I fell in love with Rob Rufus’ writing when he published his teen memoir, Die Young with Me, so to say I was excited for The Vinyl Underground is an understatement. I had the opportunity to meet Rob when his band, The Bad Signs, toured to SF a few years ago and he introduced me to the story that would become The Vinyl Underground.

Set against a background of resistance and punk rock music, The Vinyl Underground is a story set during a historic time period that wasn’t well taught in my high school history classes. It’s 1968 and the draft is a real fear for graduating male seniors. For Ronnie, it’s especially worrisome, having lost his brother to the war. In the story, we also meet Hana, a girl who faces racism and charges back with an anti-war rebellion, and Milo, bookish and bff of Ronnie. Rounding out the bunch is Ramrod, who tries to fail school to avoid the draft. Each character brings a unique perspective to the story, so much that they practically jump off the page.

Together, our main characters from The Vinyl Underground, focused on draft-dodging and punk rock music. What could go wrong…or what could go right? It’s easy to see Rob’s personal music experience bleed through the pages. That’s what I loved most about Die Young with Me - I too love rock n roll, with its rebellious roots and zinger lyrics (which are used as part of the storytelling here). This book does not shy away from the outright racism at the time but does confront it head on.

The youth in this book are definitely doing things that adults might side eye, which I appreciated the realness. To balance, the adults are definitely doing the adult things you’d expect, driving the rebellion even further. I won’t spoil the end but I definitely fist pumped (sorry, shitty adults).

Vividly told through setting, character, and story, The Vinyl Underground is a story many years in the making that I am glad has finally arrived!