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herm333s's review against another edition
5.0
Highly Illogical Behavior delves in elements of mental illness, friendship, family, and courage. Specially on what it takes to live, out here, in this scary and unforgiving world.
With changing POVs, John Corey Whaley created three amazing characters that, even though flawed, find and mend each other.
Solomon will forever be my spirit animal... And if he'd only be real...
Lisa's wit and narrative gave me life alongside her wonderful boyfriend, Clark.
The more I think about it, I realize I may have finished the best book of 2016.
Between the laughing out loud and the weeping, this story, I will always remember.
With changing POVs, John Corey Whaley created three amazing characters that, even though flawed, find and mend each other.
Solomon will forever be my spirit animal... And if he'd only be real...
Lisa's wit and narrative gave me life alongside her wonderful boyfriend, Clark.
The more I think about it, I realize I may have finished the best book of 2016.
Between the laughing out loud and the weeping, this story, I will always remember.
achapterahead's review against another edition
5.0
Re-read 4/6/17-4/9/17:
WILL ALWAYS GIVE THIS 100%
Lisa pisses me off but I ALWAYS cry at the end. This book was even better the second time around
Originally read 5/15/16-5/29/16:
(5 stars)
IM NOT SOBBING YOU ARE.
WILL ALWAYS GIVE THIS 100%
Lisa pisses me off but I ALWAYS cry at the end. This book was even better the second time around
Originally read 5/15/16-5/29/16:
(5 stars)
IM NOT SOBBING YOU ARE.
janewhitehurst's review against another edition
4.0
This reminded me a lot of Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl for some reason. I liked it a lot-it had likeable characters, funny moments, and real issues of mental health and friendship-but I thought it got a little too soap-opera towards the end. Worth reading, though.
samrushingbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I think this one is a 3.5 star rating.
I mostly liked the characters in this story, though I sometimes found Lisa a bit overbearing/annoying. She basically spent most of the book acting as if she actually knew enough psychology to "help" Solomon, when she was nothing more than a seventeen-year-old high school student. I loved the friendship of Clark and Solomon though. I enjoy reading about geeky friendships. And I did see a decent amount of character development within the story, so that's good. I guess my main issue was that I didn't really like the writing style of this one. I wanted to bond and connect with the characters more and the narrative flow made me feel a little clinically detached from it all. Still, it was a nice contemporary read and I enjoyed being a part of Solomon's journey.
I mostly liked the characters in this story, though I sometimes found Lisa a bit overbearing/annoying. She basically spent most of the book acting as if she actually knew enough psychology to "help" Solomon, when she was nothing more than a seventeen-year-old high school student. I loved the friendship of Clark and Solomon though. I enjoy reading about geeky friendships. And I did see a decent amount of character development within the story, so that's good. I guess my main issue was that I didn't really like the writing style of this one. I wanted to bond and connect with the characters more and the narrative flow made me feel a little clinically detached from it all. Still, it was a nice contemporary read and I enjoyed being a part of Solomon's journey.
felipemenendez's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Where do I start? This book meant more to me than I would've guess. It was great in many ways. The characters where so real and they felt really complete.
This coming of age novel was everything I expected it to be, it treated topics like agoraphobia, acceptance and the meaning of friendship and finding what you want in life. Maybe we all need a little Solomon Reed in our life.
I still think that Lisa's idea about them was right, I felt that too haha... But that's just my personal opinion. I like how John Corey Whaley played with our minds throughout the book.
I definitely recommend this book!!
Where do I start? This book meant more to me than I would've guess. It was great in many ways. The characters where so real and they felt really complete.
This coming of age novel was everything I expected it to be, it treated topics like agoraphobia, acceptance and the meaning of friendship and finding what you want in life. Maybe we all need a little Solomon Reed in our life.
I still think that Lisa's idea about them was right, I felt that too haha... But that's just my personal opinion. I like how John Corey Whaley played with our minds throughout the book.
