The Secret Song of Shelby Rey: A Novel

For fans of Gayle Forman and Sarah Dessen, a musically gifted teen in 2010 Los Angeles gets caught up in the tumultuous world of a narcissistic rock star and his brilliant but heroin-addicted bandmate. 

A story of love, music, addiction, and self-discovery from the author of A Song For The Road
Eighteen-year-old Shelby Rey has a secret superpower: she can hear people's deepest emotions and truths, in song form, just by touching them. But in a world where everyone guards their secrets, her gift feels more like a curse.
Life has been hard since she lost her dad, but it reaches a new low when she gets kicked out by her drug-addicted mom. Shelby's life hits a turning point, however, when she meets Zac Wyatt, a chart-topping rock star with a hidden side only she can hear. Swept into his world of fame and music, Shelby forms an electrifying connection with Zac that she can't resist.
But darkness lurks beneath the spotlight. Zac's jealousy of his bandmate Stanford, a troubled musical genius, threatens to destroy everything—and when Shelby uncovers Stanford's devastating truth, she faces an impossible choice that could shatter their world.
In a whirlwind of love, betrayal, heartbreak, and injustice, Shelby must find the courage to listen to her own inner song.

Rayne Lacko writes about emotions, creativity, and the healing power of music in Dream Up Now: The Teen Journal for Creative Self-Discovery and the YA novel A Song For The Road, an Eric Hoffer Book Award finalist. A social-emotional learning specialist with a master’s in humanities, she lectures on writing and literature, advocates for social justice, and travels for inspiration. Rayne’s short stories and poetry have appeared in international publications and anthologies. She lives on a forested island in Washington, US, where the trees whisper story ideas.