Nora Decter

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Sixteen-year-old Jolene comes from a long line of Winnipeg lowlifes—but at least they’re musical lowlifes. Her mom is a tanning salon manager who believes she can channel her karaoke habit into a professional singing career. Jolene’s dad, a failed bass player, has fallen back on the family demolition business. (The company motto: “We do not build things, we only tear them down.”)

But Jolene and her older brother Matt are real musicians, and the songs they write together make everything Jo hates about her life—school, parents, her crappy hometown—matter less, if it matters at all.

When Matt up and leaves in the middle of the night, Jo loses her only friend, her band-mate, and the one person who made her cool. When it becomes clear that Matt is never coming back, Jo must use music to navigate her loss.

How Far We Go and How Fast is a novel for teens about girls with guitars, lying to your parents and to yourself, and the transformative power of a mosh-pit.