BOOK REVIEW: Thanks for the Trouble

Thanks for the Trouble

Thanks for the Trouble, by Tommy Wallach, is more proof of my theory that if you really want something interesting, compelling, thought provoking, and different you should look in the Young Adult section.

In this book, the narrator, Parker, is a troubled kid who hasn’t spoken a word in five years. Not since he witnessed the death of his father. He cuts school one day, and happens upon Zelda, who seems to be Parker’s age, but claims to be much older.

Parker can’t speak, but he can write, and through Parker’s journal he and Zelda get to know one another and discover each other’s secrets. Zelda promises Parker an adventure, and promises him, too, that once their adventure is over, she will throw herself off the Golden Gate Bridge. Why? Will she? Is she serious? Is she lying about her bizarre back story? And why can’t or won’t Parker actually speak when he clearly has so much to say?

I won’t give any spoilers, but the book was a real page turner, one I stayed up way too late reading because I couldn’t put it down. Plus, there’s lines like this: “I think maybe the closest thing we mortals get to magic is change.”

To read more, or to buy the book, click the handy-dandy Amazon link below.