Word Out 2014

Tear off your own head:

Librarian review:

This book is weird. But in the absolute best way that a book can be weird. The main protagonist of the book is dying of cancer and the only part of his body that is not yet hurt by the disease is his head. So as part of a new "treatment" protocol his head is removed and frozen so that in the future when the technology allows it he can be brought "back" to life on another body. However, the technology changes much faster than Travis's family or friends (or even he himself) had anticipated and in about 5 years Travis is back on his new body and feet.

Imagine that you blink your eyes and then reopen them and it is 5 years later. The world has moved on without Travis, his girlfriend is engaged, his best friend has gone back into the closet and denies he was ever gay, and his paren'ts have mourned him and moved on. This is an awkward situation and Travis makes it even more awkward by still being an awkward teenager in his head. There is only one other person in the world who Travis can relate to and that is another man who has also had his head attached to a new body. In many ways this book gives a new meaning to "an out of body" experience, but it also allows for readers to imagine not what life would be like if they never lived, but what live would be like if they stopped living it and then returned. Travis is in a confusing space and is mentally tearing off his own head trying to find a place in the world for himself. Great read, weird subject. Totally recommend it.

Kirkus review:

The madcap story of a boy who loses his head and finds it again.

In the not-too-distant future, 16-year-old Travis Coates loses his head once—literally—after a deadly bout with cancer left him for dead. His head, cryogenically frozen as part of an experimental process to bring cancer victims back to life using donors, is the only thing that’s left of him until he wakes up with it attached to the body of Jeremy Pratt in the Saranson Center for Life Preservation five years later. From there on out, Travis’ life gets just as crazy as Whaley’s bizarre setup. Lots of changes have taken place in five years, and Travis soon finds himself losing his head again, in the figurative sense. He has to drag his best friend back out of the closet, discovers terrible secrets about his paren'ts, and pursues his old girlfriend, who is now 21 and engaged to another, great guy, to readers’ cringe-inducing embarrassment on his behalf. Readers will recognize the Printz winner’s trademark lovable characterizations in Travis’ newfound BFF Hatton, who dubs him “Noggin” on his first day back at school. They’ll also recognize the poignantly rendered reflections on life, love, death and everything in between. Weird? Yes. Great? Not quite, but it’s pretty solid. It may be convoluted as hell, but Whaley’s signature cadence and mad storytelling skillz are worth every page.

A satisfyingly oddball Frankenstein-like tale of connectivity.