Formerly hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
This week’s topic is…
Best Books I’ve Read In 2018 (So Far)
(CLICK ON THE BOOK COVER TO BE LINKED TO MY REVIEW OR ITS GOODREADS’ PAGE)
(CLICK ON THE BOOK COVER TO BE LINKED TO MY REVIEW OR ITS GOODREADS’ PAGE)
Title: The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik
Author: David Arnold
Publisher: Viking Children’s
Release Date: May 22, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Synopsis:
The New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite and Mosquitoland brings a speculative twist to his latest novel. The result: an incisive and deeply humane story with the feel of Haruki Murakami for teens.
“An epic wonder”* from the bestselling author of Mosquitoland
This is Noah Oakman → sixteen, Bowie believer, concise historian, disillusioned swimmer, son, brother, friend.
Then Noah → gets hypnotized.
Now Noah → sees changes–inexplicable scars, odd behaviors, rewritten histories–in all those around him. All except his Strange Fascinations . . .
A stunning surrealist portrait, The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is a story about all the ways we hurt our friends without knowing it, and all the ways they stick around to save us.
Told in first person point of view, The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is a coming-of-age story that explores the strange and fascinating life of Noah Oakman. Noah is tired of figuratively wearing the same old sweater. After being hypnotized, Noah starts noticing all these crazy physical and personality changes with his family, friends, and even his dog. As Noah explores these odd occurrences, he also starts contemplating the definition of being alone versus alienation. Throughout the novel, Noah delves into his life choices while backpacking his favorite authors, books, musicians like David Bowie, and iconic songs along for the ride. Check out my 5-star RAVING review HERE.
WEEK ONE
May 7 – The Blonde Bookworm – Review
May 8 – Confessions of a YA Reader – Review + My Strange Fascinations
May 9 – Forever Bookish – Review
May 10 – Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile – Playlist with Graphic Quotes
May 11 – Adventures in YA Publishing – Author Q&A
WEEK TWO
May 14 – The Nerdy Girl Express – Review
May 15 – A Court of Coffee and Books – Review + Graphic Quotes
May 16 – BookCrushin – Review + Playlist
May 17 – Mind of a Book Dragon – Review
May 18 – Tales of the Ravenous Reader – Author Guest Post: What Would Your Strange Fascination Be?
WEEK THREE
May 21 – Pop! Goes the Reader – Wallpaper
May 22 – The Young Folks – Author Q&A
May 23 – Page Travels – Creative Instagram
May 24 – Bookfoolery – Review
May 25 – Dazzled by Books – Candle Creation Post + Review
WEEK FOUR
May 28 – Paper Trail YA – Author Q&A
May 29 – Snowandbooks – Review + Aesthetic Board
May 30 – Reading Writing and Me – Book Review
May 31 – The Radiant Reader – Playlist + Creative Instagram Picture
June 1 – We Live and Breathe Books – Review + Moodboard
David Arnold lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with his (lovely) wife and (boisterous) son. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite and Mosquitoland, and his books have been translated into a dozen languages.
WEBSITE / TWITTER / GOODREADS /
FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM
Note: Thank you to Penguin Teen for having me on this blog tour and for providing me a review copy to read for free in exchange for an honest review. All statements and opinions are my own. Please note that I do not own or have rights to any of the music, lyrics, quotes, or videos shown in this blog post. All quote images were created by me.
Title: The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik
Author: David Arnold
Publisher: Viking Children’s
Release Date: May 22, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Synopsis:
The New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite and Mosquitoland brings a speculative twist to his latest novel. The result: an incisive and deeply humane story with the feel of Haruki Murakami for teens.
“An epic wonder”* from the bestselling author of Mosquitoland
This is Noah Oakman → sixteen, Bowie believer, concise historian, disillusioned swimmer, son, brother, friend.
Then Noah → gets hypnotized.
Now Noah → sees changes–inexplicable scars, odd behaviors, rewritten histories–in all those around him. All except his Strange Fascinations . . .
A stunning surrealist portrait, The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is a story about all the ways we hurt our friends without knowing it, and all the ways they stick around to save us.
First off . . . WHOA!
There is no one way to explain the profound literary oddities and beautiful complexities of The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik. But for me, this book was a combination of my favorite movie, one of my favorite books, and one of my favorite TV shows. Mix the quirks and cerebral explorations found in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, add in a dash of Holden Caulfield’s blunt honesty and independent drive and the uncensored monologues of Angela Chase in My So-Called Life, and you get the perfect tome called The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik.
The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is a modern-day coming-of-age story that highlights and explores the emotional aspects of being alone versus loneliness. Told in first person point-of-view, Noah (the main character) explains to the reader that he is tired of figuratively wearing the same old sweater. He is tired of everyone expecting a traditional path for his future, when he honestly doesn’t even know what he wants. So after drinking the fruitiest of alcoholic beverages and ranting to a random stranger, Noah is hypnotized and wakes up noticing all these crazy physical and personality changes with his family, friends, and even his dog. The only constant in his life is his hilarious and good-hearted sister, Penny. For months, Noah unravels his own thoughts and exerts himself into the lives of lonely strangers. And in the end, Noah wakes up to a world of panic, concerns, heartache, but more importantly, love, compassion, and a triangular friendship.
David Arnold is one of my favorite young adult writers because his novels always encompass so much passion; his characters are so authentic and his storytelling always provides a realistic truth and the raw grittiness of teenage life. So when it comes to The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik, once again, David wrote a book that took my love for his work to the next level.
This contemporary book, with a sprinkle of science fiction, made me laugh so hard but also tear up in other scenes. The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik made me want to listen to Bowie non-stop and watch my favorite episodes of Gilmore Girls. And oddly enough, this novel made me think about how much I love my younger brother and how I appreciate that he is that stable constant in my life. If you love humming to the theme song of Friends and following a eccentric character that takes you on an unbeaten path, pull up a chair and open the pages to Noah’s strange and fascinating life known as The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik.
David Arnold lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with his (lovely) wife and (boisterous) son. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite and Mosquitoland, and his books have been translated into a dozen languages.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that highlights pre-publication/upcoming releases that readers cannot wait to get their hands on. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
Title: The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik
Author: David Arnold
Publication date: May 22, 2018
Publisher: Viking Children’s
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
This is Noah Oakman → sixteen, Bowie believer, concise historian, disillusioned swimmer, son, brother, friend.
Then Noah → gets hypnotized.
Now Noah → sees changes—inexplicable scars, odd behaviors, rewritten histories—in all those around him. All except his Strange Fascinations . . .