Behind the Song

by K.M. Walton (Editor), Ameriie (Foreword), Amerie

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.

Genres: Short Stories, Music, Young Adult, Anthologies, Fiction, Essays, Teen

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2017

About the author

K.M. Walton is the author of the contemporary YA novels Cracked, Empty, and Ultimatum. Each standalone novel shines a light on the hideous effects of bullying. She has two new YA novels coming out in 2026: Portal (a YA paranormal) and Blue Streak Summer (a contemporary YA). She released her debut picture book series about acceptance, Gus Goon Says Goon Morning, Gus Goon Says Goon Afternoon, and Gus Goon Says Goon Night. She edited and contributed to her music-focused YA anthology, Behind the Song. K.M. co-authored Teaching Numeracy: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking for mathematics teachers K - 8. She graduated from West Chester University with a degree in elementary education and spent most of her teaching career in middle school teaching language arts. Mean people baffle her and she’s so passionate about acceptance that she gives school presentations—elementary school through university level—titled: "The Power of Human Kindness.” She is also a self-taught abstract painter. K.M. Walton resides in Chester County, PA with her husband, and together they raised incredible two sons. They are now the proud parents of a glorious golden retriever named Moxie. Visit the author at kmwalton.com

Reviews

[E.C.]

This book includes my story "City Girl"!

[Angela Auten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is an anthology, I will review each story separately and rate it. Then give the book an overall rating. Probably going to also listen to the songs after reading all the stories.


Suburbiana (Or, the Return of Super Frog) by David Arnold

Rating: 3 Stars

Short review: This story started out pretty weird. As it progressed further, I liked it more. Danny and Troy were definitely interesting characters. The author pretty much tackled standing up for yourself. Bullying happens everywhere. We do need to stand up for ourselves.


Miss Atomic Bomb by Anthony Breznican

Rating: 4 stars

Short Review: This story was very interesting. I liked the take on secrets and people finding out about them. At first, I didn't know they were in an underground colony. So that threw me off a bit. I also didn't like the male character. He creeped me out.


"Cold Beverage": The Song I Wrote that Changed My Life

Rating: 5 Stars

Short review: This was a lovely personal essay. Learning about people's creative processes is really fun. The only thing I didn't like is that it reminded me of my job. I work at Wawa. Everything else is amazing.

Tiffany Twisted by Ellen Hopkins

Rating: 3 stars

Short Review: This story started well. I just don't like how it evolved. I did like Lennon. He was pretty cool. I loved that he wanted to be a musician. Also the author touched on suicide a bit.


How Miracles Begin by James Howe

Rating: 2 stars

Short review: My favorite part of the story was reading the lyrics to "Planting Trees". I didn't like much else about it. The writing was good though. I liked the words he used. I was just mostly bored reading the story.

The Opposite of Ordinary by Beth Kephart

Rating: 5 stars

Short Review: I really loved this essay! I love watching people ice skate. I also love that the author wrote about music in their bones. I feel like everyone has a song in them. This was great!

About You Now by Elisa Ludwig

Rating: 4 Stars

Short Review: I enjoyed this story. Friendship is an amazing thing. Sometimes, friends aren't all they are cracked up to be. They show different sides of themselves you don't know. That's what this story showed.

You Know Something's Happening Here (But You Don't Know What It Is) by Jonathon Maberry

Rating: 4.5 stars

Short Review: Learning from a song that choice is an option is great. This story also touched on abuse. It touched a little bit on racism as well. I really appreciate this story a lot.

Time to Soar by Donn Thompson Morelli, a.k.a. Donn T

Rating: 3 stars

Short Review: This story was about lose and grief mostly. That aspect of the story I enjoyed. The rest of the story I found a bit weird. I didn't like it as much because of that. Grief is something, I'm currently going through.

City Girl by E.C. Myers

Rating: 1 star

Short Review: This is my least favorite story. I was so confused through most of it. I don't even know how to describe how confused I was. I will give this author another chance. I might read something else he wrote.

