I adored both Mosquitoland and Kids of Appetite...so when several reviewers referred to the newest David Arnold book as "surreal," I wasn't sure what to expect.

Well, it was fantastic. It has that cool "realistic with a touch of sci-fi" vibe. Kind of like Shaun David Hutchinson or Adam Silvera. You know...that feeling where you're not sure if there really is some hinky sci-fi stuff happening or if your narrator is just a touch unreliable?

Noah is adorable and befuddled and absolutely POSITIVE that the people in his life have changed significantly...but he can't figure out why some things (his Strange Fascinations, his sister, his uncle) haven't changed at all. There's a lot of deep thoughts and existential contemplation, but really it's an endearing look at loneliness, disappointing your loved ones, and growing up even when it's scary.

Couldn't get into this book, unfortunately. I DNF'd a few chapters in. The writing seemed weird to me, and I just was not feeling it. May try to reread again at a later date, because it wasn't bad, I just couldn't get into it.

Full of stream of consciousness ideas as told by an unreliable existential teen narrator. I couldn't decide if it was the most brilliant coming of age story I'd read, or the raving dribbles of a lunatic mind lost in the crisis of high school. Fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower may find a new love in this novel.

Not for me. I wasn't interested in Noah's life regardless of how verbose it was told. Yes, it is well written, it is just that eloquent ramblings is not my thing.

Noah is a regular sixteen-year-old kid who loves David Bowie, and swimming. Then he gets hypnotized. Things change around him, and he sees people behaving oddly. Will things ever get back to normal?

This story offers an intriguing premise: the protagonist, Noah, emerges from an attempted hypnosis to discover that details of the world around him have changed.

For example, Noah's friend Alan was an avid collector of DC superhero comics books, but post-hypnosis, Alan is a devotee of the <i>Marvel</i> universe. Noah's parents owned the complete DVD set of the sitcom "Friends;" now, apparently, they're obsessed with the TV show "Seinfeld."

Strangely, though, <i>some</i> things in Noah's life remain steadfastly constant; they're those people and things around which Noah forms his own "Strange Fascinations."

I found this to be a captivating story that kept me guessing throughout. For its use of mature language, I'd recommend this book for older teens and young adults.

Can I give it a 6? Or a 7? How about a 12??? Cuz, Damn! This book is, as Noah would explain to his mother, "Fine AF!" So intensely searching and full of way more questions than answers and this field of people, not characters, because I know they must exist or else how the hell could he write them so beautifully and besides which they need to exist so that I may know them and have "conversations" with them! I am both thrilled to have experienced this book and a little sad to say that my first ever encounter with it is now at an end. Thank you, NetGalley, for arcs and, much more importantly, thank you, David Arnold cuz', just, you are kinda amazing AF at this writing gig!

(For the purist review readers, I laughed, out loud, often and repeatedly and I wept openly and without shame more than once while reading this exceptionally-crafted novel which breaks all the rules but I never cared!)

Top Ten All Time, My Man. Top Ten. ♥

David Arnold is an author who, for me at least, just keeps getting better. While I enjoyed both his previous other works, this one is his true winner. The concept is wacky -- just what I've come to expect -- but also believable, something that his other books (in particular Mosquitloand) lacked. The characters are real, the friendships are remarkable, and the relationship between Noah and his parents is realistic and loving -- something I wish was reflected more in young adult literature. And the mystery, the unsettling nature of the story, the discovery and conclusion -- they all stand up, and the end does not disappoint.