My review of Steven Hyden's Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation is in this month's Performer Magazine.

I really enjoyed this book - I was 10 when Pearl Jam's Ten came out in 1991, and it was one of the first CDs I bought, so I am pretty much the target reader of this book. But I think even if you weren't all-in on PJ, there's a lot to like about it. 

Steven Hyden is one of the best music critics working today, and it's a blast to read whatever he writes - I highly recommend this one. 

The last time I was home visiting my folks, I came across a few of the many books I wrote when I was a kid. According to the copyright pages (yes, I always made one for each book 🙄), I was between 9 and 11 when I wrote these, and I still pretty much remember the stories even though it's been 30-odd years since I last saw them. 

I remember being particularly proud of my Encyclopedia Brown ripoff Dick Tionary, which was almost called Theo Sarus before I thought that sounded too much like a word-obsessed prehistoric creature than a mystery solver - not sure the title I ended up with was actually better though.

After I wrote them, I'd picture what they'd look like on a bookstore shelf or at the library, and I'd imagine people buying them or checking them out - to being a real author like the ones I idolized - Donald J. Sobol or Franklin W. Dixon (who knew what a pen name was back then?). Maybe I'd even meet Mr. W. Dixon and we'd nerd out over Hardy Boys deep cuts. 

 I have two reviews in this month's Performer Magazine for books that I felt really fortunate to write about: Marissa R. Moss's Her Country, which dives deep into the experiences of women in country music, and Eric Smith's Jagged Little Pill, a YA adaptation of the Broadway musical (based on Alanis Morissette's album). 

You can read them in print or online here:

• Jagged Little Pill review

• Her Country review

"Song of Spring" (149 words)

“Grandma, what’s your favorite song?”

“My favorite song, precious one, is the Song of Spring.”

“The Song of Spring?”

“Why yes, my love. It’s the song of the breeze rustling newly grown leaves.

It’s the song of fish jumping in a bubbling stream.

It’s the song of rain sprinkling flowers in the garden.

It’s the song of birds singing on treetops at dawn.

It’s the song of fireflies buzzing at dusk.

It’s the song of you, my dear child.”

“Of me?”

“Why yes, of course.

It’s the song of you blowing seeds off a dandelion.

It’s the song of you rolling down soft-grass hills.

It’s the song of you squeezing fresh lemons for lemonade.

It’s the song of you giggling while we read side by side.

It’s the song of our perfect spring day together.”

“Grandma?”

“Yes, my darling?”

“That’s my favorite song too. Can we play it again?”

Entry for the Spring Fling Writing Contest

by Jason Peterson

I wrote about Lauren Gibaldi and Eric Smith's outstanding short story anthology for Performer Magazine -- it's a really special book I wish had been published when I was a teen starting to play in bands, and I think it will inspire more than a few folks to join one.

Check out the review here: BOOK REVIEW: Battle of the Bands (Candlewick Press)