"Waiting On" Wednesday (28)

Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
Spring 2010

(no cover yet)

Doctors have pinned 16-year-old Drea Horvath with everything from ADHD to Asperger’s Syndrome. She has an obsession with sound design, a tendency to blurt out whatever she’s thinking, and a problem making friends, but likes to think of this as following her own rhythm in a confusing world.

Drea is hesitant to befriend purple-haired Naomi Quinn, her teenage neighbor with a kamikaze personality. But Naomi is the first person to treat her like she isn’t a world class dork. Then there’s Justin Rocca, the persistent boy in her film class who has a comeback for every snide remark she makes. If she has learned anything from her mom, it’s that boys are trouble.

Still, Drea bonds with both of them when she discovers Naomi's love for drums and Justin's piano prodigy status, and the three form a trip-hop band. Fearing that her new friends will find out about her disabilities, Drea makes up stories about boyfriends she never had--all in an effort to seem 'normal'. Then Justin reveals a disturbing secret about his past, and Naomi runs away with her drug dealer ex-boyfriend--a guy she swore she'd cut out of her life. When Drea finds Naomi unconscious in an abandoned house, she questions what 'normal' really means.