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by Allen Zadoff
Eugene Guterman's junior year in high school is off to a rocky start. No love life, no new theater production, and if his mother has her way, no more of his favorite comfort food—donuts.
Eugene would just as soon spend the year playing small, but that's hard to do when you're the biggest kid in your class.
Things change when he accidentally tackles the school's star quarterback and Coach sees the possibilities and recruits the plus-size playwright onto the varsity football team. Eugene is suddenly catapulted into the world of the "The Pops," the exclusive clique of popular athletes known for their parties and dating scene. Best of all is the new and mysterious girl Daisy who seems to be noticing him.
Then Eugene discovers that life at the top is more complicated than he imagined— there's pressure to excel, to fit in, and to uphold a certain image—and Eugene misses his former life and his old friends. Can he find the courage to give it all up, write something real, and maybe, just maybe, be the big guy who actually gets the girl?
"Readers need not be familiar with either the stage or the football field to enjoy this excellently crafted novel. A pitch-perfect journey of self-discovery." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Laugh-out-loud humor, depictions of genuine teenage connections, and sly reworkings of evergreen tropes surrounding body image and high school stereotypes make for a subversive coming-of-age romp." —Publishers Weekly
"Though packed with hilarious zingers and witty one-liners, Eugene's story—including his complex relationships with food, his plus-size body, and the social expectations of attractiveness—is one that will tug at readers' emotions." —Booklist
"There's a scene in this book where a character has to stretch out a sweater while nervously preparing to attend his first high school party and I have never felt more seen. Allen Zadoff has written a book just for me. A heartbreaking coming of age tale that finds triumph in failure. Football, first crushes, theater and donuts. I love this book." —Yehudi Mercado, author of Chunky and Sci-Fu
"A masterful page-turner. You'll root for Eugene long after the final chapter. Chef's kiss!" —Lisa Fipps, Printz Honoree for Starfish
"You don't have to be obsessed with theatre, or donuts, to enjoy this plot-twisty tale about an overweight, insecure high school senior. The Donut Prince of New York proves that guys too can have food issues and fears about fitting in; it may even inspire you to accept yourself!" —Winnie Holzman, co-writer (with Stephen Schwartz) of the musical Wicked
This information about The Donut Prince of New York was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Allen Zadoff is the author of nine novels and a memoir, including the thriller series The Unknown Assassin, which debuted to starred reviews and was a YALSA Top Ten Pick for Reluctant Readers. The series has been translated into over a dozen languages and is in active development at Sony Pictures. Allen's most recent middle-grade sci-fi action series, Wild & Chance, is available now. A former stage director, Zadoff is a graduate of Cornell University, the Harvard University Institute for Advanced Theater Training, and the Warner Bros. Writers Workshop.
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