Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2016
256 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Teen and adult fans of Matthew Quick, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell 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 Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and All The Bright Places, 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.
"Starred Review. Readers will easily come to care about these bright, wonderfully nerdy, flawed characters. Ages 14 & up." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. A logical choice for Whaley's fans, Trekkies, and sensitive readers of all stripes." - School Library Journal
"Starred Review. Printz Award–winner Whaley (Where Things Come Back) again tackles heavy, heady topics with a light touch, populating his perceptive and quick-witted story with endearing, believably flawed teens." - Publishers Weekly
"With plenty of geekery, charming repartee, and fairly realistic teen drama, this will have wide appeal among readers of contemporary fiction." - Booklist
This information about Highly Illogical Behavior was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photograph courtesy of the author
John Corey Whaley is an American Young Adult author from Louisiana.
His first novel, Where Things Come Back is the winner of the 2012 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature and the 2012 William C. Morris Debut Fiction Award
Whaley was named a Spring 2011 Flying Start Author by Publishers Weekly as well as a Top Ten New Voice for Teens by the ABC Children's Group at ALA and a Spring 2011 Okra Pick from the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. Where Things Come Back has also been nominated for the American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults 2012. He was recently selected by the National Book Foundation as a Top 5 Under 35 author, making him the first YA author to be awarded the honor.
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