A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
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Educational Value
a lot
Presents a realistic view of what it's like to live with depression and anxiety. Through the main character's interests, the reader learns about Black history, including Harriet Tubman, the Black Panthers' social programs, and the election of Barack Obama.
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Positive Messages
a lot
Life gets better when you claim your truth, even the hard parts.
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Positive Role Models
a lot
The main characters are a multiracial group of friends. One is gay. Another is Black and Jewish. The group of friends support one another.
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Violence & Scariness
some
See AlsoBio — MORGAN PARKERThere's a suicide attempt. A few upsetting scenes of bullying and verbal abuse.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
a lot
The descriptions of sex are frequent and graphic, including several passages about oral sex and a sexual encounter that includes racial "dirty talk" that the character experiences as hurtful.
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Language
a lot
Profanities include "s--t," "f--k," "motherf----r," "p---y," "damn," "nigg*," and "a--hole."
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a lot
The kids are regular cigarette smokers, pot smokers, underage drinkers. In one scene, very drunk and stoned kids bully a gay boy. The main character drinks alcohol with the intention to get drunk, even though she's on prescription antidepressants and has been instructed not to drink at all. Another girl misuses her Adderall. Some adults drink to excess.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Morgan Parker's Who Put This Song On? is the story of Morgan Parker, a 15-year-old Black girl, that's based on Parker's own journals she kept as a teen. The fictional Morgan is dealing with a recent diagnosis of depression and anxiety disorders, undergoing psychotherapy, and taking antidepressants. Morgan lives in a small Southern California town, where she's one of the few Black students at a conservative Christian private school. Her mental health issues and being a racial outsider complicate the typical difficulties of adolescent search for identity. Morgan has good friends, but her shaky self-esteem leads to behaviors like cutting school, shoplifting, setting herself up for some degrading sexual encounters, smoking cigarettes, drinking to excess, and smoking pot. A character takes Adderall. There's a suicide attempt. The descriptions of sex are frequent and graphic, including many passages about oral sex. A sexual encounter includes racial "dirty talk." The main characters are regular cigarette smokers, pot smokers, and underage drinkers. In one scene, very drunk and stoned kids bully a gay boy. Morgan drinks alcohol with the intention to get drunk, even though she's on prescription antidepressants and has been instructed not to drink at all. Some adults drink to excess. Profanities include "s--t," "f--k," "motherf----r," "p---y," "damn," "nigg*," and "a--hole."
What's the Story?
As WHO PUT THIS SONG ON? opens, 17-year-old Morgan has started psychotherapy after a suicide attempt. Morgan has episodes where she can't stop crying. She attends a conservative Christian school where she's one of just a few Black students. She's not so sure about Christian doctrine. And she's not a girly girl; the boy she's crushing on thinks she's gay, and she herself is only about 90% sure she's straight. Fortunately, Morgan has a crew of friends. Each one is an outsider in some way, they accept and support one another, and they find their voices through the work of their favorite musical artists. Morgan has two heroes: Harriet Tubman, who gives Morgan hope that escape from her narrow circ*mstances is possible, and Barack Obama, whose election as the first Black president of the United States serves as a reminder that the world at large can change.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how mental illness is portrayed in Who Put This Song On? Have you ever seen a counselor or therapist? Have any of your friends or family? Does it strike you as a helpful way to address anxiety and depression?
Morgan and her friends communicate with one another by sharing their favorite music. Do you have favorite songs that help you understand and express your feelings?
All of Morgan's friends in Who Put This Song On? have some way that they don't fit in. Feeling like outsiders brings them together. How do those differences affect the characters' lives?