Second Chance by Ellen Oh

Rating: 5 stars

Short Review: This is one of my favorite stories in the anthology. This one casts a valuable lesson. Always tell your family you love them, no matter what. You never know when you won't get to see them again. The grief in this story really connected with me. Now I want to read more from this author.

Anyone Other Than Me by Tiffany Schmidt

Rating: 5 stars

Short Review: I really loved this one! It's my second favorite. This story taught me you should always be yourself. Never make up lies about yourself. You don't want anyone to believe the lies.

The Ride by Suzanne Young

Rating: 5 stars

Review: Another story, I really enjoyed. Being free is a good thing. You learn more about yourself. You also get to connect with a bunch of people when you start your new journey in life.

Doomed? by K.M. Walton

Rating: 3 stars

Short Review: I liked the love story between the characters. They showed they really loved each other. The ending kind of just ruined it for me. I'm not a big fan of paranormal.

Book rating all together: 4 stars.

Most of the stories were really good. Some of them I didn't like. That happens in most anthologies. Personal essays aren't usually my thing in general. Went a little out of my comfort zone. I'm glad I read this book though. It was really different from what I have been reading. It gave me that little push I needed.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am all about music, YA, and anthologies so BEHIND THE SONG was sure to be a hit for me. This incredible anthology hit it out of the park.

A few reasons I loved Behind the Song (and I think you will, too):

Each author is at their complete best. I've read or interacted with most of the authors (though not the musicians) so I have a sense of their personality and these stories just have so much heart. Their stories were so their own that I couldn't help but smile. I especially appreciated Ellen Hopkins' story (I haven't read her stuff before) and EC Myers (who writes an amazing speculative fiction piece that is so deep I felt like I needed to decompress after I read it).

The personal essays. Jonathan Maberry gets REAL in his and it was fun to see G. Love and Donn T write about their songs and experiences with music.

A good mix of stories. From the non-fiction to the fantasy to the cute contemporary (OMG Tiffany Schmidt's story), this anthology has a mix of everything.

It's KM Walton's story that really surprised me. I haven't read anything by her previously but her story (which is the last story) really stood out. I may have shed a tear (or ten).

Highly recommend this anthology!

[Jessica White · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this 3 stars only because the editing was so terrible and I had to regularly try to decipher words, hoping the finished copy is cleaner! Otherwise, 4 stars.

What a great anthology!!

The idea behind this anthology was music. Do you ever hear a song and picture the story the music is telling? Well this is an entire book of just that, short stories describing the songs. It features many, many authors and just as many musicians. Some stories are personal experiences (looking at you G. Love) while some stories are purely fiction (looking at you Jonathan Maberry). Each story was different and I honestly enjoyed most of them. I loved listening to the song before reading the story so I could get my mindset where the author is.

Just a little biased here, but Ellen Hopkins wrote an amazing story inspired by The Eagles' Hotel California, even includes lyrics from the song (which is hilarious to me because I regularly slip song lyrics into every day conversations). The wonderful, Suzanne Young wrote a great story inspired by Jimmy Eat World's The Middle, which included lots of emotions you go through growing up and honestly may have been my favorite story in the anthology.

Overall, it was a great read and I would definitely suggest it to music lovers everywhere.

K.M. Walton penned a special message about this book and what it means to her!

If you liked this but want a book that is more personal, check out my review of Party Of One by Dave Holmes!!

I'm so thankful that Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley provided me an advanced copy of Behind the Song, which is out now!

This review and special author message can be found on A Reader's Diary, along with reviews of books from Ellen Hopkins, Suzanne Young, and Dave Holmes!

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full video review here!

I was so excited to pick up Behind the Song but found myself disappointed with most of the short stories. I was expecting this anthology to not only have essays and short stories inspired by certain songs but that the theme in the stories itself would be music too and because that wasn't the case, I felt very underwhelmed by this overall.

