The Kidney Hypothetical

September 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-Higgs Boson Bing has been living to make his parents happy since his older brother, Jeffery, passed away. He's done exceptionally well in school and is headed to Harvard when he graduates. But after a fight with his girlfriend about whether he'd give her a kidney if she needed one, Higgs begins to unravel. Ramon de Ocampo inflects the right amount of teen angst in Higgs, never making him a caricature but rather a flawed teen who wants to understand who he is. Ocampo uses his higher and lower ranges to cover emotions from frustration to liberation as Higgs confronts his imperfections. He also handles female voices well, including Monarch, the snarky goth girl who magically appears in a field and becomes Higgs's confidante. Monarch's throaty, rebellious voice is irresistible, and she has plenty of secrets that listeners will guess before the clueless, lovesick hero does. VERDICT Give this to fans of Don Calame's or Brent Crawford's books.-Shari Fesko, Southfield Public Library, MI

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 26, 2015
The downward spiral of popular high-school senior Higgs Boson Bing, named after the elusive “God particle,” begins when a classmate asks him a hypothetical question about his willingness to donate a kidney to his girlfriend, Roo. Higgs’s hesitant answer does not bode well for his relationship with Roo, resulting in their breakup and a full-blown hate campaign against him. Now all of Higgs’s accolades—debate team captain, prom king, co-valedictorian, etc.—carry little weight, with someone at school bent on ruining his life with pranks, brutal criticisms, and more. Suddenly friendless, Higgs feels hopeless until he meets Monarch, a girl who has taken up residence in an abandoned Airstream trailer. Monarch doesn’t offer Higgs pity but rather hard questions that force him to rethink himself and his future. Alternately heart-wrenching and hilarious (“The Asian Jewish English American thing was a real stumper when it came to filling out my college applications,” Higgs reflects), Yee’s (Absolutely Maybe) portrait of a flawed superstar introduces a cast of vibrant, memorable characters and an eloquent message about following one’s desires. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House.