Muted - Paperback

by Tami Charles (Author)

A ripped-from-the-headlines novel of ambition, music, and innocence lost, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds!

Be bold. Get seen. Be Heard.

For seventeen-year-old Denver, music is everything. Writing, performing, and her ultimate goal: escaping her very small, very white hometown.

So Denver is more than ready on the day she and her best friends Dali and Shak sing their way into the orbit of the biggest R&B star in the world, Sean "Mercury" Ellis. Merc gives them everything: parties, perks, wild nights -- plus hours and hours in the recording studio. Even the painful sacrifices and the lies the girls have to tell are all worth it.

Until they're not.

Denver begins to realize that she's trapped in Merc's world, struggling to hold on to her own voice. As the dream turns into a nightmare, she must make a choice: lose her big break, or get broken.

Inspired by true events, Muted is a fearless exploration of the dark side of the music industry, the business of exploitation, how a girl's dreams can be used against her -- and what it takes to fight back.

Author Biography

Tami Charles is the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books for young readers, including the acclaimed picture books All Because You Matter, We Are Here, Together, United, and acclaimed novels Muted and Like Vanessa. Her work has earned multiple starred reviews, Junior Library Guild selections, and national recognition in Essence Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Buzzfeed's Top 40, and The New York Times Book Review. She has also appeared on Good Morning America, The Morning Blend, and CBS Mornings. Tami worked as an educator for thirteen years before pursuing her childhood dream of becoming an author. She now visits schools across the country and abroad, sharing stories that affirm and inspire. For more information on Tami, visit tamiwrites.com.