Sometimes everything feels heavy and uncomfortable. My body, my family, my life . . . And the only thing that releases that weight is music.

Nel is fifteen years old, and life is a grind. School is exhausting, social pressures are relentless, and adults are oblivious. Somehow Ludo, Nel’s handsome twin brother, seems untouched by it all, gliding effortlessly through life’s complications. Her playlist and her best friend, Kit, are pretty much the only things Nel’s got going for her right now.

When Ludo joins a band and Kit starts going out with the guitarist, it feels like even the tiny space Nel has carved out for herself is in peril. But nothing is forever, and teenage life can turn on a dime. When Nel finds herself taking Ludo’s place in the band, she has to work out whether life outside the shadows is all it’s cracked up to be. Sometimes you need to follow the music to find your way back to yourself.