Gr 8 Up—Idea Deity suffers from the delusion that someone else is writing the story of his life; that he is living in a book. To combat his paranoia, he creates a fake band, Youforia. As it gains a cult following, even though it has never performed, Idea realizes that someone out there is pretending to be Youforia, and he's furious. Alternately, Reacher Mirage is Youforia's lead singer. Somewhere, someone is posting all kinds of secret information about his band online. He can't figure out how they know what they know, but he's determined to figure it out. As both boys head for the same concert venue with an enigmatic girl in tow, both Reacher and Idea feel as though someone else is pulling the strings, guiding their lives, but neither of them knows to what point. When their alternate worlds collide, the consequences have the power to affect the entire universe. Jeschonek has created a quirky, time- and space-bending adventure that might just gather a cult following of its own. This novel will probably appeal to fans of Libba Bray's Going Bovine (Delacorte, 2009), whose hallucinogenic road trip also induced thought-provoking and chaotic reactions. Libraries looking for a strong addition to their science-fiction collections will want to invest in this sophisticated novel.—Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT
Idea Deity and Reacher Mirage live in different realities connected by Youforia, a band that may or may not exist. The protagonists' realities begin to merge as each character continues to read--and become a part of--the same fantasy novel. There's some fun to be had from the inventive premise, but the intertwining elements are more muddled than complementary.
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