I found a lot of the short stories to be super absurd and weird. I wasn't expecting to get such a range of different stories without any connecting point. I thought that music would always be IN the story as well but it wasn't. So there's really no way to determine if you're gonna enjoy this anthology.
Overall I enjoyed the essays way more than the short stories. Because the essays focused on music, be it a musician writing about the song writing process or an author writing about how a certain song inspired them, the music was always part of the essay as well. This is exactly what I was looking for and what I had hoped this anthology would be. My favourite was by far “The Opposite of Ordinary” by Beth Kephart. The way she described how a song made her feel and how it inspired her, was very special but also relatable.
A short story that I really enjoyed was “The Ride” by Suzanne Young. It was clearly inspired by a song but it was also IN the story, even though it wasn't a big part of it. But Young was able to write a short story that reflected what I had wanted lots more of the stories to be. It was inspiring and uplifting and made a connection to music.

Overall I would say if you are a fan of anthologies that feature a lot of different stories, you will find that in this book. If you're looking for an anthology that talks about the power of music and how much it can influence people, you should looks elsewhere.

My individual rating for the short stories and essays are as follows:
Suburbian by David Arnold: 1/5 stars. I saw no point to that story.
Miss Atomic Bomb by Anthony Breznican: 2/5 stars. Intriguing world building but what an absurd story. TW for sexual assault & physical abuse.
Cold Beverage by G. Love: 3/5 stars.
Tiffany Twisted by Ellen Hopkins: 2/5 stars. The last part was intriguing but overall it was just a lot of WTF.
How Miracles Begin by James Howe: 4/5 stars.
The Opposite of Ordinary by Beth Kephart: 5/5 stars.
About You Now by Elisa Ludwig: generous 2/5 stars. That was just unsatisfying.
You Know Something's Happening Here by Jonathan Maberry: 4/5 stars
Time To Soar by DONN T: 3.5/5 stars. A little absurd but also very intriguing & I liked the writing.
City Girl by E.C. Myers: I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO RATE THIS.
Second Chances by Ellen Oh: 3/5 stars. A kinda overdone concept but still "enjoyable".
Anyone Other Than Me by Tiffany Schmidt: Also don't know how to rate this. It was kinda cute but it was also a lot of nope.
The Ride by Suzanne Young: 4/5 stars.
Doomed? by K.M. Walton: 4/5 stars. That one definitely made me emotional & I felt invested.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an early review copy!

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Behind the Song is an anthology of fourteen short stories and personal essays which was collected and edited by K.M. Walton. This anthology is a compilation of stories and essays written by authors and musicians sharing the deep influences of music that helped to shape their lives, particularly calling upon their own adolescences.

For the most part, I really like most of these contributions. Behind the Song is an anthology collection of fourteen short stories or personal essays centering on the songs, the albums, and the musicians who move and inspired them. Written by acclaimed young adult authors and musician these entries were written somewhat well. The anthology does include a few diverse authors as well as some contributors references their own songs. Sadly, all but one entry in this literal playlist are from white creators.

Like most anthologies there are weaker contributions and Behind the Song is not an exception. Most of the entries are written well – just not stellar, which gives an overall mediocre feeling. There were more than expect entries that I didn't connect to – comparatively speaking, which made it difficult to connect and enjoy the anthology.

All in all, Behind the Song is an entertaining-enough collection for adult fans wanting trips down Memory Lane, though perhaps not quite so successful a one for teens. Still, it is befitting the anthology's topic that there is sex and drugs to go with the rock 'n' roll.

[Rachel Holtzclaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

i wish this book had been more essays and less stories because a lot of the stories were reminiscent of what we in the fanfiction world call the "song fic" and unfortunately they had a similar cringe factor for me personally!

[Sabra Kurth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mix of personal essays and short stories—some of the short stories are eerie, some kind of sad, some just are.

