Wavelength

Hannah Montana meets Heartstopper in this story of a teen pop star on the run from fame who finds family, love and gender euphoria when they become entangled with a local band.

Seventeen-year-old pop sensation Sasha may be famous, but they’ve always kept a layer of anonymity by covering their face to perform. Facing pressure to unmask in public, Sasha runs away to a nowhere midwestern city, planning to finish senior year and come out as nonbinary away from the limelight. But their plan falters from the moment they meet Wavelength, an alt-rock band, and their lead singer.

Lillian is struggling to keep the band together, caught in a mess of lyrics, late-night texts and ill-conceived love notes. She’s torn between feelings for her ex-girlfriend (and ex-bandmember) and her new infatuation with Sasha. Maybe this stranger is the new singer and the new love she’s looking for — even though Sasha’s stories don’t seem to quite add up.

If a whisper of Sasha’s fame gets out, their new life is over. Sasha’s manager is tracking them down, Wavelength is on the rise, and everyone’s hearts are in the mosh pit. Turn off the houselights. The band’s counting in.

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CALE PLETT is a nonbinary, genderfluid writer who lives on Treaty One Territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their YA novels span everything from high school rock bands to nightmares in the woods to reality TV gone wrong, and their poetry and short fiction can be found in a whole variety of journals. Whatever genre they’re writing, they try to create spaces where queer characters can exist safely within their identities. Wavelength, a runaway pop star YA romance, is their debut novel from Groundwood Books. Their second YA novel, The Saw Mouth, is coming out May 12, 2026 from Delacorte Press, to be followed by another standalone YA horror novel, Stranglehold, in fall 2027. Cale Plett is represented by Amy Tompkins at Transatlantic Agency.

• Kids' Indie Next ListCommended 2025