03 November 2016

Highly Illogical Behavior


Whaley, John Corey. Highly Illogical Behavior. Dial Books, 2016.

Solomon hasn't left his house in three years. His panic attacks only strengthen when he thinks about returning to the outside world. Lisa is determined to earn a scholarship for college and get out of her small town, and she thinks Solomon, or more specifically, his agoraphobia, is the ticket out. Lisa is determined to cure Solomon, but along the way she finds him to be more of a friend than a patient. What will Solomon do when he finds out that Lisa has been using him for a scholarship essay?

I didn't like Lisa from the start of this book. She's got an irritating uber-ambitious personality that can really grate on a person. I loved Sol and his nerdiness and his Star Trek references and his obsession with the game Munchkin. I loved the way Lisa and her boyfriend befriended Sol and ended up spending time with him because they were all friends instead of just because they wanted to make Sol their "project." I don't think I've read another YA book about agoraphobia, so this was an interesting new topic for me. The depth of characterization combined with the breezy, conversational style of writing would make this an easy book to recommend to most teens.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: Solomon goes skinny dipping in his backyard at one point. Lisa attempts to have sex with her boyfriend on several occasions. Lisa's best friend makes some very stereotyped comments about Lisa's boyfriend's possible homosexuality.
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: You and Me and Him, The Inside of OutEverything, Everything

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