[Maggie Nambot (BookEnds Literary) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind the Song is a Young Adult anthology of short stories inspired by music. There are fourteen stories in all, and while most of them are fictional, there are a couple that are nonfictional. I love creating my own personal soundtracks for favorite books, or even for my own writing playlists, so I was very excited about reading Behind the Song and listening to the different songs that inspire other writers.

For the first twelve stories, I read the story after listening to the song that inspired it. I listened to the last two songs after reading their respective stories, and this may have contributed to a greater feeling of suspense since I couldn’t make guesses about what would happen next based on the song lyrics.

Below are my favorite stories from Behind the Song :)

Miss Atomic Bomb by Anthony Breznican (inspired by The Killer’s “Miss Atomic Bomb”) - If you enjoy dystopian stories, you will love this one. I was a bundle of nerves the entire time I was reading Miss Atomic Bomb, and I had to take a bit of a breather after finishing it because there was so much to unpack and think about. I love short stories for this very reason: every action, every moment of suspense is magnified and condensed into the length of a novel chapter.

‘Cold Beverage’: The Song I Wrote That Changed My Life by G. Love (inspired by his song “Cold Beverage”) - Before reading this story, I had never even heard of the song “Cold Beverage”, but now I listen to it about once a week because it is SO FUN! Check out the video on the playlist below, even that is fun to watch (I watched it twice while typing this blog post). This is a memoir short story (I refrain from using the word “essay” because that makes it seem dull, and it’s anything but), because it’s written by the singer G. Love about how he created his song “Cold Beverage” and why he still loves it nearly two decades later.

Time To Soar by Donn T (inspired by Amy Winehouse’s “October Song”) - This is one of those stories that really needs to be read multiple times. First of all, I’m not too familiar with Amy Winehouse’s music, but after listening to “October Song”, I see why she had such a loyal fan following. Time To Soar reads like a true story, perhaps creative nonfiction, but it isn’t. It’s filled with suspense, heartbreak, and hope, and overall it has an inspirational and optimistic message.

Anyone Other Than Me by Tiffany Schmidt (inspired by Dave Matthews Band’s “Dancing Nancies”) - This short story could have been turned into a full-length novel, and I would have loved it just the same. It’s a coming of age story about turning over a new leaf and finding oneself. There are swoon-worthy moments, and even suspenseful ones, and it all takes place at a summer camp which makes it really fun to read. I had heard of Tiffany Schmidt before, but this is the first time I’ve read anything by her; I will definitely be picking up one of her books sometime because I really enjoyed her tone and writing style.

Doomed? by K.M. Walton (inspired by Marcy Playground’s “All the Lights Went Out”) - I’m glad that Behind the Song ended with a fantastic story like Doomed? It’s one that surprises you with a twist you won’t see coming, one that will keep you thinking about the story long after you’ve finished it. Doomed? is told through two narrators, and it’s easy to follow along, although it’s another story that deserves to be read more than once.

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

3.5 stars

I always request anthologies assuming I'm going to love them, but I usually don't. I specifically requested this one because I love music, yet there were so many songs here I didn't know, but for someone dedicated, I am sure that might be a good thing since they can explore new music. I was so SHOCKED to read a story inspired by 2NE1!!! That was the highlight for me -- although the tears that welled up threatened to fall with that story...

I didn't rate many of the early on stories very highly. In fact, many of these stories were very lyrical-- intense and otherworldly, but for me they fell flat.... but looking back at the table of contents, trying to recall the stories I read days before, I remember them all fondly. So, I did not like the way they were told, but I enjoyed the story-- the plot, and most of them I think will carry on with me.

