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Morgan Parker’s YA Debut Novel Is a Portal to Her Teenage Self
The story, which speaks to those who grow up as misfits in affluent suburbs, is real and relatable
Morgan Parker was born and raised in Southern California. Morgan Parker was also born and raised in Southern California. Morgan Parker has two parents and a younger brother. Morgan Parker also has two parents and a younger brother. Morgan Parker is a writer who has been going to therapy since she was 15. Morgan Parker doesn’t know who she is yet, but she just started therapy, and her therapist’s name is a White lady named Susan. These two Morgan Parkers are real, but only one of them exists on paper.
I have known poet, essayist, and now young adult novelist Morgan Parker for a handful of years, but I have known the character in Who Put This Song On?, a 17-year-old also named Morgan Parker, for forever. The protagonist in Parker’s first novel is every young teenager I grew up with in the suburbs who didn’t fit in, who created their chosen family from a motley crew of friends, traded mixed CDs as a sign of affection, and wore outfits based less on what could be found at the malls and more on what caught her eye at the vintage store. Teen Morgan has also started grappling with her mental health, and while she seeks help, she understandably has a…
