse and parties, he feels alive. But when their father''s alcoholism sends him into liver failure, the two brothers must come face-to-face with their demons—and each other—if they are going to survive a very uncertain future.

A girl tumbles into a downward spiral when a romantic encounter turns violent in this heartwrenching novel from the author of Cracked. Dell is used to disappointment. Ever since her dad left, it’s been one let down after another. But no one—not even her best friend—understands all the pain she’s going through. So Dell hides behind self-deprecating jokes and forced smiles. Then the one person she trusts betrays her. Dell is beyond devastated. Without anyone to turn to for comfort, her depression and self-loathing spin out of control. But just how far will she go to make all the heartbreak and the name-calling stop?