Wildman

by J. C. Geiger

Overview

This "thought-provoking, hilarious, eloquent" (Kirkus Reviews) debut novel by a remarkable new talent explores the relationship between identity and place, marvels at the speed at which a well-planned life can change forever, and asks the question, "

How can a total stranger understand you better than the people you've known your entire life?"

When Lance's '93 Buick breaks down in the middle of nowhere, he tells himself Don't panic. After all, he's valedictorian of his class. First-chair trumpet player. Scholarship winner. Nothing can stop Lance Hendricks. But the locals don't know that. They don't even know his name. Stuck in a small town, Lance could be anyone: a delinquent, a traveler, a maniac. One of the townies calls him Wildman, and a new world opens up.

He's ordering drinks at a roadhouse. Jumping a train. Talking to an intriguing older girl who is asking about his future. And what he really wants. As one day blurs into the next, Lance finds himself drifting farther from home and closer to a girl who makes him feel a way he's never felt before-like himself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781484758441
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/02/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

J.C. Geiger (www.jcgeiger.com) has eaten the beating heart of a snake, been deported from a full-moon party, and spent a short time locked in a Bolivian prison. He also writes fiction. His short works have appeared in the pages of Murky Depths and Horror Garage, and on stage at The Second City in Chicago. J.C. now writes, teaches, directs, and performs in the Pacific Northwest, where he can often be spotted behind the wheel of a 1993 Buick Century. It still runs like a dream. He is the author of Wildman and The Great Big One.

Editorial Reviews

* "A thought-provoking, hilarious, eloquent story of a young man realizing that the world is much larger than the one set up for him."— Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"I LOVE THIS BOOK. It's hilarious, sad, and unputdownable."— Laini Taylor, New York Times best-selling author and National Book Award Finalist

" Wildman is that good song that gets under your skin and respins your DNA."— Martha Brockenbrough, award-winning author of The Game of Love and Death

An Amazon Best Book Young Adult Book of 2017

From the Publisher

04/24/2017
Lance Hendricks plays by the rules. He’s first chair trumpet, his 4.0 GPA has won him a college scholarship to study business, and he and his longtime girlfriend are about to have sex for the first time. He’s a machine, always moving forward, until his car dies in rural Washington State, far from his Oregon home. The car was a gift from his absent father, and Lance won’t leave it, even when the repairs drag out for days. During this unscheduled break from regular life, Lance hangs with the locals at the town’s one bar, answers to the nickname Wildman, jumps trains, and spends time with lovely and unconventional Dakota. Debut novelist Geiger strands Lance a couple hours and a world away from comfort, setting up a dramatic climax in which Lance has to decide who to be—the rule-following boy he was raised as or the man who wants to play music and can’t stop trembling when he’s with Dakota. The book’s world is a bit binary—it’s either dreams or drudgery—but it effectively conveys the necessity of finding one’s true self. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (June)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2017-03-29
A high school valedictorian takes a madcap left turn in life. Confident, white, 18-year-old Lance Hendricks' life seems set for him. The all-around good guy's got a gorgeous girlfriend of two years, early admission into Oregon State University on a scholarship, a 4.0 GPA, and he's first chair trumpet player in the high school band. On his way home to Bend, Oregon, after a trip to Seattle, his 1993 Buick breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Washington, and the next five days change his life forever. Train-hopping, improbable brawls, whiskey shots, late-night parties at dive bars, and a mysteriously beautiful and unforgettable young white woman named Dakota are all part of the mix. Geiger's first novel for teens is based in reality, but well-drawn elements of magical realism haunt its boundaries. There are genuine hairpin twists that will have readers wondering where the plot is headed and if it's real. The ethereal Dakota is reminiscent of John Green's Alaska, while the rest of the cast is crass, uncouth, dangerous at times, and winningly human. All of this is amplified by Geiger's ability to spin laugh-out-loud, insight-filled one-liners to keep the pace up while the quieter moments balance the narrative with genuine beauty. A thought-provoking, hilarious, eloquent story of a young man realizing that the world is much larger than the one set up for him. (Fiction. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews