The Boy Who Reversed Himself
by William Sleator · first published 1986
5mentions
5recommended by
5HN commenters
2019–2026first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Young-adult science fiction built on a higher-dimensional premise, introducing ideas from theoretical physics. It serves as an introduction to thinking about extra dimensions.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
When Laura discovers that the unpopular boy living next door to her has the ability to go into the fourth dimension, she makes the dangerous decision to accompany him on his journeys there.
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I read a novel when I was 14 or so who's premise is all about creatures inhabiting higher-dimensional space called "The Boy Who Reversed Himself" by William Sleator. I loved Sleator's books, they introduced me to really interesting concepts from theoretical physics as a youngun. If you find 4D Doom intriguing, I encourage you to borrow the book…
on “4D Doom” ↗If you're looking for books for older children, e.g. 9-13, The Boy Who Reversed Himself, The Man Who Counted and The Number Devil, which are listed here, are fantastic. For the younger audience, e.g. 6-9, I suggest the Math Adventures books, e.g. Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter,…
on “MathFiction: Alex Recommends” ↗My recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Reversed-Himself/dp/014038965... Pair it up with 4 D toys on ios: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/4d-toys/id1143791442
on “Ask HN: Any math-focused gift recommendations for kids?” ↗Same here. The books "The Boy Who Reversed Himself" by William Sleator, and "The Holographic Universe" by Michael Talbot, were the 4D pieces in my adolescent dimensional obsession.
on “The Planiverse: Computer Contact with a Two-Dimensional World” ↗…library about this very subject. I swore it was by William Shatner (it wasn't), and I had the name slightly wrong, so I hadn't been able to find it again until tonight. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Who_Reversed_Himself This book covers all sorts of situations about objects in fewer and additional dimensions.
on “A new model for faster-than-light travel that uses conventional physics” ↗