A Highly Logical Book Choice

I was a quirky teen and found my peer group in Reach for The Top and friends who were not outcasts, but not top of the social heap that is high school. As I was reading John Corey Whalen’s Highly Illogical Behavior,  I felt I had found my peeps.

This slim novel, a mere 256 pages, is a quick read narrated by two characters: 16-year-old agoraphobic Solomon and 17-year-old Lisa,  who wants to befriend Solomon, cure his agoraphobia and use this as the basis for scholarship application to a psychology program.

Publisher’s Summary:Teen and adult fans of All The Bright Places, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and Everything, Everything will adore this quirky story of coming-of-age, coming out, friendship, love…and agoraphobia.

Sixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic. He hasn’t left the house in three years, which is fine by him.Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college (she’s being realistic). But how can she prove she deserves a spot there?Solomon is the answer.Determined to “fix” Sol, Lisa thrusts herself into his life, introducing him to her charming boyfriend Clark and confiding her fears in him. Soon, all three teens are far closer than they thought they’d be, and when their facades fall down, their friendships threaten to collapse, as well.

A hilarious and heartwarming coming-of-age perfect for readers of Matthew Quick and Rainbow Rowell, Highly Illogical Behavior showcases the different ways in which we hide ourselves from the world—and the ways in which love, tragedy, and the need for connection may be the only things to bring us back into the light.

Although it addresses serious issues, the book is really funny! Lisa is the aggravating overachiever, sort of like Hermione Grainger. But you can’t help liking her in spite of her determination. She has her own issues going on at home. Solomon is a   Star Trek: The Next Generation  fan with a “holodeck” painted on the walls in his garage. Yes, readers, you can get your geek on with this book.

In the same way that Exit, Pursued by a Bear was the ideal situation for the crisis in that story, this is perhaps an idealized portrayal of agoraphobia and friendship. It is well written and feels realistic. Don’t worry. You don’t have to be a  Star Trek: The Next Generation fan to enjoy the story and have your heartstrings tugged a little.

Using your noggin

As I opened WordPress this morning to write this post, everything has changed. The WordPress template for creating posts has been revamped. I hate when this happens. I hated moving to the new Microsoft Office suite. We switched from First Class to Outlook for e-mail at work. And now this. Nothing is intuitive. I have to look for all the tabs and features I like instead of having them close to hand. ARGH!!! Where are the SAVE and spellcheck buttons? This is frustrating. 

But, I got used to the new Word program and Outlook, so will adapt to this change. Though I will grumble about it for a while. It’s a free program, so I shouldn’t complain, right?! What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. 

Imagine how much I’d grumble if I woke up one morning to find my head attached to a new body. 

That’s what happens in Noggin, except Travis new this change was coming and I didn’t. 

Travis was terminally ill, but had his head frozen, then reattached to a donor body 5 years later. When he wakes up he is still 16, but everyone else is 5 years older. The book is about how he adapts to his new situation. I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy this books as much as I did. Travis wants everything to be the way it was, but that can’t really happen and he has got to figure it out. There are a few surprises and I didn’t like all of Travis’ decisions, but they were realistic. 

If you are looking for something a little different, but with a good story line, pick up Noggin.