{"product_id":"dear-life-you-suck-isbn-9780544336216","title":"Dear Life, You Suck","description":"\u003cp\u003eIrreverent, foulmouthed seventeen-year-old Cricket is the oldest ward in a Catholic boys’ home in Maine—and his life sucks. With prospects for the future that range from professional fighter to professional drug dealer, he seems doomed to a life of “criminal rapscallinity.” In fact, things look so bleak that Cricket can’t help but wonder if his best option is one final cliff dive into the great unknown. But then Wynona Bidaban steps into his world, and Cricket slowly realizes that maybe, just maybe, life doesn’t totally suck.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe’s supposed to be a lost cause. What happens when one person refuses to give up on him?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eCynical Hero:\u003c\/b\u003e Cricket is foulmouthed, scarred, and the oldest kid in a Catholic boys’ home. He’s convinced his life sucks—and he’s not afraid to say so.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFirst Love:\u003c\/b\u003e He’s all sharp edges and sarcasm until Wynona Bidaban steps into his world. She’s the one person who might prove life doesn’t \u003ci\u003etotally\u003c\/i\u003e suck.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFound Family:\u003c\/b\u003e As the unofficial protector of the younger boys, Cricket has built his own kind of family in the last place he ever expected.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eHeartbreak and Hope:\u003c\/b\u003e Behind the irreverent attitude is a kid haunted by his past. This moving, realistic novel tackles serious themes, including suicidal thoughts, with unflinching honesty and dark humor.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\"A profane, profound debut. . . . One of the most wrenching and engaging young-adult books to come along in ages.\"\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e \"This is a truly original work, and fans of Sherman Alexie may find a new favorite in Blagden.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eSchool Library Journal,\u003c\/em\u003e starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e \"Dear story, you rock. . . . All readers will appreciate Cricket's complex, lovable character and the strong adults who nourish it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKirkus\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\"Through Cricket, Blagden offers a fine masculine viewpoint that expresses the intensity of grief.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eBooklist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\"Readers who like male protagonists and gritty, contemporary settings will enjoy this carefully crafted novel.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eVOYA,\u003c\/em\u003e 3Q 3P J S\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\"Cricket conveys his damage through a wildly inventive voice; his often profound philosophies and speculations about life, parents, art, sex, and God are couched in energetic (and sometimes shockingly profane) imagery that turn ordinary language into the verbal equivalent of a Chihuly glass sculpture--colorful, twisted, brittle, and arresting.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eBulletin of the Center for Children's Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\"Holden Caulfield, meet 2013. With his irreverent, hilarious, and heartbreaking first novel, one thing is clear: Scott Blagden is the real thing.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Deb Caletti\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eDear Life, You Suck\u003c\/em\u003e will certainly offend a few and delight thousands. Profane, sacrilegious, and defiant, this debut novels crackles with energy. It has depth and human significance, by which I mean the real stuff of real life.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Ron Koertge \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Cricket Cherpin is profane, funny, hard, vulnerable, kind, angry. In other words, he's as complex and as unique as you or me. His unusual and realistic voice will grab you from the first page and stay with you long after the last one.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Francisco X. Stork \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Dear Cricket, you \u003cem\u003erock\u003c\/em\u003e!\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Tim Wynne-Jones \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Clarion Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890035618021,"sku":"NP9780544336216","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780544336216.jpg?v=1730232415","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/dear-life-you-suck-isbn-9780544336216","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}