Highly Illogical Behavior

Starred review from February 29, 2016
Solomon Reed, 16, suffers from acute anxiety and agoraphobia. He hasn’t left his house since a panic attack in seventh grade, during which he stripped to his underwear seeking calm in the waters of a fountain outside his school. Former classmate Lisa—an ambitious, straight-A type who “believed in herself maybe more than other people believed in God”—hasn’t forgotten him. In need of a subject for a scholarship essay about mental illness, she thrusts herself into Solomon’s existence with a plan to “cure” him using some armchair cognitive behavior therapy. Solomon doesn’t think he needs saving (or know about the essay), but he lets Lisa in, followed by her handsome boyfriend, Clark, who shares his interest in comic books, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and card games. Heartbreak ensues when Solomon falls for Clark. 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. Solomon’s parents and grandmother are refreshingly supportive, letting Solomon take the lead as he tests the possibility of re-entry. Ages 14–up. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House.

Starred review from February 15, 2016
A teen with her sights set on a scholarship for a psychology undergraduate program befriends a boy with agoraphobia in order to write an essay about the experience in this novel from Printz Medal winner Whaley. Sixteen-year-old Solomon last left his house back in seventh grade, when, one day during a particularly horrible anxiety attack, he shed his clothing and climbed into a fountain at school. His former classmate Lisa, ambitious to a fault ("You're like Lady Macbeth without the murder" says her boyfriend, Clark), has long wondered what became of him and angles her way into his life. She begins to visit Solomon daily and is surprised at how funny and easygoing he is, eventually bringing into the fold a reluctant Clark, who quickly bonds with him. In part because Solomon has earlier come out as gay to her, this eventually piques Lisa's jealousy and sets the stage for a heartbreaking clash among the three. Chapters alternate between Sol's and Lisa's third-person narrations and brim over with warm, witty, authentic dialogue. Solomon's descriptions of his anxiety are achingly real, and the adoration his family has for him, even as they fear he will never leave the house in their white, wealthy suburban neighborhood again, is poignant. Readers will easily come to care about these bright, wonderfully nerdy, flawed characters. (Fiction. 14 & up)

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Starred review from April 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Solomon Reed, 16, has not left his house in three years. Regular panic attacks keep him from handling the outside. Yet he is a smart and resourceful teenager with a love for Star Trek, gratifying hobbies, and a supportive family. Solomon is being educated online and doesn't feel that any social life he might be missing is worth the mental anguish that daily life causes him to endure. However, he knows he can't live like this forever. Then Lisa Praytor, a vivacious and take-charge extrovert appears, wanting to be his friend. Lisa is convinced that she can treat Solomon's agoraphobia and get him outside. She is also convinced that the experience will help her write the best college essay and win a scholarship for a prominent psychology program. However, Lisa uncovers more than she expected as she and her boyfriend Clark get to know and grow close to the recluse. Sol's grandmother makes a grand gesture of building a backyard pool to encourage the boy's efforts to overcome his anxiety. What looks like a typical friendship story is blended with issues of trust, vulnerability, and identity. Solomon's agoraphobia is not the only thing that defines him, which speaks to the larger message about those living with mental illness. Each character has an authentic voice and temperament that feel realistic, and the alternating narratives capture the perspective of the bright, witty, and decidedly quirky protagonists. The spare writing makes this a taut, tender, and appealing read. VERDICT A logical choice for Whaley's fans, Trekkies, and sensitive readers of all stripes.-Briana Moore, School Library Journal

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 After a panic attack in eighth grade, during which he stripped to his underwear and plopped himself in the school fountain, Solomon hasn't left his house. Ever. Lisa never forgot that day, however, and when she sets out to write a college essay on her personal experience with mental illness, she believes (ethics be damned) curing Solomon will be the perfect, scholarship-worthy topic. Enlisting the help of her boyfriend, Clark, Lisa inserts herself into Solomon's world, building a friendship while covertly observing him. But as she gets to know Solomon better, especially as he develops a crush on Clark, she realizes how her ulterior motives could threaten his progress. Printz Awardwinning Whaley (Where Things Come Back, 2011) alternates between Lisa's and Solomon's perspectives, and in their witty, bantering conversations, he teases out a sensitive examination of friendship and mental illness. Solomon, after all, is far more than his anxiety, and intelligent Lisa is nearly blinded by her own certainty. With plenty of geekery, charming repartee, and fairly realistic teen drama, this will have wide appeal among readers of contemporary fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)