Fast-forward to the present, and I cannot extend enough gratitude to the folks who made this book possible: Nancy Hinkel, Allison Wortche, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Alicia Gordon, and all their colleagues at Knopf/Random House and WME. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And, as always, great thanks to some amazing writer friends I’ve been fortunate to call on for support while writing this book: Patricia McCormick, Jaclyn Moriarty, Eva Vives, Libba Bray, Kim Gamble, Anna Fienberg, Melina Marchetta, David Levithan, and Megan McCafferty. Finally, friends and family (you know who you are): ILY.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Cohn is the author of several novels, including the Gingerbread, Shrimp, and Cupcake series (although she doesn’t recommend you try eating these all at once), and, with David Levithan, she is the co-author of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List. She lives in New York City, except when she doesn’t, and is way too emotionally attached to her iPhone. Visit her on the Web at www.rachelcohn.com.
THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2010 by Rachel Cohn
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/teens
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cohn, Rachel.
Very LeFreak / Rachel Cohn.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Consumed with e-mailing, online video games, and the many distractions of her electronic gadgets, hyper-frenetic Columbia University freshman Veronica, known as Very LeFreak, enters a rehab facility for the technology-addicted after her professors and classmates stage an intervention.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89552-4
[1. Self-realization—Fiction. 2. Technology—Psychological aspects—Fiction.
3. Electronics—Psychological aspects—Fiction. 4. Rehabilitation—Fiction. 5. Columbia
PZ7.C6665Ve 2010
[Fic]—dc22 2009012305
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
v3.0
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Part One - The Song Diaries
Chapter 1 - Happy Birthday to You, Very LeFreak
Chapter 2 - Tragically, Even a LeFreak Cannot Resist ABBA
Chapter 3 - There’s Got to Be a Morning After (Your Birthday/Your Mistakes)
Chapter 4 - End-of-March Madness, or, Men Who Frequent the Library When They Should Be Watching College Basketball
Chapter 5 - Passover for Beginners
Chapter 6 - Remembrance Songs: “Passovers Past,” “Spring Break,” “Planet SexyTime”
Chapter 7 - Meanwhile, Back at Campfire Sucks-to-Be-Here
Chapter 8 - The Long and Winding Road (Back to Columbia)
Chapter 9 - April Fool’s Day: Joke’s on Your Wallet, Fool
Chapter 11 - Die, Grid, Die Die
Chapter 12 - Hello Hello Hello, Is There Anybody in There?
Chapter 13 - April Showers Bring … Full-on Freaks
Chapter 14 - 28 Messages, 21 Days till Finals, 99 Problems (Actually, Quite a Bit More)
Chapter 15 - Time Is Not on My Side: Two Weeks Left to Figure Out a Plan
Chapter 16 - Tonight We’re Gonna Party Like It’s Finally the End of Finals
Chapter 17 - The Girl’s a Superfreak / She’s Really Freakin’ Out
Part Two - White Noise (The Real Kind)
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright