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A review by reynastillo
Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley
3.0
It's been 3 years, and Solomon Reed hasn't left his house. And he doesn't see any reason to leave anytime soon.
It's been 3 years, and Lisa Praytor can't stop thinking about the crazy kid who jumped into a fountain on the first day of school and since that day never came back.
With Lisa set on "fixing" Solomon, she doesn't expect to actually form a friendship with him. And Solomon doesn't expect it either. As Solomon meets more people, such as Lisa's boyfriend, Clark, and begins to let his guard down, he finds himself drawn to the outside world. But just when he thought he could trust them, he finds that their intentions may not have been so selfless, and all the progress he made threatens to crumble.
This is the basis of the book Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley. The book is written in 3rd person alternating viewpoints between Lisa and Solomon. The writing style is succinct and simple, beginning with an unexpected event but ending with a predictable resolution. The characters are relatively one-sided: I am able to describe them with one word. Lisa: perfectionist, Clark: kind, Janis: petty, and Solomon: vulnerable. There isn't too much to them after that.
Highly Illogical Behavior attempts to tackle heavy topics such as mental illness, losing friends, and betraying trust. The book itself is nothing spectacular. No ground-breaking revelations or inspirational commentary on mental health in today's society. Writing about agoraphobia is a unique idea, to be sure, but the conflicts were shoved in haphazardly and made a bigger deal than they actually were while still managing to have predictable plot lines and resolutions. I could predict what happened far in advance (such as Solomon falling in love with Clark, which I predicted the second Solomon came out). The "will-they-won't-they" between Solomon and Clark was very one-dimensional and petty, not adding much to the plot.
That being said, the book had its moments. When Solomon forced himself to go visit his grandma despite feeling extremely panicked, for example. He did this for the love for his family (not a romantic love interest) and was pushed into a situation that was uncomfortable to him. This was truly a point of growth for his character where he learns that life goes on its own terms and he can either adapt or stay put forever. I feel this message is very applicable to real life.
An interesting thing about this book is that it expands on what it means to survive. It is not only staying alive, but thriving. By the end of the book, Solomon learns to live out his life despite his mental illness and to forgive his friends despite their betrayal. Lisa survives through losing friendships and her secret being revealed, making her realize that what was important to her no longer matters so much in the long run.
If you liked books such as Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, it's fair to say that you'll enjoy this one, too. Both have circumstances that force the character to live inside and they both want to go out when introduced to friends from the outside world. The details differ greatly, making two separate stories from a similar idea. Both, however, are written in that more simplistic "young adult" style, making both books enjoyable for similar readers.
Was Highly Illogical Behavior a bad book? No, but it didn't outshine any other mental health books. While this book could be useful to start conversations about mental health, it should not be the only source referenced when talking about it.
Maybe if they had called it Highly Predictable Behavior as opposed to Highly Illogical Behavior, I would've known what I was getting myself into.
It's been 3 years, and Lisa Praytor can't stop thinking about the crazy kid who jumped into a fountain on the first day of school and since that day never came back.
With Lisa set on "fixing" Solomon, she doesn't expect to actually form a friendship with him. And Solomon doesn't expect it either. As Solomon meets more people, such as Lisa's boyfriend, Clark, and begins to let his guard down, he finds himself drawn to the outside world. But just when he thought he could trust them, he finds that their intentions may not have been so selfless, and all the progress he made threatens to crumble.
This is the basis of the book Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley. The book is written in 3rd person alternating viewpoints between Lisa and Solomon. The writing style is succinct and simple, beginning with an unexpected event but ending with a predictable resolution. The characters are relatively one-sided: I am able to describe them with one word. Lisa: perfectionist, Clark: kind, Janis: petty, and Solomon: vulnerable. There isn't too much to them after that.
Highly Illogical Behavior attempts to tackle heavy topics such as mental illness, losing friends, and betraying trust. The book itself is nothing spectacular. No ground-breaking revelations or inspirational commentary on mental health in today's society. Writing about agoraphobia is a unique idea, to be sure, but the conflicts were shoved in haphazardly and made a bigger deal than they actually were while still managing to have predictable plot lines and resolutions. I could predict what happened far in advance (such as Solomon falling in love with Clark, which I predicted the second Solomon came out). The "will-they-won't-they" between Solomon and Clark was very one-dimensional and petty, not adding much to the plot.
That being said, the book had its moments. When Solomon forced himself to go visit his grandma despite feeling extremely panicked, for example. He did this for the love for his family (not a romantic love interest) and was pushed into a situation that was uncomfortable to him. This was truly a point of growth for his character where he learns that life goes on its own terms and he can either adapt or stay put forever. I feel this message is very applicable to real life.
An interesting thing about this book is that it expands on what it means to survive. It is not only staying alive, but thriving. By the end of the book, Solomon learns to live out his life despite his mental illness and to forgive his friends despite their betrayal. Lisa survives through losing friendships and her secret being revealed, making her realize that what was important to her no longer matters so much in the long run.
If you liked books such as Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, it's fair to say that you'll enjoy this one, too. Both have circumstances that force the character to live inside and they both want to go out when introduced to friends from the outside world. The details differ greatly, making two separate stories from a similar idea. Both, however, are written in that more simplistic "young adult" style, making both books enjoyable for similar readers.
Was Highly Illogical Behavior a bad book? No, but it didn't outshine any other mental health books. While this book could be useful to start conversations about mental health, it should not be the only source referenced when talking about it.
Maybe if they had called it Highly Predictable Behavior as opposed to Highly Illogical Behavior, I would've known what I was getting myself into.