Highly Illogical Behaviour (eBook)
304 Seiten
Faber & Faber (Verlag)
978-0-571-33045-4 (ISBN)
John 'Corey' Whaley grew up in the small town of Springhill, Louisiana, where he learned to be sarcastic and to tell stories. He started writing stories about aliens and underwater civilizations when he was around ten or eleven, but now writes realistic YA fiction. His debut novel Where Things Come Back won the Printz Medal, and his second book Noggin was a National Book Award Finalist. http://johncoreywhaley.com/ @corey_whaley
Sixteen year old Solomon has agoraphobia. He hasn't left his house in three years, which is fine by him. At home, he is the master of his own kingdom--even if his kingdom doesn't extend outside of the house. Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to go to a top tier psychiatry program. She'll do anything to get in. When Lisa finds out about Solomon's solitary existence, she comes up with a plan sure to net her a scholarship: Befriend Solomon. Treat his condition. And write a paper on her findings. To earn Solomon's trust, Lisa begins letting him into her life, introducing him to her boyfriend Clark, and telling him her secrets. Soon, Solomon begins to open up and expand his universe. But all three teens have grown uncomfortably close, and when their facades fall down, their friendships threaten to collapse, as well. At turns hilarious and heartwarming, 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.
John 'Corey' Whaley grew up in the small town of Springhill, Louisiana, where he learned to be sarcastic and to tell stories. He has a BA in English from Louisiana Tech University, as well as an MA in Secondary English Education. He started writing stories about aliens and underwater civilizations when he was around ten or eleven, but now writes realistic YA fiction. His debut novel Where Things Come Back won the Printz Medal, and his second book Noggin was a National Book Award Finalist.
One week after her first appointment, Lisa was back in Dr. Reed’s office and waiting to get her cavity filled. She’d written a letter, which was sealed in a light blue envelope and tucked into the front pocket of her hoodie. She’d start with that, and if it didn’t get her closer to Solomon, she’d find another way. She was almost certain she could convince Dr. Reed that her son needed a friend, but she was hoping the letter would get her in sooner.
It had been a long day at school, with three tests and a Student Council meeting, but Lisa still managed to exude a level of energy that no one in the small dental office could match. This wasn’t her usual demeanor. She was more of a pragmatic know-it-all with control issues, but she was smart enough to know that you catch more flies with honey, so this cheery, inquisitive version of herself seemed like the best way to charm Dr. Reed.
Once seated in the exam chair, she chitchatted with the dental hygienist, Cathy, who was setting out some tools. But her eyes kept wandering over to the family photo hanging on the wall by the window—the photograph of Solomon Reed the way he was when she last saw him, only not soaking wet and hyperventilating. She wondered what he looked like now, having witnessed firsthand what three years in the life of a teenage boy can do. Three years before, Clark had been a chubby eighth grader with acne problems and now look at him.
“Well, Lisa, you ready to get that cavity filled?” Dr. Reed asked, walking in and taking a seat next to the exam chair.
“You know it,” Lisa answered. “How’s life?”
“Life’s good. Same as last week. Very busy.”
She didn’t give Lisa much opportunity to speak after that, quickly asking her to open wide and getting started on the anesthetic. Valerie Reed was a beautiful woman. She had laugh lines around her eyes and mouth, but the kind that make you envious of whatever put them there. Lisa had expected a hardened, maybe bitter person to be this troubled boy’s mother, but Valerie Reed seemed as happy as could be.
“What’s he like?” Lisa asked, her face half numb.
“Who? Solomon? Gosh. He’s just Solomon.”
“Oh. Well, what does he like to do?”
“He likes to watch TV and read books. He’s just like his dad.”
“So how come that’s the most recent picture I see around here?” she said.
“I don’t know, Lisa. We don’t take too many pictures just sitting around the house. And I think maybe I lucked out with the one teenager on earth who doesn’t constantly take selfies.”
“It’s about insecurity,” Lisa said. “I don’t get it, either. Maybe Solomon and I are just mature for our ages?”
“He has his moments.”
“Can you give this to him?” Lisa pulled out the letter. “I know maybe it’s weird. But, I just thought he might like it. You can even read it first if you want.”
Dr. Reed looked down at the envelope and smirked a little, like she wasn’t surprised at all that Lisa had written it.
“No, no. I don’t need to do that. I’ll give it to him. I can’t promise you’ll ever hear back, but I can promise he’ll get it.”
“Thank you so much.”
As Dr. Reed filled the cavity in her lower right second bicuspid, Lisa closed her eyes and let her mind wander with the sound of the drill drowning out all the noise of the dental office. She thought about lonely Solomon Reed, sitting in a house all by himself with no clue that she was about to change his life. And even though there were a couple of fingers and a suction tube in her mouth, Lisa managed a smile.
When she got home, Clark was waiting in her driveway with a milk shake in his hand. He did things like that all the time, and it still surprised her.
“I can’t feel half my face,” she said, once out of her car.
“Can you feel this?” He stepped forward and poked her cheek.
“Nope.”
“Weird. I’ve never had a cavity, so, you know, I wouldn’t really know.”
“Yeah, yeah. Gimme my milk shake.”
