My Brilliant Idea (and How It Caused My Downfall)

Meet fifteen-year-old Jack “The Jackdaw” Dawson, a young man with a serious plan. Daydreaming in class one day, Jack gets an idea he knows can't fail: an app that stops you from daydreaming in class. (Ahem . . . ) Fame, glory, and tons of money seem just around the corner. But Jack runs into some trouble, and suddenly this sure thing doesn’t seem quite so sure. 

     Ricocheting from the absurd to the profound in his first book for teens, Stuart David uses his extraordinary intelligence and wit to tell the story of a boy trying to scheme his way out from under the weight of his parents’ expectations. Readers will root for The Jackdaw from beginning to end. 

One brilliant idea. One impossible programmer. What could possibly go wrong?

• A Scheming Protagonist: Meet Jack "The Jackdaw" Dawson, an ideas man whose plans have a spectacular habit of going sideways, especially when they involve eccentric programmers and their very specific demands.
• Hilarious High School Hijinks: From getting kicked out of class to sparking a chain of events that involves a school fight, a stolen iPad, and one very awkward nude portrait session.
• Witty First-Person Narration: Jump inside the head of a fast-talking, quick-thinking teen whose sarcastic commentary on teachers, parents, and pigeons is laugh-out-loud funny.
• Parental Expectations vs. Reality: The only thing more terrifying than his schemes failing? His parents succeeding. Jack will do anything to avoid a future of either factory work or soul-crushing office life.

"David, cofounder of the band Belle & Sebastian, has woven a Rube Goldberg–esque tale that moves at breakneck speed... Jack himself—equal parts Holden Caulfield and Tristram Shandy—is a delightful maniac to follow, and David’s panache with dialogue and situation comedy is on target." —Booklist   "...a delightfully off-kilter high school comedy..." —Publishers Weekly   "Witty U.K.-flavored phrases—Jack calls his parents' constant bickering the "Regular Madness"—will keep readers laughing, and the quick pacing assures they won't get bogged down with all the twists and turns." —Kirkus