LIBRARY BLOG
YA Novels with Compatible Vibes to Various All Time Low Songs
With the absolute turmoil the world is in at the moment, a reprieve from it all is welcomed. Instead of thinking about what seems to be insurmountable issues, let’s take a second to think about what worried us in middle school. Are you getting invited to that sleepover? (Don’t worry; you are.) Did your crush notice you have a massive zit right in the middle of your forehead? (Absolutely, but they didn’t make fun of you for it!) Will you ever get to see that one band you’re just a little bit too obsessed with in concert? (That depends.) Now that we’re all feeling properly nostalgic for the good old days of fruit gummies and bad haircuts, what’s something that brings you back to your childhood? Mine is All Time Low—the only band that survived my fluctuating interests for the past decade. Let’s combine that childhood nostalgia with some good things about the last decade—books! Here’s a list of young adult novels that have compatible vibes to All Time Low songs to help you escape 2020.
1. “Cinderblock Garden” Future Hearts // The Sun Is Also a Star—Nicola Yoon
What makes the vibes: The overarching meaning of the lyrics tells a similar story as the book.
The song is about “a boy with a silver lining” telling a “girl with a cinderblock garden” that fate had decided they were meant to be. The book follows Daniel—a poetic optimist who believes in love and destiny and passion—as he tries to convince Natasha—a firm realist who thinks love doesn’t exist—that fate lined up events perfectly for them to meet and fall in love. The song’s assertion that “we could make forever after all” is matched by the novel’s climax.
2. “Satellite” Future Hearts // We All Looked Up—Tommy Wallach
What makes the vibes: The general sense of impending doom of both the song and the book.
Even though the lyrics of “Satellite” don’t necessarily have to add up to a cataclysmic something or other, the downtrodden beat of the song paired with them make a vague apocalypse a prevalent interpretation. Lyrics like “all the things we lost in the backseat of the sky” and the repeated “we were just kids” remind me of We All Looked Up, which follows a handful of teenagers as they face the looming threat of a meteor that may or may not crash into Earth, destroying a sizable portion of North America with its impact.
3. “Some Kind of Disaster” Wake Up, Sunshine // The Raven Cycle Series—Maggie Stiefvater
What makes the vibes: Both medias portray a relationship that seems doomed to fail OR a good ole case of opposites attracts depending on how you look at it.
If you focus on the lyrics to the song in conjunction to Blue and Gansey’s romantic relationship, the words “What are you after / Some kind of disaster?” sync with one of The Raven Cycle’s backing plot points—Blue’s curse that states she’ll kill her true love if she kisses him and Gansey’s subsequent inevitable falling in love with her. The refrain “I woke up from a never-ending dream / I shut my eyes at seventeen / I lost every moment in between / I felt the sun rise up and swallow me” is reminiscent of how Gansey is fated to die in the year leading up to his eighteenth birthday.
If you focus on the general progression of Adam and Ronan’s relationship, the contradicting lines of the chorus “I’m a liar, I’m a cynic / I’m a sinner, I’m a saint / I’m a loser, I’m a critic / I’m the ghost of my mistakes” are eerily similar to how Adam believes himself to be an unfortunate product of his upbringing, how Ronan’s unfiltered and hostile personality seems to crumble as the series progresses and his childhood is revealed, and the question that’s raised of how the two ever became close friends when they’re both “some kind of disasters.”
4. 
“The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver” Don’t Panic // The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue—Mackenzi Lee
What makes the vibes: The theme of having someone who you can’t please no matter what you do in each one.
The song opens with “Stop (vulgar word – you know the one) around with my emotions,” and I think that tells you everything you need to know. The singer calls a hostile person in his life “the snake hidden in [his] daffodils” and “the break lines failing as [his] car swerves off the freeway,” as he deals with them purposely making his life miserable. Monty in The Gentleman’s Guide doesn’t deal with his father sabotaging his life, but he does deal with his fair share of abuse, making these two have compatible vibes.
5. “The Reckless and the Brave” Don’t Panic // Heroes of Olympus Series—Rick Riordan
What makes the vibes: The lyrics, song meaning, and beat reminds me of aspects of Rick Riordan novels.
