Thanks for the Trouble cover

Thanks for the Trouble

by Tommy Wallach

Tommy Wallach, the New York Times bestselling author of the stunning debut (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) We All Looked Up, delivers a brilliant new novel about a young man who overcomes a crippling loss and finds the courage to live after meeting an enigmatic girl. Was this story written about me? I shrugged. Yes or no? I shrugged again, finally earning a little scowl, which somehow made the girl even more pretty. It s very rude not to answer simple questions, she said.I gestured for my journal, but she still wouldn t give it to me. So I took out my pen and wrote on my palm. I can t, I wrote. Then, in tiny letters below it: Now don t you feel like a jerk? Parker Sant hasn t spoken a word in five years. While his classmates plan for bright futures, he skips school to hang out in hotels, killing time by watching the guests. But when he meets a silver-haired girl named Zelda Toth, a girl who claims to be quite a bit older than she looks, he ll discover there just might be a few things left worth living for. From the celebrated author of We All Looked Up comes a unique story of first and last loves.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?