Seventeen-year-old
Lou walks into his bedroom one day and decides he doesn’t want
to leave. With four years of college looming ahead, a world out
of control, and his mom about to sell SeaView, the boarding
house they own and live in, he wants to avoid life. In short,
everything that is outside of his room is now the enemy.
Lou shuts
off his computer, unplugs his television, and puts his iPod in
the attic. With nothing to listen to but an old radio from his
grandmother, he stays locked in his room for weeks, refusing to
see anyone, even his girlfriend, Betty Jo. One evening, Lou
calls a radio talk show hosted by Big John, and introduces
himself as Sidney—and his alter ego is born.
Soon, ending “Sidney’s” self-isolation becomes Big John’s quest.
The radio station holds a contest to find the best idea to lure
Sidney out of his room; the winner gets a trip to Hawaii. As the
radio audience becomes more familiar with Sidney’s crusade, some
cheer and others jeer. But even though Sidney tries to keep life
out of his room, it manages to sneak in at the most unexpected
moments…
About the Author
Harriet May Savitz has over 24
books published by major publishers. She is a contributor
to over one dozen Chicken Soup for the Soul books and
newspapers around the country. Savitz’s book, Run, Don’t
Walk, was made into an ABC Afterschool Special produced
by Henry Winkler. Her book, Fly, Wheels, Fly was
nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award and
of her young adult novel, “The Lionhearted,” Kirkus
Review said, “We cheer a major victory… The Lionhearted
stirs an awareness of wheelchair occupants’ problems and of
the wider implications of the word handicapped.” The
Lionhearted (now reissued by Authors Guild/iUniverse) was
listed as one of the most popular books in The University of
Iowa’s Books for Young Adults.
