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 9
... held up one hand and touched her fingers and silent- ly did a countdown . Five , four , three , two , one . The bell rang , and the rest of the class roused itself into mobility as the students began to collect books , scrape chairs ...
... held up one hand and touched her fingers and silent- ly did a countdown . Five , four , three , two , one . The bell rang , and the rest of the class roused itself into mobility as the students began to collect books , scrape chairs ...
Page 17
... held my hand over my mouth when I spoke in hopes that no one would notice . " I could feel that . When you touched me . " " I seem to be corporeal in some respects . " " Seem to be what ? " " You felt my hand on your arm . " " I did ...
... held my hand over my mouth when I spoke in hopes that no one would notice . " I could feel that . When you touched me . " " I seem to be corporeal in some respects . " " Seem to be what ? " " You felt my hand on your arm . " " I did ...
Page 26
... held out something in his hand . I put out my own hand , palm upward , and he dropped into it twenty or so of those little shiny ball bearings used in skateboard wheels . He motioned up at the sky , and I seemed to understand that I was ...
... held out something in his hand . I put out my own hand , palm upward , and he dropped into it twenty or so of those little shiny ball bearings used in skateboard wheels . He motioned up at the sky , and I seemed to understand that I was ...
Page 31
... held one half in my hand ; Dr. Yumato held the other half in his . " See , " he said , " two seemingly independent parts of the brain . Now give me back the left hemisphere . " He wanted to prove some point about how the two were ...
... held one half in my hand ; Dr. Yumato held the other half in his . " See , " he said , " two seemingly independent parts of the brain . Now give me back the left hemisphere . " He wanted to prove some point about how the two were ...
Page 32
... held one half in my hand ; Dr. Yumato held the other half in his . " See , " he said , " two seemingly independent parts of the brain . Now give me back the left hemisphere . " He wanted to prove some point about how the two were ...
... held one half in my hand ; Dr. Yumato held the other half in his . " See , " he said , " two seemingly independent parts of the brain . Now give me back the left hemisphere . " He wanted to prove some point about how the two were ...
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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.