Thanks for the Trouble (Hardcover)
Staff Reviews
Parker is a boy who hasn't spoken since his father died; Zelda is a girl who's been alive and unaging for 246 years. Together they fight crime! Okay, unfortunately not (although that would make an awesome book too, no?). Thanks for the Trouble actually follows their whirlwind weekend tour of San Francisco as they both try to figure out if life is worth living.
I really liked Wallach's first novel, We All Looked Up, and I'm delighted to report he's having exactly the opposite of a sophomore slump with Thanks for the Trouble: this book is even better. It's more original, richer and more complete in its message. Wallach is tackling some huge issues here -- nothing more than, oh, what's the meaning of it all? -- but Parker's voice is so engaging and (seemingly) effortless that the narrative is never crushed under the weight of these deep thoughts. It floats above them. I laughed, I cried. Heck, I did feel thankful.
Description
Tommy Wallach, the New York Times bestselling author of the "stunning debut" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) We All Looked Up, delivers a brilliant new novel about a young man who overcomes a crippling loss and finds the courage to live after meeting an enigmatic girl. "Was this story written about me?"
I shrugged.
"Yes or no?"
I shrugged again, finally earning a little scowl, which somehow made the girl even more pretty.
"It's very rude not to answer simple questions," she said.
I gestured for my journal, but she still wouldn't give it to me. So I took out my pen and wrote on my palm.
I can't, I wrote. Then, in tiny letters below it: Now don't you feel like a jerk? Parker Sant hasn't spoken a word in five years. While his classmates plan for bright futures, he skips school to hang out in hotels, killing time by watching the guests. But when he meets a silver-haired girl named Zelda Toth, a girl who claims to be quite a bit older than she looks, he'll discover there just might be a few things left worth living for. From the celebrated author of We All Looked Up comes a unique story of first and last loves.
