I have taken out my Invisalign and this is my article. Billie Eilish is the first woman to sweep the Big Four Grammy’s in one night: best album, record, song of the year, and best new artist. We stan a strong female artist and if you’ve been listening to WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO at peak volume, like me, here are the perfect books to read while you do so.
The Perfect Books To Read While Listening to Billie Eilish
1. bad guy – Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten
Make your girlfriend mad tight is right. Bad Girls with Perfect Faces is a twisted thriller about the power of obsession and how pretending to be a bad guy can lead you to become just that – a bad guy. The book has as many shocking twists as Billie’s music video for ‘bad guy’ and you should listen when “…she says she’s scared of me”.
2. xanny – Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Billie has said that they wanted the chorus of this song to make the listener feel as uncomfortable as possible – exactly like sitting in second hand smoke. Then having the verses feel like healthy lungs…smooth and silky. Crank is an emotional roller coaster that tackles addiction and gives the reader the same experience of a peaceful boat ride that’s suddenly thrown into a hurricane.
3. you should see me in a crown – Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto
You hear that scrapping noise at the start of the song? That’s the sound of a knife being sharpened. Crown of Feathers epitomizes this song and for those who have read this book you’ll know exactly who it is that I imagine sharpening the knife. For those who haven’t – this is a book about a kingdom in ruin after a battle for the crown between two sisters saw the extinction of the royal line and the warrior Phoenix Riders… or did it?
4. all the good girls go to hell – Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Don’t say I didn’t warn you – this song is magic. I could and do listen to it on repeat. It’s just soooo catchy and dark and so is Hush, Hush. I mean who doesn’t want romance with fallen angels?
5. wish you were gay – P. S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
Unrequited love is noooo fun and wouldn’t it be so much easier if the object of your affection was gay? This way it’s not your fault that you’re not their preferred sexual orientation. Dang Billie, hitting us with those lyrics. Wouldn’t Lara Jean’s life be so much easier if John Ambrose was gay? This way she wouldn’t have to decide between him and Peter K!
6. when the party’s over – Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott
“I’ll only hurt you if you let me”, truer words could not be said of Stella Grant and Will Newman in Five Feet Apart. I dare you to listen to this song on loop while reading Five Feet Apart and not cry your eyes out!
7. 8 – Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
This song is my favorite track of the entire album. Billie’s voice is angelic and as honey sweet as the beat yet the lyrics speak of heartbreak and miscommunication. Jenn Bennett understands what Billie is putting down and the best-friends-turned-enemies love story of Zorie and Lennon is the perfect companion to 8.
8. bury a friend – The Cold Is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale
This song is all about differentiating nightmares from reality. When you realize that your waking reality has become a nightmare, what do you do? Milla must figure out how to end her nightmare when her only friend Iris is possessed and taken by a demon.
9. ilomilo – Turtle Under Ice by Juleah del Rosario
The fear of losing the ones you love is a powerful and sometimes overwhelming force. Billie Eilish has candidly shared that her biggest fear is her loved ones dying and as someone who’s lost several people in my life, it’s a valid fear. Turtle Under Ice is a book in verse that helped me view my grief in a new way. Raw, visceral, and heartfelt this song and book go hand-in-hand.
10. listen before i go – A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti
This book speaks so many truths, rips your heart in two, and reminds you that it keeps on beating despite being broken. Billie’s song does the same thing and hopefully after reading and listening, you feel a little less alone.