Life Is Stranger at Worthington High
Cara Siera
language
(Sieramore Press, July 12, 2012)
High school is tough. Freshman Joy Preston expects it to be even more so because (1.) she’s the new kid at school and (2.) she’s a science geek.Joy’s unhappy expectations are overturned when a cute boy stops by her new house to welcome the family to the neighborhood, and some of the popular girls adopt her into their group. Joy’s first weeks at Worthington High are nothing short of blissful as she flirts with her new crush and hangs out with her new friends. Excitement runs high as the biggest event of the new school year approaches - the yearly pool party at James’ house on the last warm day of fall.One of Joy’s new friends, the puzzling and brooding Laura, offers portentous words as the girls walk to the pool party - Joy will have to choose between James, her crush, and Jonah, her friend and lab partner. “You will have to choose,” she says. “You can only have one. Tonight you choose, and you will lose the other.”Joy is unnerved - both by Laura’s words and her own insecurities. She’s out of her element, a nerdy young woman surrounded by her “cool” and “popular” and beautiful classmates. They’re all showing off their tanned and toned bodies, while Joy stands uncomfortably in her one-piece bathing suite. She soon relaxes and finds herself enjoying the company of both the boys - until her worst fears come true.Laughter. Jeering. Humiliation. These were the things Joy feared most. These were the things she had expected at her new school, but she had not yet experienced. Joy notices signs of jealousy for her attentions. Then she, James, and Jonah are tackled by a muddy dog and showered with hor devours before falling into the swimming pool. When she surfaces, everyone is laughing, pointing. She leaves in tears, embarrassed and with a deep feeling of loss. She believes that neither of the boys will want her after the entire school laughed at her.Joy takes solace in a family vacation during the break from school that follows - she has several days before she has to face any of her classmates again. Soon, though, reality is turned on its head. Unusual things begin to happen that make Joy feel as if she’s living in a cartoon.First, she’s almost eaten by a giant, orange anime-style fish while fishing with her father. Then, men who fit the archetype of “spies” - dark glasses and tuxedos - begin chasing them. An encounter with Laura, a Wizard of Oz style “horse of a different color,” an eerie glow, and an unusual carnival follow. When Joy can outrun these nonsensical occurrences no more, she is overtaken by the “spies,” wielding guns that shoot green goo, putting kids in a compliant, zombie-like state. Then, the most surprising thing of all occurs. James, who had been her crush until her humiliation at his pool party, arrives on a hovercraft to rescue her. He tells her that a kiss will break the spell of the goo. Assuming she’s dreaming, she complies.Later, at a secret scientific installation, Joy learns that unusual things such as she’s witnessed have been recently recorded and studied. Her father, unbeknownst to his family, was involved in the work - and he has been abducted. James and Joy are called upon to conduct an investigation. They, along with Jonah, Laura, Brooke, and Joanie, soon find themselves transported via wormhole to another world.This world has been built so as to resemble a child’s fantasy - or to replace a lost childhood. Appearances that were aberrant and strange on earth are common there - unnatural horses and other creatures, castles, androids dressed as “spies,” and candy that doubles as a mind control agent. Laura seems to be deeply involved, either as a victim or a mastermind. Who is Laura? Will Joy find her father amid this jumbled reality? Can she win back the hearts of James or Jonah? Will they ever get back home?
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