Aside from the upbeat/enthusiastic sound, the chorus (“Long live the reckless and the brave / I don’t think I want to be saved / My song has not been sung / So long live us”) and other lines like “Looking back at a life on the other side / I realize that I didn’t fit in” remind me Percy Jackson in the Heroes of Olympus series as he just sort of accepts the fact that he and his buds are the go-to demigods to stop the world from ending, even though they’ve already done that AT LEAST five times before. The happiness that the song exudes reminds me of one of Jason Grace’s quotes, too, when he reflects on how Greek fighting differs from Roman: “He loved the Greeks. They had no organization whatsoever, but they made up for it with enthusiasm.” I suppose Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard can be grouped into this, but the song really just gives me Percy vibes, not Magnus.
6. “Damned if I Do Ya (Damned if I Don’t)” Nothing Personal // Red, White, and Royal Blue—Casey McQuiston
What makes the vibes: The theme of hating your lot in life and feeling like you can’t change it.
Henry, specifically, struggles with his life being planned out for him since birth, and his belief that he’s unable to stray away from it. While the song is most likely about carnal pleasures or drugs (or both, depending on how you interpret it, really), the lyrics can be related to Henry wanting to drop the social image/occupational paths required of the Crowned Prince of England and how he’s damned no matter which choice he makes. The loudness of the guitar riffs (without bringing the song into hard rock territory, that is) add an angry undertone that Henry shares.
7.“The Edge of Tonight” Future Hearts // The Inexplicable Logic of My Life—Benjamin Alire Sáenz
What makes the vibes: The lyrical meaning captures the dynamic of Sal and Samantha’s friendship while the beat captures the hardships they’re going through.
Sal and Sam are faced with identity crises, death, homelessness, cancer, unsavory family dynamics, and more—yet they’re always able to find comfort in each other. The song is a romantic one, but even though the characters’ relationship is only platonic, the entirety of the lyrics reflect their closeness and love for each other. “You keep me safe, / Keep me sane, / Keep me honest, / You keep me alive, / On the edge of tonight” match up with how Sal and Sam help each other through their grief and confusion. The lines “Yeah, the road is long, / And I am tired,” specifically remind me of Sam’s heartbreaking quote, “I want to sleep forever,” in the height of her heartbreak. In both the song and the book, there’s still a hint of something inspirational. Bittersweet almost
8. “A Love Like War” Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now! // Ink—Alice Broadway
What makes the vibes: More of a general concept of vibes, the theme of betrayal and the angry sound of the song match with the overall tone of the novel, even though both pieces of media tell a disparate story from the other.
“A Love Like War” has more to do with a relationship that doesn’t seem quite healthy, and Ink has more to do with the main character finding out about a perceived betrayal, but the beat of the song matches the vibes of the novel nonetheless. While the singer knows he’s being lied to and isn’t in a good place in life, he still finds himself drawn to other person, thus a love that “feels like war.” Leora, on the other hand, is quick to denounce a person she trusted after she learns he’s different from the others in her community. While the two don’t completely match, one still reminds me of the other.
9. “Coffeeshop Soundtrack” Put Up or Shut Up // After Dark—Haruki Murakami
What makes the vibes: The surrealist, confusing nature of each.
Alright, this book was published in 2008, but it’s being included anyway. It’s SPECIFICALLY the music video for the song whose vibes we’re talking about. The song is comprehendible, not the video—at least with the context of the song meaning. Neither the video or the book makes any sense. That’s it. That’s what makes the vibes.
10. “Do You Want Me (Dead?)” Dirty Work // The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried—Shaun David Hutchinson
What gives the vibes: The feeling of not knowing whether someone is your friend or if they hate you that they both portray. We all know that experience. Maybe. Hopefully.
The song’s lines of “Oh, give it up for at least a second / I’m getting sick of your bull– attitude / And how you walk around like you shine brighter / It’s killing me,” and the singer’s confusion of whether or not the second person actually wants him in their life is similar to Dino’s sentiments about his ex-best friend, July, and vice versa. He’s tired of her selfish and rude behavior, and she’s upset that he’s undergone a personality change. Both of them are struggling with their own sides of the story, thinking the other has wronged them. One of the major plot points is how July doesn’t understand whether or not Dino wants to mend their friendship or let her go completely, reflecting the song’s repeated question “Do you want me, or do you want me dead?”
We have more book playlists for you to browse at your leisure!
-Lillian LeCompte, Reference Department