Smoke and MirrorsSixteen-year-old Simon has always been considered odd. Three years ago, a skateboarding accident caused some minor brain damage and made him a little stranger. His career-driven parents mostly leave him alone, and he spends much of his time living in his imagination. When Andrea, whom no one else can see, appears to Simon in class, he is fascinated by her and strikes up a friendship, even though he knows she may be pure hallucination - he's had imaginary friends before. Andrea says she is there to "help" him, but before the story ends, Simon discovers that it is he who needs to help Andrea, not the other way around. |
From inside the book
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Page 21
... don't know what form of wisdom had kicked in , but they were wise enough not to have a second child . I expect they believed , by this point , that their first one was a bit of a failure or at least a freak ( with his fart bombs , his ...
... don't know what form of wisdom had kicked in , but they were wise enough not to have a second child . I expect they believed , by this point , that their first one was a bit of a failure or at least a freak ( with his fart bombs , his ...
Page 26
... don't want to sound melodramatic , but it was like the first time in my life I felt truly appreciated . I felt loved . And I did not want to have to return to my old , ordinary self . But I eventually returned anyway — to a blinding ...
... don't want to sound melodramatic , but it was like the first time in my life I felt truly appreciated . I felt loved . And I did not want to have to return to my old , ordinary self . But I eventually returned anyway — to a blinding ...
Page 33
... don't know , but I never did give him back his other half of the brain . It's still in my room at home and it is one of my prized possessions . The doctors all agreed I could not have my two hemispheres stitched back together . There ...
... don't know , but I never did give him back his other half of the brain . It's still in my room at home and it is one of my prized possessions . The doctors all agreed I could not have my two hemispheres stitched back together . There ...
Page 35
... don't you ? " " It's the beauty of the language , " I lied . " I know what you mean . It's fluid and musical . " " And all those deep meanings , " I added . " What do you think she'll ask on the exam ? " Well , that was a bit of a ...
... don't you ? " " It's the beauty of the language , " I lied . " I know what you mean . It's fluid and musical . " " And all those deep meanings , " I added . " What do you think she'll ask on the exam ? " Well , that was a bit of a ...
Page 36
... don't exist at all . That you are a product of my own mental imbalance . " " I hadn't noticed you were imbalanced . " " I cried when I thought you were gone . I mean , I really let go . Would a balanced person have done that ? " " I'm ...
... don't exist at all . That you are a product of my own mental imbalance . " " I hadn't noticed you were imbalanced . " " I cried when I thought you were gone . I mean , I really let go . Would a balanced person have done that ? " " I'm ...
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Common terms and phrases
accident Andrea asked astral projection ball bearings beach began better brain called coma crazy Dalway deep breath doctors door dream Druids eyes face father feel felt front girl gone guess hallway hand happened head hospital hurt Julian Jaynes kind knew laughed left hemisphere LESLEY CHOYCE looked Lydia marijuana meat loaf Mel Gibson mind mistletoe Montague mother moved never Occam's razor okay once Ozzie parents pills planet problems remember Ridgefield Roger Sperry satori seemed Shinar Simon sitting skateboard smiled someone sometimes sorry Star Trek stay stopped stuff Sumerians sure surfer talk tell things thought told took a deep touched tree tried Trina trying turned voice walked wanted watching waved weird window witch wondered words
Popular passages
Page 19 - Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake ; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog...
Page 9 - ... stool while he rolls about on the ground a large jar which serves as a churn and is placed on its side in order that it may more easily be rolled about to produce the agitation of the cream which results in butter. (Courtesy of the University Museum of Philadelphia) 175. Agriculture and cattle-breeding produced most of the wealth which formed the basis of Sumerian life, but there were other important sources of wealth.
Page 203 - I could tell from the look in her eyes that she did not know where she was. And she did not know who I was.
Page 124 - One source of evidence was trial by water. The unfortunate woman would be put in a pond. If she floated she was a witch. If she sank she was not. This event, the outcome of the experiment, was, by consensus, the information-as-thing needed for the identification of a witch. Nowadays it would be denied, by consensus, that the exact same event constituted the information that it had previously been accepted, by consensus, as being.
Page 67 - I would have to keep my wits about me. I would have to be more careful.
Page 128 - I did not want to go home. I couldn't bring myself to go back to school. I thought I heard someone call my name again, a nickname I hadn't heard for a long while. "Slime-on.
Page 34 - I wasn't going to be the one to break it up. I had my own problems with my right brain probably not even knowing what my left brain was doing.
Page 87 - Whatever was going on, I didn't want to be part of it. They looked very sullen. "Simon, we need to talk to you," my mother said, her voice sounding shaky.
Page 114 - She was the first girl I had ever kissed. She was the first for a lot of things, and maybe I should have apologized to Lydia and followed her.