Here's the final list:
Books With Beat: Novels About Music and Musicians
So Punk Rock and Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother by Micol Ostow
Four suburban New Jersey students from the Leo R. Gittleman Jewish Day School form a rock band that becomes inexplicably popular, creating exhilaration, friction, confrontation, and soul-searching among its members.
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
While trying to score a date with her cute co-worker at the Scooper Dooper, sixteen-year-old Audrey gains unwanted fame and celebrity status when her ex-boyfriend, a rock musician, records a breakup song about her that soars to the top of the Billboard charts.
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn
High school student Nick O'Leary, member of a rock band, meets college-bound Norah Silverberg and asks her to be his girlfriend for five minutes in order to avoid his ex-sweetheart. What begins as a spontaneous ploy turns into something surprising and real in the course of one night as Nick and Norah roam Manhattan, listen to bands, confront past hurts, and hurtle toward romance.
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Isolated from friends who believe the worst because she has not been truthful with them, sixteen-year-old Annabel finds an ally in classmate Owen, whose honesty and passion for music help her to face and share what really happened at the end-of-the-year party that changed her life.
Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Scott Pilgrim's fantastic life takes an unforeseen turn when rollerblading delivery girl Ramona Flowers makes her appearance. Told in graphic novel form, this book starts as a story about slackers in a band and becomes a manga-kung fu fantasy adventure that spans five books.
The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld
As an ancient evil stirs beneath the streets of New York City, infecting rats and people like a plague, five quirky teens come together to form a "New Sound" band whose music seems to have paranormal power. This creepy novel comes from the best-selling author of Uglies.
Pay the Piper by Jane Yolen
When Callie interviews the band, Brass Rat, for her school newspaper, her feelings are ambivalent, but when all the children of Northampton begin to disappear on Halloween, she knows where the dangerous search must begin
Vandal by Michael Simmons
The love-hate relationship between high school musician Will and his older brother Jason is fueled by the abuse Will suffers at Jason's hands but a devastating accident changes the everything for the boys and their family.
My Fine Lady by Yolanda Joe
The Student Conductor by Robert Ford
Returning to the orchestral communities of Germany just as the Berlin Wall falls, Cooper Barrow begins studying under the cruel and capricious maestro and concentration camp survivor Karlheinz Ziegler, an endeavor that is compromised by a psychologically complex relationship with a beautiful fellow musician.
Rock Star, Superstar by Blake Nelson
When Pete, a talented bass player, moves from playing in the high school jazz band to playing in a popular rock group, he finds the experience exhilarating even as his new fame jeopardizes his relationship with girlfriend Margaret.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
When terrorists seize hostages at an embassy party, an unlikely assortment of people is thrown together, including American opera star Roxanne Coss, and Mr. Hosokawa, a Japanese CEO and her biggest fan.
Rock and Roll Love by Misako Rocks
When the daughter of her host family takes her to see a rock band, Japanese exchange student Misako falls in love with the lead singer, Zac, a groupie-magnet and notorious flirt, who gives her mixed signals. Zac and Misako become friends, but Misako wants more, and her romantic feelings threaten to ruin her summer and her friendships back in Missouri, including a possible romance with an attainable boy.
