Every Time You Hear That Song
by Jenna Voris
High School    Viking    320 pp.
4/24    Paper ed.  9780593623398    $12.99
e-book ed.  9780593623381    $8.99

In 1963, fifteen-year-old Decklee left her town of Mayberry, Arkansas, with a dream of becoming a country music legend and never looked back. In 2024, just after the news of her death, seventeen-year-old Mayberry resident and aspiring journalist Darren finds inspiration in her story: “If Decklee could leave, if she could turn herself into a star, what was stopping me?” After the funeral, Darren sees her opportunity: Decklee has arranged a posthumous treasure hunt for a time capsule consisting of music, mementos—and three million dollars. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of the singer, Darren and her friend (or maybe more) Kendall follow the clues to Memphis; Nashville; and Tupelo, Mississippi, in search of the prize. Meanwhile, in alternating flashbacks, Decklee narrates her rise to fame: how she fought for a career full of praise, awards, and adoration—and (heartbreakingly) how she gave up the love of her life to get it. The juxtaposition of the two stories invites readers to consider what’s changed for women, especially queer women (Decklee is a lesbian; Darren is bisexual), in the past sixty years. It ends on a hopeful note, as Darren recognizes Decklee’s mistakes and learns to love the place they’ve both left behind. With its smoothly written prose, sympathetic characters, and chemistry-laden double romance, this is a story that lingers after it’s finished, like a favorite song.

From the July/August 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.