“Danny Yzemski tunes out a dysfunctional family with Frank Zappa and Iggy Pop, shaking his countercultural fist at The Man in this eight-track flashback of a novel set in 1970s Detroit.”
—O, the Oprah Magazine, One of O‘s Top Books of Summer

“Beautiful Music is a sweet and endearing coming-of-age tale measured in album tracks.”
—Wall Street Journal

“For Danny, cracking the seal on a fresh piece of wax and dissecting cover art and liner notes are acts of nigh religious experience that unveil to him a community of fellow rockers across Detroit . . . It’s in these small moments—a lonely boy experiencing premature nostalgia—that Zadoorian shines.”
—Washington Post

A Morning Sun Michigan Bestseller for March 2018, July 2018, August 2018, September 2018, and November 2018!

Beautiful Music has been named a 2019 Michigan Notable Book, presented by the Michigan Department of Education and the Library of Michigan!

Beautiful Music has been named the Adult Fiction Winner for the 2018 Great Lakes Great Reads program, presented by the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association!

One of the Voice news Michigan Bestsellers for 2018 in Fiction

A Traverse City Record Eagle Bestselling Book for Northern Michigan!

“A fantastic book . . . A very compelling read.”
—Stateside (Michigan Radio/Michigan NPR), included in Michigan Books That Would Make Great Gifts

“I read Beautiful Music compulsively until its end, captivated by the sympathetic character of Danny. I was left with the satisfying, ‘Wait a minute, this wasn’t really about music at all’ feeling that I demand of music writing. But then I had to admit that it really was about rock, its power to heal and transcend. Zadoorian had an easy book to write. His refusal to write it the easy way makes all the difference.”
—Razorcake

“Garnering a litany of regional awards from the likes of Voice, McLean & Eakin, and the 2018 Great Lakes Great Reads program, Michael Zadoorian’s senior novel Beautiful Music tells of one young Detroiter’s transformation through music during a time of political turmoil. Laden with details of the city, the novel is uniquely Detroit. (Some of the bands the protagonist, Danny, listens to are local legends MC5 and Iggy Pop.)”
—Detroit Metro Times, included in the Michigan summer 2019 reading list

“His third novel — Beautiful Music, about a radio-loving teen’s transformation through music during the early ’70s in Detroit . . . [is] rich with Detroit details (Korvette’s, Bill Bonds, Iggy Pop), [and] follows Danny through racial tensions at high school, his changing body and his imploding family life.”
—Detroit Free Press

“Zadoorian takes us back to Detroit in the 1970s, which was still throbbing from the 1967 rebellion, and was in the throes of the energy crisis and the sexual revolution. Protagonist Danny Yzemski finds that growing up in such times can be . . . complicated. But with a little help from Iggy Pop, the MC5, and Led Zeppelin, he finds just the boost he needs to survive—and even grow a bit.”
—Detroit Metro Times

“A delightful trip down a memory lane in the ‘60s with a soundtrack folks of a certain age will all recognize.”
—Lansing City Pulse, included in The Best Michigan-inspired Books of 2018

“Beautiful Music is every bit nostalgic for a 1970s Detroit, and depicts the good, the bad, and the ugly of a city, and a young man, finding solace in music.”
—Detroit Is It

Included in No Depression Fiction Roundup

“Michael Zadoorian’s Beautiful Music takes us back to Detroit of the early 1970s, when 16-year-old Danny Yzemski, a relatable composite of shyness, unsureness and anxiety, navigates his city and high school environments of elevated tensions and rapid change. When tragedy strikes, his favorite music saves his life.”
—Daily Tribune

“Then there are writers and artists who journey back in time, ransack their memories of the ’70s, and embellish them to create a sort of time-lapse portrait. Michael Zadoorian’s fourth book, the terrific Beautiful Music, is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story.”
—The Millions

“No matter your age or your generation, the music you listened to in high school claims a special place in your heart.”
—Stateside (Michigan Radio)

