{ "item_title" : "Thanks for the Trouble", "item_author" : [" Tommy Wallach "], "item_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.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers2.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/48/141/880/1481418807_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "17.99", "online_price" : "17.99", "our_price" : "17.99", "club_price" : "17.99", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }

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Life in hotel lobbies

When his father died five years ago, Parker Santé lost his ability to speak. He’s not that interested in talking to anyone, anyway. Instead, he spends most days loitering in hotel lobbies, picking the occasional pocket and filling journals with stories—until one afternoon at the Palace Hotel, when he steals a wad of cash from a silver-haired girl who claims to be 246 years old. When mysterious Zelda catches him in the act and offers to strike a deal, Parker begins to see that there might be some things in life worth paying attention to.

Tommy Wallach offers a sweet coming-of-age novel about a young man learning to overcome loss. Presented as a comically long college application essay, Parker’s narrative is brash and appropriately childish, yet attentive and at times profound. Though the framing device is a bit far-fetched, and Zelda leans a bit too far toward Manic Pixie Dream Girl, there’s a lot to love about the poignant, lighthearted Thanks for the Trouble.

 

This article was originally published in the March 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.