“Oh, this milk shake? No, this is my milk shake.”
He took a sip and then held it high above his head where she couldn’t reach. He was tall anyway, about 6’1”, and with his long, apish arms in the air, Lisa was screwed. So she went for his biggest weakness and started for his underarms. Being tickled made him physically ill, something left over from having grown up with all those older brothers. He practically threw the milk shake at her to make her stop.
“Mean,” he said. “You’re just stone-cold mean.”
“Can we go inside now? I think the lidocaine’s making me woozy.”
In her room, Lisa finished her homework while Clark flipped through a magazine and kept her company. He had homework, too, but he was more the kind of guy to say he’d wake up early the next morning and do it and then botch the whole plan and get the answers from one of his classmates instead. He was smart, but not as smart as he was handsome. And not near as smart as he was athletic. Water polo was his life, mostly, but the season was over now so he spent most of his free time with Lisa—so much of it that she was starting to wonder where the hell all of his friends were.
“Where the hell are all of your friends?” she asked, slurring a little.
“The guys from the team? I don’t know. Probably with their girlfriends.”
“It just seems like you haven’t hung out with them lately.”
“I’m sure I haven’t missed much,” he said. “They pretty much drink beer and talk about sex. It’s exactly what you’d imagine.”
So, Clark was bored with his friends. That would make a lot of sense, seeing as most of them were fairly boring. Lisa was more of a one-close-friend type of person and had always had trouble fitting in with Clark’s teammates and their girlfriends. But this was her first time realizing that maybe Clark felt the same way.
“How’s the college essay?” he asked.
“Slow,” she said.
“Are you still going to write about your cousin?”
Lisa needed to tell him about Solomon. She knew she could keep lying, but she’d already cleared her spring and summer to spend time helping Solomon get better, to make sure she’d actually have something to write about, something groundbreaking enough to get her that scholarship. Plus, Clark trusted Lisa and even if he did think her plan was unethical, he’d never try to talk her out of it. Or, at least, he’d never succeed at it.
“Hey, do you remember me telling you about that kid who jumped in the fountain in eighth grade?” she asked.
“I do,” he answered. “What about him?”
“I found him.”
“I didn’t know you were looking for him.”
“I wasn’t. It’s the weirdest thing. My new dentist is his mom. I didn’t piece it together until I saw a picture of him in her office. Crazy, right?”
“Totally. Where’s he been?”
“Home.”
“Oh. That’s kind of boring. I was hoping for something more dramatic.”
“He’s only been home,” she says. “Nowhere else.”
“Since eighth grade?”
“Yep.”
“Weird. What do you think’s wrong with him?”
“Well, lots of things, probably. You don’t become homebound for no reason. His mom said he had panic attacks, like at the fountain, so I’m guessing they kept getting worse and worse. So, preliminarily, I’d say he’s got severe anxiety disorder that’s contributed to a very persistent case of agoraphobia. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got some obsessive compulsive tendencies as well.”
“That’s sad.”
“I’m going to ask you something and I want you to promise to be completely honest with me. Okay?”
“Okay….”
“I want to meet Solomon Reed. I don’t know why I need to do it, but I do. And I think maybe I can make that happen.”
“Okay.” He laughed. “This is … unexpected.”
“It’s just … you know … I’ve thought about him so much and wondered if he was okay and maybe it sounds crazy, but I just need to see for myself.”
“Lisa, you didn’t even know the guy.”
“I know. But what if I can help him, Clark? This is what I want to do with my life and I feel like passing up an opportunity like this is …”
“I’m not stupid,” he interrupted. “This is for the essay, right?”
She didn’t say anything, but she nodded her head with her eyes lowered, afraid to see the disapproval on his face.
“How long have you been planning this?” he asked.
“Weeks,” she confessed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make it a big deal if it wasn’t going to come to anything. But his mom’s giving him a letter I wrote. Hopefully he’ll respond.”
“A letter? You wrote him a letter? Who are you, Lisa? My God.”
“It’s important to me, Clark. I can help him.”
“You never wrote me a letter.”
“Oh come on. You’re jealous? Lock yourself away inside a house for three years and I’ll write one up.”
“That’s not funny,” he said.
“It’s a little funny. I know it sounds awful, but I can help him. I need him and he needs me. It’s not just about the scholarship. But, say the word and I’ll stop.”
He wasn’t going to stop Lisa from doing anything and she knew it. And she could hardly expect him to be jealous over Solomon, especially after she’d been so up front about it. She knew it was weird that she’d reached out to him the...
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 3.6.2016 |
|---|---|
| Verlagsort | London |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Themenwelt | Kinder- / Jugendbuch ► Jugendbücher ab 12 Jahre |
| Kinder- / Jugendbuch ► Kinderbücher bis 11 Jahre | |
| Kinder- / Jugendbuch ► Sachbücher ► Körper / Sexualität | |
| Schlagworte | Agoraphobia • John Green • LGBT • Mental Health • Noggin • Rainbow Rowell • Where Things Come Back |
| ISBN-10 | 0-571-33045-2 / 0571330452 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-571-33045-4 / 9780571330454 |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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