Stories I enjoyed:
♦Suburbiana (Or the Return of Super Frog) [Song: The Suburbs by Arcade Fire] by David Arnold
♦Miss Atomic Bomb [Song: Miss Atomic Bomb by The Killers] by Athony Breznican
♦Second Chances [Song: It Hurts by 2NE1] by Ellen Oh
♦Anyone Other Than Me [Song: Dancing Nancies by Dave Matthew Band] by Tiffany Schmidt
♦The Ride [Song: The Middle by Jimmy Eat World] by Suzanne Young
♦Doomed? [Song: All the Lights Went Out by Marcy Playground] by K.M. Walton

So, I liked more than I disliked, even though I didn't know the songs. Most of these stories ended up with me fighting off tears. The way they pulled at the reader's heartstrings within just a few couple pages is almost magical. Some are uplifting and inspiring!

I'm not sure who I would recommend this one to... If people like short stories or emotional stories-- definitely character driven, then this is one to check out.

[Dedra ~ A Book Wanderer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was provided an e-galley of this novel from the publisher through Netgalley.

One of my favorite things to do when I'm reading a book is find out if it has a playlist, or if it doesn't, make one of my own. So when I read the synopsis of Behind the Song, I wanted to read it so bad. This little collection of stories has a perfect mix of fun, heartfelt, and magical tales. And while there are some stories I enjoyed more than others ("Suburbiana," "You Know Something's Happening Here," "The Ride," and "Doomed"), they all bring something special to the collection. Of course I made a playlist to go along, and discovered some old forgotten songs ("Wonderwall," "Dancing Nancies," "The Middle"), some songs I'd never usually listen to, but enjoyed ("Cold Beverage," "It Hurts"), and even discovered a few new favorites ("October Song," "All the Lights Went Out"). If you love to read and love music, be sure to pick this one up!

[Jolene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I only wanted to read this book because of one of the fourteen authors, David Arnold. I loved his other two books so much that I was excited to read anything by him, even if it was a short story. Thankfully, the other authors were just as good! All of these stories had a specific song connected to it. Whether, the story was about how a song was written, how a song inspired them to write the story, or as simple as the song being mentioned in the story, these were so much fun. Also, before each story there is a little blurb from the author about which song is in their story and why so to help prepare myself for each story, I would listen to a snippet of each song on iTunes. I even ended up buying a couple because they were so good. I highly recommend this anthology for book lovers and music lovers. https://jolenewilsonblog.wordpress.co...

[Dora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the last three stories the most. I guess they saved the best ones for last. I didn't enjoy reading the personal essays.

***SPOILERS***

(song-story title)
"Dancing Nancies"-"Anyone Other Than Me": A cute summertime camp story about a girl who lied about who she is. She and the camp owners' son ended up together in the end. It reminded me of the story about North by Stephenie Perkins in her two anthologies.

"All the lights went out"-"Doomed?": Two best friends fall in love. Plot twist: They're ghosts that died in a car accident.

"The Middle"-"The Ride": A girl moving into college is hesitant at the beginning, but makes new friends.

Favourite authors: Tiffany Schmidt, Suzanne Young, K. M. Walton

(also, I find it annoying that Goodreads private notes section limits you to 512 characters)

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a mix of short stories and autobiographical pieces, so this collection is a real mixed bag. Some I didn't read. I felt that some of the fictional stories could have been shorter.I was hooked by the first story by David Arnold because his story is set in my hometown, but not the part I live in so it was sort of cool to see a story about Suburban Fort Worth.Anthony Breznican's "Miss Atomic Bomb" made my skin crawl. It kept the tension up well, but the threat to the girl and the ending made me uncomofrtable.

The best story is Ellen Oh's Second Chances. I loved how it took 2NE1's "It Hurts" and makes it work in a story about a sister's death, K-Pop and their Korean culture. It also works around the cellphone drama problem.

The memoir stories were my favorite part.

[Zoey · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories/essays were very uneven. Standouts: James Howe’s “How Miracles Begin,” Jonathan Maberry’s “You Know Something’s Happening Here (But You Don’t Know What It Is),” E.C. Myers’ “City Girl,” and Tiffany Schmidt’s “Anyone Other Than Me.”

