Congratulations and a mighty woo-HOO to all-around great guy James Proimos, author of several books including Scholastic Book Fair pick, SWIM SWIM, for the release of 12 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU CRASH AND BURN!
Hercules Martino has until the end of the summer (i.e., two weeks) to accomplish these twelve tasks. The tasks will take him to the far reaches of Baltimore, lead him to a Beautiful and Unattainable Woman, and change the way he sees his past, present, and future.
Day One: Choose a mission.
Day Two: Find the best pizza joint in town.
Day Three: Clean out the garage.
Day Four: Muck the stalls at Riverbend farm.
Day Five: Read a complete book under a tree.
Day Six: Go to a place of worship and pray.
Day Seven: Go on seven job interviews.
Day Eight: Spend the day thinking big thoughts. Write them down.
Day Nine: Make your uncle something.
Day Ten: Eat a meal with a stranger.
Day Eleven: Recite a poem at Blake’s Coffee Shop.
Day Twelve: Complete your mission.
“Time and again, picture-book creator Proimos has demonstrated a rock-solid sense of humor and outside-the-box thinking. His first book for teens is no different, opening a promising new chapter in his career… Proimos fully inhabits the mind and voice of his hero, whose almost mythic journey offers moments hilarious, heartbreaking, and triumphant.”–Publisher’s Weekly, starred review.
“Told in short, near-poetic vignettes, the chapters of Proimos’ first teen novel are packed with plenty of small details and genuine moments of ridiculous humor.” –Kirkus Reviews
Congratulations, James!! I absolutely love this book.
And speaking of things to do before crashing and burning . . .
For those of us participating in NaNoWriMo, I hope you are having a great time writing your little fingers off! Well . . . having a great time might be pushing it, seeing as how for me, writing those rough drafts–in a month, no less–is painful, painful, painful. But I’m at 12,521 words, only about 1,000 behind schedule, which isn’t bad. I’d be a lot farther along if I could just turn off that pesky inner editor!
So keep pushing, fellow NaNo’s!
