A teenager volunteering at a radio station in 1980s Texas finds community and young love in this "righteous" rock 'n' roll novel from Michael L. Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray (Under the Same Stars).
Bowie (pronounced "Boo-eee" after "Jim Bowie, the Texas historical dude who died at the Alamo alongside Davy Crockett") feels adrift as he starts his senior year at Crockett High School. Bowie's only certainty is that he's "hopelessly in love with Holly 'Comet' Jensen. Emphasis on hopelessly." Comet, who has "a shaggy, dirty blond haircut," moved to Crockett two years ago and gained "a reputation as a 'rabble-rouser.' " On the first day of school, Comet sets off a firecracker and Bowie takes the blame; he is assigned community service at struggling local radio station KYEW-FM as punishment. The station's owner introduces Bowie to the wide world of music and encourages him to "challenge the establishment." When predatory real estate developers try to buy the station, Bowie rallies a group of fellow teenage misfits--best friends Omar, a nerdy Egyptian American, and "volleyball champ" Maria Elena Hernandez, along with Comet--to save it.
Radio Free Texas is a rousing work of fiction that affectingly conveys the fiery excitement of youthful rebellion and first love. Bowie's journey of self-discovery, narrated in charming, self-deprecating first person with rock 'n' roll chapter titles (such as Boston's "More Than a Feeling"), should resonate with teen readers facing the "long road of the future." --Alanna Felton, freelance reviewer