Noggin
Books | Juvenile Fiction / Family / General
3.9
(121)
John Corey Whaley
2014 National Book Award Finalist A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) Travis Coates has a good head…on someone else’s shoulders. A touching, hilarious, and wholly original coming-of-age story from John Corey Whaley, author of the Printz and Morris Award–winning Where Things Come Back.Listen—Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t.Now he’s alive again.Simple as that. The in between part is still a little fuzzy, but Travis can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is. Despite all logic, he’s still sixteen, but everything and everyone around him has changed. That includes his bedroom, his parents, his best friend, and his girlfriend. Or maybe she’s not his girlfriend anymore? That’s a bit fuzzy too. Looks like if the new Travis and the old Travis are ever going to find a way to exist together, there are going to be a few more scars. Oh well, you only live twice.
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More Details:
Author
John Corey Whaley
Pages
340
Publisher
Simon and Schuster
Published Date
2014-04-08
ISBN
1442458720 9781442458727
Community ReviewsSee all
"I have so much love for this book :’) the main character is not perfect by any means and his struggles are so relatable despite the scifi premise"
Kelli Kirkland
"Noggin was hands down one of the best books this year. The story was heartwarming, funny, devastating, and hopeful at different moments throughout or all at the same time. Travis Coates was given a second chance at life following a losing battle with cancer when he was 16 years old. They were told that cryogenics might be able to bring him back some day with a new body not infected with cancer. Travis and his parents took a leap of faith and Travis under went surgery to remove his head till some day in the future that he could be revived with a new body. That day finally came and Travis was given another chance to live cancer free. However, he comes to realize very quickly that many things have changed in the five years since he went to sleep. Throughout the story, the audience begins to understand that living again can be a blessing and a curse. Travis discusses in detail his life before cancer, while suffering from cancer and his very different life upon waking in a strange but recognizable new world. The people in Travis's life had grown up, changed, moved on from their grief and carried on with life without him. It was not only hard for him to except but for the people that were closest to him in the past to deal with his newly reanimated existence. This made for many very emotional moments for all of the characters involved, especially Travis, but the story, its characters and the events were so powerful and moving. John Corey Whaley's first novel "When Things Come Back Again" was an amazing book but "Noggin" was earth-shattering. The emotions, story, and events were at times overwhelming but beautiful, uplifting, and life changing. Highly recommend to anyone ages 16+."
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Allison Freeman