You did it! We figured this one out! It is a truth universally acknowledged (by me for certain) that the Bitchery pretty much knows everything, and really, it's true. Scroll down to see the solution for this HaBO - and many thanks!
This HaBO is from Lindlee, who is searching for what sounds like a pretty bonkers young adult novel:
I was hoping the Bitchery could help me find a book I read years ago. It’s not really a romance (I think a YA mystery?), but it had such a crazysauce ending I’m hoping someone will recognize it. I don’t remember when or where I read the book. I really don’t remember anything about it except the ending.
This is what I assume the setup of the book was from what I remember from the ending. The book is written from the viewpoint of a young computer guy. He likes this girl but she is in love/dating some other guy, a jock. This older couple enters his life and tries to help him get the girl. Maybe other stuff is going on? I don’t know. Oh also, I think computer guy has a weak heart/heart condition. (I’m going to give the characters names because the ending gets confusing and we’re going to need names. So computer guy is now Neil, the girl is Rebecca, and Jock guy will be Ralph.)
So the ending. Turns out the older couple are Rebecca and Neil from the future. Future Rebecca tells present Neil that she had chosen Ralph. Rebecca and Ralph married and Ralph became an important person in the military. Rebecca was unhappy in her marriage and was sad to learn that Neil dies from his heart condition. Ralph becomes power hungry and starts some nuclear war. Rebecca and a select few are sent into space while the nuclear war takes out all of humanity.
Rebecca and the other people are floating around space getting weaker due to lack of food, etc. They’re almost dead when suddenly angels rescue them. Neil is one of them. Neil and the angels send Rebecca and Neil back to the past to try and stop Ralph from destroying the world.
So all this is what Future Rebecca has told past Neil. Also, somehow Future Ralph is in the past. Future Rebecca has decided that to stop world destruction she need to kill Past Ralph and Future Ralph is trying to stop her. Also, at some point I think Future Ralph kills Future Neil. Future Neil really doesn’t do much that I remember other than be super zen. So somehow at the climax, all the characters are in the same spot and Future Rebecca tries to shoot Present Ralph. Present Rebecca jumps in front of Present Ralph saving him and dying in the process. Obviously, Future Rebecca dies/fades away at the same time, but not before Future Ralph and Future Rebecca make peace with one another (Present Rebecca’s actions remind them of the love they once shared). Somehow, Future Ralph fades away/dies/goes away.
The book ends with Neil looking back on this time. Rebecca’s death influenced Ralph in a positive way where he didn’t become a war-starting egomaniac. Neil has created a critically acclaimed video game based on what Future Rebecca told him. The video game is some type of educational war game. The minute anyone chooses to use nuclear weapons in the game, the game ends with total destruction. Neil can tell his heart is getting weaker and that his death is soon.
So obviously a lot of craziness goes on in this book and I really need to revisit it!
Someone has to know this purely based on this insane ending.
I’m still waiting for my HaBO to be published about the flight attendant who married two guys. 🙁 🙁 🙁
I know this one! It’s See You Later by Christopher Pike. (I mainlined CP books as a teenager and a few years ago read them again, they were crazy pants!)
@Min: Hi Min! Because of the amount of HaBOs we receive, it can often take a month or longer for them to show up on the site. We will also send you an email when it’s scheduled to go up, so you’ll definitely know when to check the site!
Aww, I was super excited because I knew the answer. But if I recall correctly, the girl’s name is actually Becky, so you remember more than you know.
Lord I think I broke my fingers clicking the link to see if someone had the title to this book. This is so Kray Kray that I just had to buy it! Thank you Lindlee for sharing this crazy book! I can’t wait to read it!
@Monica Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m so glad to finally know the title of this book!
@Jessie Wow! I can’t believe I was that close to the girl’s name. I did remember more than I realized!
@Lindlee- Thank YOU! I’ve always wanted to know one of these so I’m super excited! 🙂
If you enjoy the book pick up a few more Christopher Pike books, they’re great! A little dated now but they’re quick reads and seriously fun spooky and/or science fiction-y YA.
I came by to say this *had* to be a Christopher Pike book, but I didn’t know which one. I feel sorta vindicated. He definitely has his own unique brand of…whatever it is he writes!
Did I just read what I just read?
This has got to be one of the nuttiest HABOs ever! And I must be really old because the only Christopher Pike I know of is the one from Star Trek. 🙂
OMG! I read this a long time ago! I’m so glad y’all knew what it is – I am feeling the urge to reread. If you like Pike’s brand of crazysauce, check out his The Listeners, too. Literal lizard brains.
Susan you made me LOL…That’s the Christopher Pike I know as well. I loved the 2 part story where Mr. Spock is on trial for helping Captain Pike get back to Talos IV.
I knew it! I wasn’t sure what the title was, but I had a gut feeling it was Christopher Pike. Most (if not all) of the Christopher Pike books I’ve read contained some kind of crazysauce. I read his books in my pre- and teen years and I was always left with a “wtf” at the end. But the good kind. The Starlight Crystal will always be a favorite.