“I romanticize my past and I romanticize my future; right now is always the bleakest moment of my life.” – David Arnold, The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik
Noah Oakman is fascinated by a lot of things: David Bowie, Mila Henry, the Fading Woman, and the OMG. He doesn’t like the path he’s been set on: swimmer extraordinaire, on track to swim in college. So, on a whim, he gets hypnotized at a party. And now, small things are changing. His friends are into different things, their pasts are rewritten, even his family is affected. But only one thing remains the same: Noah’s fascinations.
Let me start by saying this is definitely my favorite book by David Arnold this far. There was something about Noah that felt so relatable; he’s on a path that other people have chosen for him that he doesn’t really think that he wants to do anymore. The pressure of their expectations has made him unable to make a decision one way or another–something we’ve all felt at one point in our lives. You have to make huge decisions about your future right out of high school? That’s logical.
To support the fantastic characters in the novel (which includes Alan, Val, and Noah’s sister Penny), we also get a quirky, original story. Noah gets hypnotized and ends up in this alternate reality where he starts to pull away from his friends and family, isolating himself because he can’t figure out to get back to normal. It was a refreshing young adult contemporary, and one I would happily read again because I’m sure there’s things I missed, like in any David Arnold novel.
With beautiful lines, quirky, lovable characters, and a fascinating (ha) premise, this is a book that I couldn’t put down.
5/5 stars