Standalone Sunday is a weekly feature created by Megan at Bookslayer Reads which aims to showcase standalone books which you loved or would recommend.
Highly Illogical Behaviour by John Corey Whaley
Sixteen year old Solomon has agoraphobia. He hasn’t left his house in three years, which is fine by him. At home, he is the master of his own kingdom—even if his kingdom doesn’t extend outside of the house.
Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to go to a top tier psychiatry program. She’ll do anything to get in.
When Lisa finds out about Solomon’s solitary existence, she comes up with a plan sure to net her a scholarship: befriend Solomon. Treat his condition. And write a paper on her findings. To earn Solomon’s trust, Lisa begins letting him into her life, introducing him to her boyfriend Clark, and telling him her secrets. Soon, Solomon begins to open up and expand his universe. But all three teens have grown uncomfortably close, and when their facades fall down, their friendships threaten to collapse as well.
After The Rest of Us Just Live Here, Highly Illogical Behaviour is one of the best books I’ve read that deals with mental illness. Solomon has agoraphobia, which is very different from Mikey’s OCD, but it was a topic that was wonderfully written and handled by the author. This is a story where the characters and the relationships really stand out. The relationship Solomon has with his parents is an incredibly supportive and understanding one, and the relationship Lisa, and later Clarke, builds with Solomon allows him to open up his world past the four walls of his home. The ending was a hopeful one more than anything else, but it was the perfect ending for this story and the characters.
“The world is big and scary and unforgiving. But we can survive out here. Solomon Reed did. I held his hands and we counted to ten and it was beautiful. He was an astronaut without a suit, but he was still breathing.”
You can check out my review for Highly Illogical Behaviour here.
What did you think of Highly Illogical Behaviour? Have you read it yet or is it still on your to-read list? Let me know in the comments and let me know if you took part in this week’s Standalone Sunday as well.
This book looks great! Will definitely have to check it out 🙂
SInead @ Less Reality More Books
https://lessrealitymorebooks.blogspot.ie/2017/02/stand-alone-sunday.html
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It’s an amazing book, and one I’d highly recommend as well! 😀
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I bought it because I suffer from agoraphobia and I can’t believe it still lies unread on my desk…!!
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Neither can I. Still you have it so I guess that means you’re one step closer to picking it up and reading it right? 🙂
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I haven’t read Highly Illogical Behaviour yet. But I have read another book by John Corey Whaley called Where Things Come Back and I enjoyed it a lot. (I basically read it in one sitting.) So I know that I enjoy his writing style and I definitely need to check out his other books, this one included. 🙂
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Oh I’d highly recommend Highly Illogical Behaviour in that case, and actually I wasn’t aware John Corey Whaley had any other books so I may check out Where Things Come Back myself. He does have a great writing style, I read this one in one sitting as well! 😀
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I haven’t read this, but I do remember when it was being promoted back when I went to YALLWEST. Is the author working on anything that has caught your attention nowadays? 😀
– Lashaan
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I think if I remember correctly around the time you went to YALLWEST (I think it was around spring/summer time right?) was around the time this book was released.
I’m not sure about anything new, I haven’t heard anything but I need to check out the authors Goodreads profile soon! 🙂
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This book is on my TBR! I totally need to read it omg it sounds like such an important and amazing read. I’m glad to see that you enjoyed it so much!
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That’s great to hear, and I’d highly recommend you pick it up soon in that case. This is an amazing read and I thought it was really well written, especially when dealing with a character with agoraphobia.
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I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book, I think I even remember reading your review and wanting to read it even more. I never got around to it last year but I’m pretty sure I have it on my list for this year. I’ve yet to read a book about agoraphobia so I’m really interested in that aspect. Plus, any contemporary that deals with mental illness well and has great supportive parents is one that I know I’m going to love. This is definitely another one I need to get around to soon. Great pick, Beth!! 😁💕
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There are a lot of great reviews out there for this book and all are well deserved in my opinion. Yeah I can’t remember when I posted my review for this book but I reckon around June/July time, after we started talking on WordPress I guess. This is definitely a book I’d highly recommend either way, it was the first book I read that dealt with agoraphobia and I thought the subject was really well written. Plus the relationships alone make this one worth reading.
I hope you get to this one soon, and that you really enjoy it as well. Thanks Melissa! 😀 ❤
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Yeah, it probably was. I know I read a lot of reviews for this one because it was floating around so much after it released. I kept wanting to see everyone’s thoughts on it lol.
In that case, it’ll definitely be one book I’ll have to try to get my hands on this year. Once I get past my reviews book and immediate reads. 😊
I hope so too and you’re welcome, Beth!! ♥
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I think that’s probably when I discovered it as well, it’s seemed to fade away a little recently. I haven’t seen a review for it in ages.
Ohh that’s great to hear, and yeah review books have to come first but hopefully you’ll have time for this one soon as well! 😀
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So much yes for this one. While I would’ve loved a bit more resolution in the ending, overall it was such a great book – funny and snarky and heartfelt at all the right times. Sol’s family is definitely the highlight. ❤
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Oh it’s a brilliant book isn’t it? And actually I quite enjoyed the ending. I thought it was hopeful without being too resolute, which I guess in my mind fit with Sol’s character and development throughout the book. Either way the families relationships was the highlight for me as well. 😀 ❤
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What a great choice, Beth! I really enjoyed this book as well, and thought mental health was dealt with in a very realistic way 🙂
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Thanks so much Marie. 🙂 I’ve been looking through books I’ve read recently that I can feature for this feature and couldn’t really believe I hadn’t gotten around to this one sooner. I thought it was an amazing book, and yeah I really liked the way Solomon’s mental health issues were dealt with too.
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I’ve been meaning to get a copy of this for a while now!! So many books!! 😂😂😂
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I know what you mean because I have so many books I need to get around to as well. But this is an amazing book Lauren, I hope when you do pick it up you enjoy it as much as I did! 😀
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I think I’m going to add this to my TBR. Thanks for sharing!! ❤❤
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That’s great to hear. I really hope you enjoy this one when you get around to it, and that’s all right! 🙂 ❤️
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I’m sure I will!
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I need to add this to my TBR. Sounds like a book I’d enjoy. 🙂
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It’s an amazing book Jill, and I hope you do enjoy it if you decide to pick it up one day! 🙂
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I’ve been getting some really awesome diverse standalone recommendations from you lately, Beth! Thank you so much! I think this book sounds amazing… and of course, it sounds even better since it’s a standalone. 😉
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That’s all right. I definitely need to add some more diverse books to my to-read list but I guess it helps to look back and see how many I’ve read so far!
This is a brilliant book, and the subject is really well handled as well. I hope you enjoy it if you decide to pick this one up. 🙂
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Thanks, Beth! Keep the great recs coming 🙂
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I enjoyed this one a lot too, and I agree with you, the mental illness was very well written into the story.
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It’s an amazing story, and yeah I don’t know a lot about agoraphobia and how it changes the lives of the people who suffer from it but the subject was really well handled in this book. 🙂
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