Title: Highly Illogical Behaviour
Author: John Corey Whaley
Publisher: Penguin Putnam
Pub Date: June 13, 2017
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Source: Purchased
Genre(s): YA, Contemporary
Rating: ★★★★★
[Goodreads] ● [Amazon]

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Solomon has agoraphobia. He hasn’t left his house in 3 years. Ambitious Lisa is desperate to get into a top-tier psychology program. And so when Lisa learns about Solomon, she decides to befriend him, cure him, and then write about it for her college application. To earn Solomon’s trust, she introduces him to her boyfriend Clark, and starts to reveal her own secrets. But what started as an experiment leads to a real friendship, with all three growing close. But when the truth comes out, what erupts could destroy them all. Funny and heartwarming, Highly Illogical Behavior is a fascinating exploration of what makes us tick, and how the connections between us may be the most important things of all.

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My review:

“We’re just floating in space trying to figure out what it means to be human.”

This book is exactly why I still read YA contemporary: to find stories like this one, stories about people like Solomon Reed, people like me.

Highly Illogical Behaviour is a short read that packs a punch. The story carefully covers mental illness, sexuality, friendship, and love in a realistic and delicate way. What might be a heavy topic for some is dealt with very gently here.

John Corey Whaley did a wonderful job of telling this story. All of the characters felt fleshed out to me. Each one was flawed in their own way. Solomon’s relationship with his parents is amazing. You don’t get to read about supportive families that often. And the friendship. Don’t even get me started on how natural it was. None of it felt forced. Yes, at times it was misguided, but it felt like true friendship. I just really enjoyed reading every bit of this.

The fact that I finished reading this in one sitting should tell you everything you need to know, but in case it wasn’t clear, I loved this book.