Going Out — Scarlett Thomas

Luke is allergic to everything. He spends his days in a sterile safe-haven designed to keep out all light and dirt, while everything he knows about the world comes from books, movies, the internet and whatever his best-friend Julie tells him. He would do anything to go outside.

Julie, brilliant and kind, could be out changing the world. Unfortunately, she's too afraid of airplane crashes, highway accidents, and potentially life-threatening bacteria to leave her hometown, her pointless waitress job, or Luke.

Charlotte's boyfriend dropped dead from a brain hemorrhage. She disappeared for awhile, but now she's decided that she misses her friends.

David has just been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Consequently, he's no longer wants to spend his days making pizza to pay for school. His priorities in life are changing; he just doesn't know how, yet.

Leanne has just discovered that she may or may not have magic powers.

When this motley bunch befriends a lottery winner with a generous heart, they all embark on a hysterical and heartwarming journey in search of the healer who just might be able to cure Luke, and perhaps give them the answers they didn't know they were looking for.