Bookanista Review: Noggin by John Corey Whaley

When I first saw the concept of this book, that a 16 year old boy's head is cut off, cryogenically frozen and then reattached to another body five years later, I thought it was too absurd NOT to read. (I love absurdity in my fiction after all)

What I expected from the cover was an all out comedy, but while there were parts of this novel that were funny and I did laugh out loud quite a bit, it was actually quite an honest and heartbreaking look at facing death and getting a second chance at life.

Recently I watched the French TV series The Returned, and what fascinated me most about it was the look at how these people who came back from the dead years later no longer fit into their lives and how they and their loved ones came to terms with that (or not). Noggin explores this as well, and Travis's situation was similar to Simon's in the TV series, where he came back to find his girlfriend was engaged to another man.

Noggin has none of the creepiness of The Returned, though. Despite its' absurd sci-fi premise, it feels very contemporary. Travis's voice is yearning and sweet as he pines for his old life (without the body that let him down) and his soulmate Cate. The subplots and sub-themes support the main plot and theme well (with a surprising twist too) and everything just gelled for me story-wise. I definitely had some tears in my eyes at the end.

Noggin is out in hardcover now. Find out more about it at the author's website.

FTC disclosure: Won in a GoodReads Giveaway

What the other Bookanistas are reading this week:

Tracy Banghart swoons for STAR CURSED by Jessica Spotswood
Rebecca Behrens raves about PUSH GIRL by Bookanista Jessica Love
Christine Fonseca is riveted by SEKRET by Lindsay Smith
Jessica Love sings the praises of OPEN ROAD SUMMER by Emery Lord
Kimberly Sabatini loves BRAZEN by Katherine Longshore
Katy Upperman is crazy for THE SYMPTOMS OF MY INSANITY by Mindy Raf