It Goes Like This

March 22, 2021
Garnering two Grammys and countless fans, Moonlight Overthrow was the perfect musical combination of four queer friends, all former middle school classmates—until it wasn’t. Now, a year and a half after the band’s breakup, they’re barely in touch. Celeste’s a star solo act in New York; Eva, who was blindsided by the simultaneous endings of the band and her romance with Celeste, is in college, writing music and running an anonymous Tumblr account about the group from L.A.; Gina, the band’s sole person of color, is a successful actor; and Steph, who now identifies as nonbinary, is back home in Duluth. There’s no reunion in the works, despite online rumors about the topic, but after their hometown is hit by massive storms, the band agrees to do a benefit concert. It’s difficult, though: hurt feelings need to be worked out, Steph prioritizes their family over the group, and the band’s not used to performing together anymore. And then there’s Eva and Celeste’s unfinished story. Debut author Moreland switches between the bandmates; though their voices feel undifferentiated at times, she also uses interview transcripts, social media posts, and breathless fan reports to create a funny, romantic, and moving picture of four young musicians trying to figure out their complicated personal and professional desires amid media scrutiny. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jessica Errera, Jane Rotrosen Agency.