I definitely recommend this book!!
kara44212's review against another edition
4.0
CLARK ROBBINS IS BOYFRIEND MATERIAL
and that’s all I have to say about that.
Except... what happened to Sol’s grandma? Is she okay? Did she sell that house? Does she know that Sol came to see her? Did Janis get knocked up at Christian summer camp? These are all burning questions.
Interestingly enough, the POV characters were not my faves. I loved Clark and Sol’s entire family best, so can we get a sequel all about them please?
Overall it was short and sweet and despite the lack of answers I thought it was funny, charming, and (what seems to be) a thoughtful and honest portrayal of mental illness.
and that’s all I have to say about that.
Except... what happened to Sol’s grandma? Is she okay? Did she sell that house? Does she know that Sol came to see her? Did Janis get knocked up at Christian summer camp? These are all burning questions.
Interestingly enough, the POV characters were not my faves. I loved Clark and Sol’s entire family best, so can we get a sequel all about them please?
Overall it was short and sweet and despite the lack of answers I thought it was funny, charming, and (what seems to be) a thoughtful and honest portrayal of mental illness.
ajb24's review against another edition
2.0
I wasn't planning on making a list-rant-review, but I guess this is what it is now. I'll say here that I think this is an interesting concept for a book, but I don't like how it was executed. This book covers mental health and sexuality well and these are important topics for a YA book.
Initially I gave this book 2 stars because I feel like all books have merits, and what I think about it is just personal preference and doesn't detract from its inherent value. However, after my rant below I'm tempted to give a 1 star because I just really don't like this book :/
---------------------------------------------------
>:(
Don't make it gay if it's not going to be gay!!
I guess I'm just upset because I wanted MLM romance but just got a bunch of "hints" for it to lead to nothing and awkwardness and drama.
Also, all these characters are WEIRD. They just don't act how real teens act??? Especially Lisa. NO teenager is this insanely driven and also willingly wakes up at 7am on a summer weekday.
Do Lisa and Clark not have lives outside of school and Solomon?? ""Conveniently"" Clark hates his teammates and apparently has ZERO other friends except Lisa. And then Lisa is somehow a huge, obnoxious extrovert but has one friend (Janis). BUT she also is really involved in school activities??? This doesn't make sense??
Why are Solomon's parents never home??? They seem to work jobs that would have regular hours but what do I know.
Why was there this weird subplot where everyone's families are messed up?? The worst was Lisa's mom/stepfather drama WHY WAS THAT THERE. WHAT DID IT ADD. A reason for Lisa to want to leave Upland forever?? She could've just had an absent mother. If the mom was a necessary character for Lisa to discuss Solomon/Clark with, and the subsequent coded-homophobic mother/teen defense, that could have happened without any weird stepfather history.
Why was it important to include Drew (Clark's younger sister) when she doesn't add anything to the plot?
What was this whole weird religious/born-again Christianity undercurrent included but then never explained? Personally, it didn't add anything of value it just became some excuse for vague homophobia and word count-extending. For example: Clark "doesn't believe in global warming" and it's because his mom is a born-again Christian or whatever. WHY?!? This book was written in 2016, and belief in global warming SHOULD NOT be a question, especially in a mainstream YA book. Unless you write cult Christian novels, or the characters laugh in his face/argue with him about it, or if that character trait was important IN ANY WAY to the rest of the story, I don't think it's important. AND it's potentially damaging because it's not funny to just say something utterly stupid like "the water is cold so lol global warming isn't real" and just move on without any explanation! It's such a small detail that I'm harping on here, I know, but listen. It added NO VALUE to the story. It's irrelevant information, and if you're going to have this "progressive" novel discussing mental health issues and gay issues in respectful, easy-to-digest ways, adding this nonsense doesn't do anything.
Lastly, the dialogue was so fast paced and the constant banter-ful remarks felt almost unrealistic at times. Idk, it was just one-liner after one-liner and I feel like real people don't have conversations like that.
