Review: The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotic by David Arnold

Title: The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotic

Author:  David Arnold
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

Publishing Date:  May 22nd, 2018

Pages: 432
Genre: YA Adult Contemporary, Coming of Age 

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

This is Noah Oakman → sixteen, Bowie believer, concise historian, disillusioned swimmer, son, brother, friend.
Then Noah → gets hypnotized.
Now Noah → sees changes—inexplicable scars, odd behaviors, rewritten histories—in all those around him. All except his Strange Fascinations . . .

I am a huge David Arnold fan. I have read both of his previous books and I always come away feeling like I was a part of a magical world. Just for a bit. His books are contemporary but they are also so magical. I fall in love with all his characters and the stories and his beautiful words. This book was no different than its predecessor. So wonderful, magical, lovely, beautiful... and so many other words, which none can give the book justice.   

Noah is a junior and a swimmer and a writer. He lives his life hanging out with his two best friends, Alan and Val. He is on the swim team. He gets good grades. He writes. He reads and gets fascinated with history. 

One night he goes to a party with his friends, he drinks, gets drunk, goes home and goes to bed. The next morning he wakes up and many little things are different. Little things that only he is noticing. Something is off and he doesn't know what happened but he knows its from the night of the party. Noah goes on a mission to figure it all out which in turns leads him to some very interesting things, people, and places. 

I am so in love with this book and the writing, and the writing in all of David Arnold's books. He is amazing. If you have not read his books you need to like now. ASAP. He has a way of writing that just sings to the soul. All his words, the way things are described, the thoughts of the characters, the character development. It's all so beautiful, lyrical, and just fascinating. I can't sing enough praise for this author. 

That being said. This book left me feeling no different than the other two books I read. They leave me with a smile because the story was so good. They leave with me warm fuzzies because his characters are so beautiful and amazing, then they leave me all empty inside because it's over and I no longer know what to do with my life. 

I can't say whether I like the writing or the characters the best. They are both so good. The writing is beautiful but the characters are magnificent. They are so well developed and every sing character in the book (which there are many) are strong on their own. They have such strong voices and strong personalities, it doesn't matter how much story space they take up, they all feel just as important as the main character. They are different and kooky and so amazingly strange. I love them all. 

Noah and Alan and Val have such a wonderful friendship. They are loyal to each other and they understand each other completely. Alan was my favorite. I missed him when he wasn't in a scene. Everything that came out of his mouth just cracked me and had me rolling. I loved him and I just wanted him in my life.

Noah is pretty amazing too. He had so much to say and such an intersting thought process. He understood all the connections in the world and put meaning to them all. He understood the world and knew the history of so much, yet he couldn't figure out his own life or himself. He was searching for sure. 

The story was just so very unique and interesting. I enjoyed following Noah and his quest to figure out what the heck was going on. I loved unraveling all the changes he was seeing in his world. I loved seeing things through his eyes, discovering the little things, and meeting all the amazing new people. The best thing about the story was though, the weight it puts on the fact that this life was not meant to travel through alone. We need people in our lives, family, and friends, that help us navigate through the journey of life. 

I really could go on and on and on about my love for this book but my words would never do it justice. This book and all his books really are amazing. READ THEM! I mean it. I think this one was by far my favorite though. 

I absolutely adored this book!!!! 

David Arnold lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with his (lovely) wife and (boisterous) son. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland, Kids of Appetite, and The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik; his books have been translated into over a dozen languages. Learn more at davidarnoldbooks.com and follow him on Twitter @roofbeam and Instagram @iamdavidarnold.