Title: Noggin
Author: John Corey Whaley
Review: We listened to this book on CD in the van as we drove out west for our family road trip this year - we ended up at a Dude Ranch for a family reunion - about a 20 hour drive so we listened to books along the way and this is the 1st one we listened too -
Loved the idea of this book - the concept is great and it really does relate to my son at this point in his life - Travis, in the book, is frozen for 5 years and when he wakes up with a different body he feels like it is been no time at all - like he went to sleep and just woke up - well the rest of his world has been going on for the last 5 years and things have changed for them but not for Travis and he has a difficult time moving past that discrepancy in what he thinks and what they think.
My son spent 2 years in South America while all his friends from HS went to college and are now graduating and getting jobs - my son is 2 years behind them - of course he speaks Spanish like a native and had amazing experiences living on the economy and getting to know the people, but he still has 2 plus years of college to go before graduation and getting a "real" job and it has been a difficult transition for him. He loved his time in Chile, but he also is not happy with being what he considers behind his peers in life - but is he really?
Well in this book Travis lives in the past for quite awhile - he is still only 16 and everyone else has aged 5 years more - it is a hard thing for him to put together and especially with his girlfriend who is engaged - my sons HS love is also getting married and that is a tough one for him - but every choice has consequences even good choices and we can choose our choices but we cannot choose our consequences - bummer - Travis is learning this the hard way -
The book was interesting but too long in places and I hated the ending - the family decided the book was a 3 star read and that a few changes could have made it more 5 star worthy.
Synopsis: Listen — Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t.
Now he’s alive again.
Simple as that.
The in between part is still a little fuzzy, but he can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is. Despite all logic, he’s still 16 and everything and everyone around him has changed. That includes his bedroom, his parents, his best friend, and his girlfriend. Or maybe she’s not his girlfriend anymore? That’s a bit fuzzy too.
Looks like if the new Travis and the old Travis are ever going to find a way to exist together, then there are going to be a few more scars.
Oh well, you only live twice.
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published April 8th 2014 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Author Information: 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 B.A. in English from Louisiana Tech University, as well as an M.A 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 (which sometimes includes zombies…). He taught public school for five years and spent much of that time daydreaming about being a full-time writer…and dodging his students’ crafty projectiles. He is terrible at most sports, but is an occasional kayaker and bongo player. He is obsessed with movies, music, and traveling to new places. He is an incredibly picky eater and has never been punched in the face, though he has come quite close. One time, when he was a kid, he had a curse put on him by a strange woman in the arcade section of a Wal-Mart. His favorite word is defenestration. His favorite color is green. His favorite smell is books. He currently splits his time between Louisiana and Los Angeles.
Where Things Come Back is his first novel.
NOGGIN, his second novel, is out on April 8, 2014
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