Thanks for the Trouble

Starred review from November 9, 2015
In response to a college application question (“What was the single most important experience of your life?”), Parker Santé, a mute, Hispanic 17-year-old, writes an incredible story. When he steals a wad of cash from a silver-haired, sharp-witted girl named Zelda, who is planning to throw herself off the Golden Gate Bridge, Parker isn’t sure what to make of her. After agreeing not to jump until her money is spent and Parker promises to apply to college, the two embark on a breakneck tour of parties, shopping, and confrontations with Parker’s mother, an alcoholic consumed by memories of her deceased husband. Parker may not believe that Zelda is, as she claims, 246 years old, but there’s no doubt that she helps him rediscover a longing to participate in the world. Wallach (We All Looked Up) delivers well-rounded, witty characters (“Thinking of your parents being young is like thinking of Winnie-the-Pooh going to the bathroom: just fucking weird”)—all contemplating whether living a full life is better than living a long one. Bittersweet moments intersect with the intricate fairy tales Parker writes, compelling readers to judge what is real and what is make-believe. Ages 14–up. Agent: John Cusick, Folio Literary Management.

Starred review from November 15, 2015
A high school senior who hasn't spoken in five years meets a mysterious girl who claims to be a lot older than possible. Silent Parker Sante loves fancy hotels, because they're beautiful and filled with rich people whose stuff he can swipe. While hanging out at San Francisco's Palace Hotel on Halloween, he's transfixed by a lovely, silver-haired girl who looks around his age. He steals her cash, but circumstances lead to him properly introducing himself to the girl, Zelda Toth. They swap some personal information, he writing and she talking: he's been mute since his father died in a car accident, and he writes short stories in spiral-bound notebooks; she plans to spend her last five grand and then jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. Thus begins a whirlwind couple of days filled with unexpected firsts for Parker and possible lasts for Zelda. In a lesser writer's hands, Zelda (who claims to be nearly 250 years old) would have devolved into the ultimate manic pixie dream girl, but Wallach explores her journey with enough depth that her role isn't just to act as Parker's guide. The author of We All Looked Up (2015) manages to bypass the sophomore slump with this fascinating and romantic tale that's less about whether Zelda's really forever 18 and more about the power of sharing stories. An absorbing coming-of-age narrative about the power of connection. (Fiction. 14 & up)

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Starred review from January 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-After his father tragically died before his eyes five years prior, Parker Sante was left mute. Angry and a bit lost, he spends most of his days alone. He frequently ditches school to hang out in random hotels where he writes in his journal and steals from unsuspecting hotel guests. On one of these typical days, he notices a beautiful girl with striking silver hair. She catches his eye when revealing a large amount of money in an extravagant display of gratuitous tipping. Parker decides to steal her large wad of cash and accidentally leaves his journal behind-with a story about her written inside. When he reunites with her to get his journal, he discovers Zelda Toth is more than she appears. She claims to be over 200 years old but does not age. Wallach artfully crafts a novel that raises questions about mortality, the scarring impact of loss, and what it truly means to live and love. VERDICT A unique and compelling tale. The narrator's hilariously crass but poignant voice is sure to intrigue even the most reluctant of readers.-Ellen Fitzgerald, White Oak Library District, Lockport, IL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016
Two introspective teensone silent and one possibly immortalshare a life- changing weekend in this contemporary, fantastical romance. Parker Sante, seventeen, has psychogenic aphonia; he stopped talking after his father died five years ago. He resists treatment and communicates via notebook, deliberately distancing himself from his peers and his future. Then he meets Zeldaa mysterious, silver-haired girl who says she's lived for centuries. She's on her way to finally end it all by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge, but first she invites Parker to help spend her life savings; smitten, he accepts. Parker recounts their adventures with a whip-smart, sardonic narrative voice in this fast-paced romp around an atmospheric San Francisco, interspersed with Parker's fantasy short stories and sustained by a steady course of philosophic (and flirtatious) banter. While Parker tries to unravel the truth about Zelda's wild claim, Zelda is on a mission to help Parker shed his apathy so he can enjoy the pleasures life has to offer. A romantic wish-fulfillment fantasy? Absolutely, but the pair's ample chemistry and illuminating conversations about what makes life worth living make both their fast-burning romance and Parker's eventual transformation feel organic and well earned. jessica tackett macdonald

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)