The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody (English) Paperback Book

Description: The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody "I fell hard for this story of love, loss, friendship, and bad airport food. I loved it!" —Morgan Matson, New York Times bestselling author of The Unexpected Everything Over the course of one chaotic night stranded at the Denver airport, Ryn confronts her shattered past thanks to the charm of romance, the uniqueness of strangers, and the magic of ordinary places in this "laugh-out-loud funny, deeply stirring" (Julie Buxbaum, New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things) novel from the author of Boys of Summer.Ryn has one unread text message on her phone. And its been there for almost a year. She hasnt tried to read it. She cant. She wont. Because that one message is the last thing her best friend ever said to her before she died. But as Ryn finds herself trapped in the Denver International Airport on New Years Eve thanks to a never-ending blizzard on the one-year anniversary of her best friends death, fate literally runs into her. And his name is Xander. When the two accidentally swap phones, Ryn and Xander are thrust into the chaos of an unforgettable all-night adventure, filled with charming and mysterious strangers, a secret New Years Eve bash, and a possible Illuminati conspiracy hidden within the Denver airport. But as the bizarre night continues, all Ryn can think about is that one unread text message. It follows her wherever she goes, because Ryn cant get her brilliantly wild and free-spirited best friend out of her head. Ryn cant move on. But tonight, for the first time ever, shes trying. And maybe thats a start. As moving as it is funny, The Chaos of Standing Still is a heartwarming story about the earth-shattering challenges life throws at us—and the unexpected strangers who help us along the way. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Author Biography Jessica Brody is the author of several popular novels for teens and tweens, including The Geography of Lost Things, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, A Week of Mondays, Better You Than Me, and the Unremembered trilogy. She lives with her husband and four dogs near Portland, Oregon. Visit her online at JessicaBrody.com. Review "Brodys novel is a smart portrayal of what remains not only in the wake of a friends death but in the absence of one who cast a long shadow in life. Ryn isnt just dealing with grief but defining herself post-Lottie, and watching that evolution unfold is compelling. A frozen terminal is a unique backdrop for a teen romance, but Brody (In Some Other Life, 2017) still hits all the meet-cute beats YA romance fans expect. This swoonworthy rom-com has just as much pathos as heart." -- Molly Horan * Booklist Online *"Absorbing from first page to last, Brodys novel gradually unveils Ryns complicated history and celebrates her most profound moments of truth." * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review *"This will appeal to fans of Jennifer E. Smiths books and Nicola Yoons Everything, Everything." * School Library Journal * Review Quote "This will appeal to fans of Jennifer E. Smiths books and Nicola Yoons Everything, Everything ." Excerpt from Book The Chaos of Standing Still Descending Through Weather The view from the window of seat 27F is like trying to look through a snow globe after youve shaken it so hard the artificial white flakes dont know which way is down. "Restless" is the word that comes to mind. Is it safe to land a plane in a snowstorm? I stroke my fingertip against the screen of my phone, leaving behind a sweaty streak of mysterious residue. Is it normal for fingertips to sweat? My heart pounds in anticipation of our landing. In the battle between solid ground and thirty thousand feet in the sky, solid ground wins every time. Hands down. Weve been circling for almost forty-five minutes, waiting for our turn on the one plowed runway. I glance around to make sure no one is looking, unlock the screen of my phone, and swipe the little green Airplane Mode toggle to Off. My phone searches for a signal. I silently will it to connect. But it wont. Were not close enough to humanity yet. I toggle the switch back to On. The flight attendants were all asked to take their seats fifteen minutes ago. "Were expecting a little turbulence as we descend through some weather in Denver," the pilot said. Why do they call it "weather"? Why not use a less innocuous word? A more accurate word? "Were expecting you to be bounced around like the last few Tic Tacs in the box while we descend through this shitstorm that we probably shouldnt be flying through to begin with." "Weather" could mean anything. It could mean sunshine and fucking rainbows. It could mean warm rain and cool breezes. But they never use it to describe anything good, do they? When it comes to the airline industry, "weather" is unequivocally bad. Maybe thats how I should start referring to my life. As in, "Dont worry about Ryn. Shes just descending through some weather. Itll be choppy for a bit." At least then it implies transience. Weather always changes. It eventually morphs into something else. It never stays for long. It sure as hell beats the term supplied by the therapist my mother has been making me see for the past ten months. "Survivors guilt." Theres nothing short-term about that. I will always be a survivor. I will always be the girl who didnt get in the car that day. That will be my identity until the day I die. After that, no one can call me a survivor anymore. Miraculously, through the chaos of white, I finally spot the ground below. Its dark down there, even though its only two oclock in the afternoon. Spotting the ground makes me feel how I imagine old-time sailors felt when they spotted land after months in treacherous seas. Its a beacon of hope. I am that much closer to not perishing in this storm. I am that much closer to continuing my legacy as a survivor. The plane shudders, dropping what feels like a thousand feet in a heartbeat. A few passengers yelp. What causes turbulence? Do pilots ever get scared when they fly? I peer down at my screen and try the toggle again. This time, my phone starts to connect. We are close enough to make contact with the rest of the world. I know Im not supposed to