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“Sometimes trees can look healthy on the outside, but actually be dying inside. These trees fall unexpectedly during a storm.” For high school senior Parker Rabinowitz, anything less than success is a failure. A dropped extracurricular, a C on a calc quiz, a non-Jewish shiksa girlfriend—one misstep, and his meticulously constructed life splinters and collapses. The countdown to HYP (Harvard, Yale, Princeton) has begun, and he will stay focused. That’s why he has to keep it a secret. The pocketful of breath mints. The weird smell in the bathroom. He can’t tell his achievement-obsessed father. He can’t tell his hired college consultant. And he certainly can’t tell Julianne, the “vision of hotness” he so desperately wants to love. Only Parker’s little sister Danielle seems to notice that he’s withering away. But the thunder of praise surrounding Parker and his accomplishments reduces her voice to broken poetry: I can’t breathe when my brother’s around because I feel smothered, blank and faded Preview this book.

Description

“Sometimes trees can look healthy on the outside, but actually be dying inside. These trees fall unexpectedly during a storm.” For high school senior Parker Rabinowitz, anything less than success is a failure. A dropped extracurricular, a C on a calc quiz, a non-Jewish shiksa girlfriend—one misstep, and his meticulously constructed life splinters and collapses. The countdown to HYP (Harvard, Yale, Princeton) has begun, and he will stay focused. That’s why he has to keep it a secret. The pocketful of breath mints. The weird smell in the bathroom. He can’t tell his achievement-obsessed father. He can’t tell his hired college consultant. And he certainly can’t tell Julianne, the “vision of hotness” he so desperately wants to love. Only Parker’s little sister Danielle seems to notice that he’s withering away. But the thunder of praise surrounding Parker and his accomplishments reduces her voice to broken poetry: I can’t breathe when my brother’s around because I feel smothered, blank and faded

Additional information

Format

Paperback

Sometimes trees can look healthy on the outside, but actually be dying inside. These trees fall unexpectedly during a storm. For high school senior Parker Rabinowitz, anything less than success is a failure. A dropped extracurricular, a C on a calc quiz, a non-Jewish shiksa girlfriend—one misstep, and his meticulously constructed life splinters and collapses. The countdown to HYP (Harvard, Yale, Princeton) has begun, and he will stay focused. That’s why he has to keep it a secret. The pocketful of breath mints. The weird smell in the bathroom. He can’t tell his achievement-obsessed father. He can’t tell his hired college consultant. And he certainly can’t tell Julianne, the “vision of hotness” he so desperately wants to love. Only Parker’s little sister Danielle seems to notice that he’s withering away. But the thunder of praise surrounding Parker and his accomplishments reduces her voice to broken poetry: I can’t breathe when my brother’s around because I feel smothered, blank and faded

Copyright: 2008
Page Count: 240
Trim Size: 5 x 7
Rights Territory: Worldwide
Categories: 
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Depression
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / General

Robin Friedman (New Jersey) was born in Israel and came to the United States when she was five, living first in New York City adn then in New Jersey. As a child, she wrote tons of stories about talking squirrels and girls with pigtails and sold them to her guitar teacher for 50 cents. Friedman has since written three novels for young people.|Robin Friedman (New Jersey) was born in Israel and came to the United States when she was five, living first in New York City adn then in New Jersey. As a child, she wrote tons of stories about talking squirrels and girls with pigtails and sold them to her guitar teacher for 50 cents. Friedman has since written three novels for young people.

Reviews and Awards

“A quiet, lyric look at the price of perfection. Moving.” — Kirkus Reviews

A 2010 YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults

Foreword Magazine 2008 Book of the Year Award—Bronze Medalist (Young Adult)

A 2009 Sydney Taylor Award Notable Book for Teens

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