Initially I gave this book 2 stars because I feel like all books have merits, and what I think about it is just personal preference and doesn't detract from its inherent value. However, after my rant below I'm tempted to give a 1 star because I just really don't like this book :/
---------------------------------------------------
>:(
Don't make it gay if it's not going to be gay!!
I guess I'm just upset because I wanted MLM romance but just got a bunch of "hints" for it to lead to nothing and awkwardness and drama.
Also, all these characters are WEIRD. They just don't act how real teens act??? Especially Lisa. NO teenager is this insanely driven and also willingly wakes up at 7am on a summer weekday.
Do Lisa and Clark not have lives outside of school and Solomon?? ""Conveniently"" Clark hates his teammates and apparently has ZERO other friends except Lisa. And then Lisa is somehow a huge, obnoxious extrovert but has one friend (Janis). BUT she also is really involved in school activities??? This doesn't make sense??
Why are Solomon's parents never home??? They seem to work jobs that would have regular hours but what do I know.
Why was there this weird subplot where everyone's families are messed up?? The worst was Lisa's mom/stepfather drama WHY WAS THAT THERE. WHAT DID IT ADD. A reason for Lisa to want to leave Upland forever?? She could've just had an absent mother. If the mom was a necessary character for Lisa to discuss Solomon/Clark with, and the subsequent coded-homophobic mother/teen defense, that could have happened without any weird stepfather history.
Why was it important to include Drew (Clark's younger sister) when she doesn't add anything to the plot?
What was this whole weird religious/born-again Christianity undercurrent included but then never explained? Personally, it didn't add anything of value it just became some excuse for vague homophobia and word count-extending. For example: Clark "doesn't believe in global warming" and it's because his mom is a born-again Christian or whatever. WHY?!? This book was written in 2016, and belief in global warming SHOULD NOT be a question, especially in a mainstream YA book. Unless you write cult Christian novels, or the characters laugh in his face/argue with him about it, or if that character trait was important IN ANY WAY to the rest of the story, I don't think it's important. AND it's potentially damaging because it's not funny to just say something utterly stupid like "the water is cold so lol global warming isn't real" and just move on without any explanation! It's such a small detail that I'm harping on here, I know, but listen. It added NO VALUE to the story. It's irrelevant information, and if you're going to have this "progressive" novel discussing mental health issues and gay issues in respectful, easy-to-digest ways, adding this nonsense doesn't do anything.
Lastly, the dialogue was so fast paced and the constant banter-ful remarks felt almost unrealistic at times. Idk, it was just one-liner after one-liner and I feel like real people don't have conversations like that.
sapphirelight's review against another edition
4.0
4.8
CLARCK , LISA , SOL AND HIS FAMILY
EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL
CLARCK , LISA , SOL AND HIS FAMILY
EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
4.0
This continued to be just a little bit different from what I expected throughout, in a really good way. Lisa comes up with a great plan to get into the college of her dreams and decided to befriend and secretly cure Solomon, who hasn't left his house in 3 years due to intense agoraphobia and panic disorder. She drags her boyfriend, Clark, into it as well and the the three teens develop in surprising ways.
Despite Lisa's highly unethical plan for Solomon, this book handles mental illness in a sensitive, but not overly sentimental way. The three main characters feel real and not sensationalized in any way. There are no easy answers here and that's the book's biggest strength.
Despite Lisa's highly unethical plan for Solomon, this book handles mental illness in a sensitive, but not overly sentimental way. The three main characters feel real and not sensationalized in any way. There are no easy answers here and that's the book's biggest strength.
hayleybeale's review against another edition
4.0
Sol is agoraphobic and prone to panic attacks, and Lisa is an amateur psychologist who wants to 'fix' him, and at the same time use this experience to win a college scholarship. Sol's mental illness is integral to this portrait of thoroughly and realistically complicated teens on the verge of adulthood, without it being an 'issue' novel. See my full review here. Reviewed from an ARC.