“Beautiful Music is not only a testament to the rockin’ jams that propelled Motown to become reknown as Detroit Rock City, it swells with the beautiful music of a lively soul . . . Beautiful Music is touching, hilarious, and heartbreaking, much like the gamut of emotions you may have felt the first time you heard your favorite song. And much like that first, mind-opening musical experience, you’ll return to certain passages within this novel because like the perfect song, it hits all the right notes—something you can feel deep in your gut.”
—Michigan Quarterly Review

“[A] raucous bildungsroman . . . Zadoorian touches on white flight, iconic radio stations, and the racial history of Detroit, but remains rooted in [protagonist] Danny’s transition out of his shell. With its echoes of works by Nick Hornby and Stephen Chbosky, Zadoorian’s ebullient novel is full of energy, pain, growth, and great music.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A teenager in 1970s Detroit takes his first steps toward hard-rock rebellion after a soft-rock upbringing . . . [Zadoorian is] skilled at capturing the feeling of release that music can provide (‘something snaps in your heart and a jolt of pure happiness shoots through you better than all the dope in the world’) as well as the anxiety the novelty of that experience can produce in a sheltered kid . . . A likable bildungsroman that cannily evokes how music transforms teenage identity.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“This affectionate, nostalgic novel about a sometimes-troubled teen is a crossover delight with appeal to both adults and teens.”
—Booklist

“Zadoorian captures the inner and outer life of Danny Yzemski with perfect pitch . . . When Danny unwraps a new album, the reader experiences the feel and look of it, the smell of the liner, hears the hiss and pop when the needle first makes contact with vinyl . . . Beautiful Music is a novel that lingers.”
—Santa Barbara Independent

“If you grew up in the age of slow dancing, sock hops, transistor radios, powerhouse rock stations, record stores, first love and last kisses—you will love Michael Zadoorian’s new novel, Beautiful Music.”
—Lansing City Pulse

“[A] knockout . . . Exceptionally entertaining . . . If you haven’t discovered Zadoorian’s books, you’re in for a real treat!”
—Lansing State Journal

“[Zadoorian’s] new novel speaks of death, race, music and youth in a voice that has been compared to Nick Hornby and Tobias Wolff. It is set in 1970’s Detroit at the cusp of punk, and centers around high school loner and music fanatic Danny Yzemski. One to look forward to for fans of rock music and sad, funny writing.”
—Cleveland.com

“Zadoorian’s new novel Beautiful Music is set in ravaged 1970s Detroit, and focuses on the healing power of music.”
—Bay Area Reporter

“An exceptional, engaging, and compelling read from first page to last.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Set in early 1970s Detroit, a racially divided city still reeling from its violent riot of 1967, this novel is the story of a high school boy’s transformation through music.”
—Publishers Weekly, Spring 2018 Announcements, Literary Fiction

“It’s late 1960s Detroit and young Danny Yzemski listens to CKLW on his radio. Dad loves music too, but his sound of choice are the beautiful music instrumentals that we now call elevator music. And mom? She sits on the couch drinking and ranting. Danny has to swerve to avoid the bullies at school and work both, and only his friendship with a tall kid with a white boy Afro who shares his taste for Iggy Pop, NME, and secret record runs to Korvettes (a discount department store), keep him sane. Let’s just say that things get worse before they get better, with the family disintegrating and racial tensions ratcheting up at school. Beautiful Music (told in rat-a-tat, diary-like entries) is both funny and poignant, nostalgic and surprisingly of the moment. Danny messes up sometimes, but you’ve got to give this kid props for trying. Rock on, Yzemski!”
—Daniel Goldin, Boswell Book Company (Milwaukee, WI) (staff pick!)