use my portable electronic device in transmission mode until after weve landed. As a girl whos never so much as stolen a cookie from a cookie jar, this little act of defiance makes me feel strangely alive. Is this what its like to be a criminal? What do kleptomaniacs feel when they steal something? Fortunately for me, my crimes will most likely go unpunished, because no one is around to witness them. The flight attendants are still fastened into their double-duty restraints. Why do flight attendants have different seat belts than the rest of the passengers? The guy sitting in the aisle seat next to me has been completely absorbed in his e-reader since we took off. The fear in this cabin is palpable. Im surprised the oxygen masks werent released after the collective breath everyone stole when we started to toss around the sky like a balloon that someone let the helium out of. But this guy has barely looked up. Maybe he knows something the rest of us dont. Maybe his book is just that good. The middle seat between us is empty. I wonder if that person was running late and missed the flight. If we crash in the next five minutes, two months from now, hell be sitting in a stuffy therapists office getting outfitted with the shiny new label of "Survivors guilt." It will fit him as awkwardly as a suit made for a one armed, three-legged man. No matter how you put it on, there will always be an extra limb dangling out. An extra hole that will never be filled. As soon as I have bars, I race to open an Internet search page and type in my first query. Is it safe to land a plane in a snowstorm? The answer surprises me. Its not the storm in the air thats the problem. Its what its doing to the ground. Ice, slickness, snow-clogged runways. Nothing that makes me want to choose pilot as a career path. The rush of finding the answer eases my anxiety. The answer itself does not. My fingers move fast, one by one resolving the remainder of my backlogged inquiries. In the next few minutes, I learn the following: 1. Its not particularly normal to get sweaty fingers, but its not abnormal, either. 2. Turbulence is the random, chaotic motion of air, caused by changes in air currents. 3. Yes, sometimes pilots do get scared. 4. Kleptomaniacs feel a fancy cocktail of emotions when they steal something: fear, anxiety, sometimes even relief. 5. Flight attendant seat belts are actually safer than ours. They need to physically be able to help us in the event of an emergency. The adrenaline of the search distracts me from the fact that we are landing on what could be a runway made of slippery glass, and I highly doubt this plane has been equipped with snow tires. We touch down hard, and the plane seems to tilt too far to the left, like the pilots attempting to do an impressive "wheelie." I clutch my phone in my hand as the brakes screech and complain, and I wonder if sparks are flying out behind us. I suck in a breath along with the rest of the passengers. I bet theyre all really wishing theyd stayed in Atlanta right about now. We finally slow to a safe, controlled crawl, and the plane erupts in applause. I skip the ovation and type another question into my awaiting search box. Why do some people live while others die? Although the search results are numerous, there is still no conclusive answer. Im not sure why this time I expected there to be one. Terminal A of the Denver International Airport is a hornets nest that some idiot eight-year-old boy has smacked with a baseball bat. The crankiness in the air hits me like a brick wall as soon as I step off the plane. Every chair is taken. Tired passengers are sitting (and lying) on the floor. Small children are running through a maze of bodies. Gate agents are fighting for airtime on the overhead speaker system. People are grumbling to each other about flight delays and their ill-fated decision to fly through this particular airport. I check the clock on my phone, which has recently synced to the new time zone. Its now 2:58 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. Even after our in-flight game of Ring Around the Denver Airport, I still have more than thirty minutes to make my connection. Plenty of time. I grip my phone tighter in my hand, feeling the sharp corners of my Doctor Who Tardis case biting my skin. Gate A16. All I have to do is get to gate A16. Thats where Ill find a plane waiting to take me home to San Francisco. Home. Its been eleven months, and the word still doesnt sound right in my head. San Francisco isnt Home. Its a city on a postcard. A pin on my mothers vision board. A destination on a boarding pass. Then again, Atlanta isnt Home either. And Portland? No. Portland is a just a dark spot in a rearview mirror that gets farther away with each passing day. All the things I once loved about the Portland house--drawing in my sketch pad on the back porch, Mom and Dad sharing a love seat in front of the TV, Lottie sleeping on the pullout trundle bed in my room--is gone. Thats the thing about Homes. After you lose the things that make them worthy of a capital H, all youre left with is an empty, lowercase house. My phone buzzes in my hand and I swipe on the screen. The tiny red number above the message app has changed from 1 to 9. I tap it and read seven texts from my mom and one from my dad. Pretty typical. Moms texts usually outnumber Dads by at least three to one. Shes a big fan of texting. She says its the least intrusive means of communication. Then she sends eight stream of consciousness messages in a row. Mom: Hey . . . have you landed yet? Mom: The news says theres a huge storm in Denver! Mom: I hope your pilot is properly trained. Mom: Do Details ISBN148149919X Author Jessica Brody Pages 432 Audience Age 14-99 Publisher Simon & Schuster ISBN-10 148149919X ISBN-13 9781481499194 Format Paperback Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States DEWEY FIC Year 2019 Illustrations f-c matte lam cvr w- spot UV Language English Imprint Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Publication Date 2019-05-14 NZ Release Date 2019-05-14 US Release Date 2019-05-14 UK Release Date 2019-05-14 AU Release Date 2019-05-31 Edition Description Reprint Alternative 9781481499187 Audience Teenage / Young adult We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:124407920;

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