Twelve stories describe the power of music in young people's lives, from forming a community of individuals in a high school band to helping a young man connect to his Indian heritage through ancient songs.

"A Borzoi book"

Variations on a theme / by Ron Koertge -- A warrior song / by Joseph Bruchac -- Riffs / by Ann Manheimer -- What a song can do / by David Levithan -- Piano obsession / by Ibtisam S. Barakat -- The audition / by J. Alison James -- Tangled notes in watermelon / by Dian Curtis Regan -- Ballad of a prodigy -- by Jude Mandell -- The song of stones river / by Jennifer Armstrong -- The gypsy's violin / by Gail Giles -- New town / by Alexandra Siy -- A third kind of funny / by Sarah Ellis.