“I am such a huge fan of this book and this author. Beautiful Music, set in 1970s Detroit is just what the title states. A young Danny Yzemski is growing up chunky kid with a love of pop radio and an turbulent home life. He starts his freshman year in a new school being confronted by racial tension issues previously he only experienced through the news and his mother’s snide comments. When a tragedy happens, Danny’s mom becomes more and more obsessed with the world’s cultural changes and tries to drive them out of her life with booze and pills. In this storm, Danny finds comfort in music. Like beautiful music, this book is permeated with the power to make you sad, lift you up, and carry you home.”
—Fountain Bookstore (Richmond, VA) (Staff pick, Kelly)

“This is a must read for any Detroit native.”
—MLive, One of McLean & Eakin’s Favorite Michigan Books of 2018

“Beautiful Music reads like rock’n’roll music, and affected me deeply. Zadoorian writes a mean lyric disguised as a wonderful, emotive sentence. at the same time, Yzemski discovers how rock’n’roll music can lift one’s soul.”
—Stuff I Like

“It’s so many real life things all balled up that you can’t help but be immersed in it. You find yourself turning the pages, nodding your head, laughing out loud, all of the emotions. I just really adored this book and it feels like a perfect summer read. Maybe pack it on your way to your outdoor music festival, what a tribute.”
—Stranded in Chaos

“This is a wonderful nostalgic coming of age story—with the help of lots of music and for readers of a certain age, it will bring back plenty of memories. I highly recommend this book to any age!”
—Girl Who Reads

“Every once in a while, a book comes along that makes you happy as you read it. This new novel by Michael Zadoorian was that book for me.”
—Girl Who Reads, One of the Best Books of 2018

“How do we find soul-saving comfort in moments when deep personal loneliness coincides with a world gone increasingly mad? This question is at the heart of Beautiful Music, Michael Zadoorian’s funny and melancholic novel that navigates the haunted history of the Rust Belt. Zadoorian shows how music has kept the region’s heart beating—especially Detroit’s—even in the most crushing and confusing of times.”
—Dean Bakopoulos, author of Summerlong

“Michael Zadoorian has captured an era when Detroit simmered with anger and fear while it simultaneously reverberated with the joyous noise of rock and roll. Beautiful Music eloquently evokes the beauty, confusion, and power of that late 1960s/early 1970s milieu.”
—Don Was, Grammy Award–winning producer, musician

“The story of Beautiful Music is painted with rich, exquisite detail and all the painful hyperawareness of growing up in a culture of mixed signals, confusion, and loss. Salvation comes through music. A miraculous safe place in which to belong.”
—Nancy Wilson, singer/guitarist, Heart

“Like Nick Hornby or the great Nick Tosches, Michael Zadoorian is the rare novelist whose prose crackles with the energy of the best rock and roll. Beautiful Music is a beautiful bildungsroman that does the sounds and spirit of his beloved Detroit proud.”
—Jim DeRogatis, author of Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs

“Popping with Detroit cultural landmarks, Beautiful Music wraps a disturbing yet humorous tale of beleaguered adolescence in 1970s Motor City around the A-list rock music that made the dingy landscape an aural playground.”
—Steve Miller, author of Detroit Rock City

“Don’t let anyone tell you that a novel can’t have a soundtrack. Beautiful Music adds another chapter to Detroit’s rock and roll mythology, every scene shaking with bass, drums, guitar riffs, and driving vocals. But beneath it all, Zadoorian expertly portrays a quiet boy who’s navigating heartache at home, bullies at school, and racial tension in the air—a boy trusting in music to tell him that both he and his city will be okay in the end.”
—Adam Schuitema, author of The Things We Do That Make No Sense

“Beautiful Music thrums like a guitar riff and rattles like a bass drum. This soulful, funny, transporting, and often electrifying novel will resonate with anyone who’s found their true passion—or is still on the hunt. It’s not just a great Detroit story and a great American story; it’s also a story about what it means to be human. I loved this book! In the words of Bob Seger, all I could do was turn the page.”
—Davy Rothbart, contributor to This American Life

“Like a song you can’t stop playing, Beautiful Music casts a spell on your heart. With clarity and tenderness, Zadoorian sweeps us into a life that we recognize as our own. Remember when you were lonely, scared, unsure, and then somehow found your own kind of bravery and actual, genuine joy? Beautiful Music will take you there—and give you the soundtrack to get you through.”
—Scott Sparling, author of Wire to Wire