This year, I vowed to find non-fiction that caught my attention, as it's a genre I don't pick up, like, ever. After reading Being Jazz, I waited patiently for the next non-fiction book to drop into my lap. Folks, here it is in all its 5 star glory.

Die Young with Me is basically everything I want in a book and so much more. I am a huge huge fan of alternative music, huge fan of books I can't put down, and huge fan of books that leave me a little teary at the end. Die Young with Me wrapped all those up in a not-so-neat (because cancer sucks) bow.

I knew this book was going to be a tearjerker but that it would have somewhat of a happy ending. I mean, Rob lived through cancer in his teenage years; he's here to tell his story. What got to me is how big of a role music played in that. Through the whole book, I was texting my best friend, who is as big of a music geek as I am, about how relatable his teenage experience is and how kids can find empathy and a little piece of themselves in the book.

[Quote from her side of our text convo]: Seriously... We talk about how everyone "likes" music, but it's not a priority to everyone, that's what makes the difference between people like us and others.

This isn't just Rob's story but his transformation through his teenage years and also the transformation his family and friends went through as he became sick and well again - and his journey through music. I love that he included things like the mixtape he made for his girlfriend and how he held nothing back. This is a story of hope but it's a realistic story with all the nitty-gritty details about both the teenage and cancer experience. We even got a little update on all the people in the book, a written version of VH1's "Where Are They Now?". I also appreciate that there aren't a lot of books written from the male perspective on teenage love and this one brings an additional voice. If I didn't know this book was non-fiction, I would have thought it was contemporary novel. That says a lot about the writing and how compelling the story is, I think.

For those of us who are into the punk/counter culture movement and lived our teen years in the late 90s/00s, you might recognize the Blacklist Royals, Rob's band, as they played a few dates on the 2001 Warped Tour. I squealed a little when Rob spoke of their letter from Kevin Lyman. On top of all the Warped Tour and Punk Isn't Dead playlists on my Spotify account, I added the official Die Young With Me playlist AND followed Blacklist Royals. Really digging their sound and so glad the book exposed them to me.