Yee, Lisa. The Kidney Hypothetical, Or
How to Ruin Your Life in Seven Days. Scholastic/Arthur Levine 2015 266p. $17.99 ISBN 978-0-545-23094-0 hs Conflict E-BN
Higgs Boson
Bing, named by his mother who worked at JPL, or the Jet Propulsion Lab, has enough to deal with because of
family expectations. His father wants him to be a third-generation Harvard Dental School-educated dentist.
It’s the last week of senior year. He is totally on track when his life is derailed by his girlfriend of
over two years, who can’t believe he wouldn’t give her a
kidney if she asked. A smear campaign ensues, and he is known as Dinky Dick and other unflattering
names, and unflattering flyers are being posted
on campus and around town. He tries to overcome these and other
humiliating circumstances, including being seasick on the Senior Sail. In the last
week of school he stumbles onto an abandoned Airstream trailer and finds
Monarch, a girl who seems to do just as she wishes with no outside authority
telling her how to live and what to do with her life. This novel provides a sometimes funny, yet very serious look at
what parents’ expectations can do to a high-school
student. Readers will identify with Monarch, whose mysterious background is
finally revealed, as well as cheer for Higgs Boson as he aligns his future to
his own goals. This is a quick read that is fast-paced, with quirky characters that are very
believable.
Strongly
recommended for contemporary fiction collections as it addresses a very real
problem: parents directing their children to
overachieve in order to get into quality colleges in order to follow family
aspirations and occupations.
Summary:
Higg Bing is on track to be valedictorian and Best Senior, and he excels
in sports. When he refuses to answer a hypothetical question from
his girlfriend, he becomes a social pariah. Can he survive, and does he really want to
go to Harvard? Gr 8-11.
Friendship-Fiction, Love-Fiction, Parental
expectation-Fiction
--Lois McNicol
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