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The Long Wait for Tomorrow    by Joaquin Dorfman Amazon.com order for
Long Wait for Tomorrow
by Joaquin Dorfman
Order:  USA  Can
Random House, 2009 (2009)
Hardcover, e-Book

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* * *   Reviewed by Lyn Seippel

Dorfman's first scene is one of frightening bullying. A small, skinny kid is tied to the school flag pole with his pants jerked down. In addition to that humiliation, he is photographed and told the photo will be emailed to the entire school if he tells what he saw. The two main characters, Kelly and Patrick, are not shown in the best light so it takes a while to care about them. Readers don't know what happened to cause the football team to bully and threaten the boy, motivating them to read on.

Kelly's parents are out of town so he and Patrick have his house to themselves. The first morning, Kelly, a football star, wakes up as a stranger. He drinks coffee, smokes cigarettes, plays a mean game of pool, and has no idea where their high school is. Patrick isn't sure what's happening, but he's always been Kelly's wingman so he tries to keep anyone from noticing Kelly's bizarre behavior - and if they do, he explains it away.

The new Kelly is likable and funny and more of a real friend than the old Kelly ever was. He also claims to be dreaming and is afraid if he goes to sleep he'll go back to wherever he came from. Where he came from is a question that Patrick thinks they have to answer, but Kelly wants to use his new body while he has it. Wherever he came from he was much older and wiser, they both learn.

Part mystery, part science fiction, and part love story, Dorfman's novel will keep the reader guessing until the end.

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