Thanks for the Trouble

Tommy Wallach, the New York Times bestselling author of the "stunning debut" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) We All Looked Up, delivers a brilliant new novel about a young man who overcomes a crippling loss and finds the courage to live after meeting an enigmatic girl. "Was this story written about me?"

I shrugged.

"Yes or no?"

I shrugged again, finally earning a little scowl, which somehow made the girl even more pretty.

"It's very rude not to answer simple questions," she said.

I gestured for my journal, but she still wouldn't give it to me. So I took out my pen and wrote on my palm.

I can't, I wrote. Then, in tiny letters below it: Now don't you feel like a jerk? Parker Sant hasn't spoken a word in five years. While his classmates plan for bright futures, he skips school to hang out in hotels, killing time by watching the guests. But when he meets a silver-haired girl named Zelda Toth, a girl who claims to be quite a bit older than she looks, he'll discover there just might be a few things left worth living for. From the celebrated author of We All Looked Up comes a unique story of first and last loves.