Noggin

By John Corey Whaley

ISBN: 9781442458727

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 8th 2014
Number of Pages: 342
Source: Local Library
Goodreads Summary: Listen — Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t. Now he’s alive again. Simple as that. The in between part is still a little fuzzy, but he can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is. Despite all logic, he’s still 16 and everything and everyone around him has changed. That includes his bedroom, his parents, his best friend, and his girlfriend. Or maybe she’s not his girlfriend anymore? That’s a bit fuzzy too.

Looks like if the new Travis and the old Travis are ever going to find a way to exist together, then there are going to be a few more scars.

Oh well, you only live twice.

My Rating:  

This is a pretty amazing book, just saying. Our main character is a teenage boy named Travis. Thing about him is that he "died" five years ago of cancer. However, he decided to have his head frozen through the power of cryogenics and amazingly enough, doctors were able to connect his head to that of a donor body:

"Healthy or sick, Jeremy Pratt's body was better than mine. I knew this because the only thing separating me from him was a straight, pink line that circumnavigated my neck. There were no stitches, though - I was told this was a thing of the past. Connecting us together, Jeremy's body and me, was a spinal cord, blood vessels, nerve endings, and this swollen scar right in the middle of my neck about halfway between my clavicle and my chin." - Noggin, 23

Poor Jeremy had a brain tumor, so his body from the neck down was still healthy and that is just what Travis needed!


This book did an excellent job of telling us Travis' story and how it would feel to go to sleep and then wake up and everything has changed.

"I had said good-bye to them and I had closed my eyes. I had opened them and nothing. No word from either of the two people I wanted to be seeing more than anyone. Were they so different now? If it was really five years into the future, could that be all it took to change them? I mean, what's the point of getting another chance at life if everything's going to be so different that I can't stand it?" - Noggin, 14

Travis' best friend Kyle is in college now, as is his former girlfriend Cate (who just happens to be engaged). You understand his hurt and what he feels is betrayal. He does make a new friend, Hatton (who is like a younger version of Kyle) and together they try to find a way to win Cate back.


Travis has a great sense of humor and his story is one you must read!!

I loved the ending (though it might not be what you are expecting).