I wanted more of the short stories, specifically, to relate more strongly to the songs they were about - as opposed to using the song as a jumping off point for otherwise unrelated fiction. (A few additional stories/essays I haven’t mentioned did this, but too few.) The book also would’ve been improved if every story/essay had lyrics at the end of the chapter, as opposed to just a couple. It’s very unlikely that any given reader would be familiar with every song, so this would enhance understanding.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The anthology is a mixed bag, with some stories and essays that are truly excellent and some that maybe miss their mark. Maybe more the latter than the former.

I wonder about the choices of inspirational song for a YA novel - songs by The Eagles, The Killers, The Dave Matthews Band, Jimmy Eat World - as well as some of the content that springs from it. I know I shouldn't be too presumptive about the wants of an audience that isn't me, or pedantic about what young adult content should look like, but I wonder who the target audience is for a teen-driven story about orgies in 'Hotel California', y'know? It certainly wasn't me.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was, unfortunately, a mess. The few good parts read like first drafts of better stories and the worst parts were just incoherent. The idea was fantastic, having authors write stories and essays based on a particular song of their choosing. I love that. But it felt like while teens were the target audience, several of the authors missed that mark.

Overall, 2 stars because the idea behind the collection is great. But it needs some major editing, both in form and substance.

[Merry · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an awesome Idea to pair music with short stories. We all feel more creative when we connect to our favorite music. So why not write down the stories that the music leads us to. This is exactly what an amazing group of YA authors and musicians have done. Starting a new story was like moving through your favorite song playlist on a lazy summer afternoon.

[Alexis Stankewitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't familiar with some of the songs,but this collection was extremely interesting to me,both as an avid reader and an avid music fan. I especially loved the story "City Girl" by E.C. Myers. (I would love if he expanded on the story to make it novel-length,if not a trilogy). A definitely interesting collection.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of short stories and essays written by young adult authors and inspired by songs they love or at least have very specific attachments to. Mostly I really enjoyed the sort of memoirish essays in which the authors talked about what certain songs meant to them at certain points in their lives. The short stories were a lot more hit and miss for me.

[Hauntedbybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I heard that there was a book full of short stories about music I knew I had to read it! I wasn't disappointed, I really enjoyed reading all the different stories. I also loved the fact that you could listen to the song along with the story that it went with. I think this book was interesting and unique.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

*This book was given to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review*

Anthologies are always a mixed bag, but even if I don't like one of the stories, I don't feel bad because they're so short. I enjoyed that this one was music themed and as a bonus, remembered how much I loved G. Love & Special Sauce :)

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some absolutely stunning pieces in here while others don’t quite work well. There’s an art to short stories that is different from the art of novel creation, and some of these don’t measure up.

[JoEllen · Rating 4 out of 5]

#BehindtheSong is a must-have mentor text that will inspire MS/HS readers & writers. Songs interpreted as short stories & personal essays. 📚🎼❤️
"Music is the soundtrack of our lives. ---- a zip file of culture, ideas, and free thought..."

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book, some of the stories I enjoyed more than others, and the fact that I didn’t know many songs referenced made it a little difficult, but I definitely learnt about a lot of artists, songs and authors and that made the book a good read.

[Jen Selinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This modern classic contains stories and personal essays written by many popular authors, including Ellen Hopkins and K.M. Walton. The featured songs, as well as their accompanying stories, are a very eclectic mix, which makes it attractive to young bibliophiles and audiophiles alike.

[Madison Leonhardt]

I don’t feel like I can give this book a proper rating. I disliked some stories, DNF’d some, and really enjoyed a few. I purchased this solely because Suzanne Young had a piece in it. Her story was great of course and the book had an interesting concept.

[Giuliana]

This is the second time I tried reading it and again, I didn't finish it. I did get a little farther but I wasn't really enjoying the stories. I might give it another try in the future but, for now, I will keep it unfinished.

[Kaitlin Kline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this anthology as much as I thought I would. A few of the stories were very good, but I was mostly underwhelmed.

[Rach · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5