Two Across

by Jeffrey Bartsch

Overview

Highly awkward teenager Stanley Owens meets his match in beautiful, brainy Vera Baxter when they tie for first place in the annual National Spelling Bee-and the two form a bond that will change both of their lives.

Though their mothers have big plans for them-Stanley will become a senator, Vera a mathematics professor-neither wants to follow these pre-determined paths. So Stanley hatches a scheme to marry Vera in a sham wedding for the cash gifts, hoping they will enable him to pursue his one true love: crossword puzzle construction. In enlisting Vera to marry him, though, he neglects one variable: she's secretly in love with him, which makes their counterfeit ceremony an exercise in misery for her.

Realizing the truth only after she's moved away and cut him out of her life, Stanley tries to atone for his mistakes and win her back. But he's unable to find her, until one day he comes across a puzzle whose clues make him think it could only have been created by Vera. Intrigued, he plays along, communicating back to her via his own gridded clues. But will they connect again before it's all too late?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455554614
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	07/19/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Jeff Bartsch is an award-winning copywriter who has worked on campaigns for many major brands, received the D&D Young Guns Award, and been featured twice in Adweek's Spot of the Week. He studied creative writing at the University of Wisconsin, and held the Katey Lehman Fellowship in the MFA program at Penn State University. He lives in New York.

Editorial Reviews

"A crossword creator and con man eludes the woman who loves him, until he realizes his error. . . . Stanley is a character Wes Anderson would love. . . . [TWO ACROSS] moves at a nice clip, aided by the regular appearance of the cleverly coded puzzles Stanley and Vera plant for each other in various newspapers. Crossword enthusiasts will appreciate the many insider winks, but everyone will be eager to solve the book's biggest puzzle: whether Stanley and Vera will succeed in their search for happiness."—The New York Times Book Review

"TWO ACROSS is an excellent title for a book that revolves around crosswords, cross-purposes and a couple stumped by love. Bartsch doggedly works his themes: secrets, deceptions and fraud versus honesty and true love. His tightly constructed book is crammed with jabs at politicians, entitled rich people, workaholics, businessmen who profit by purveying junk, and college students too lazy or dumb to do their own work... TWO ACROSS spells out a charming love story in crosswords."—Heller McAlpin, NPR.org

"This nerd-meets-nerd love story reflects the complexity and depth of human relations. Not for fans of easy-flowing romances; this is full of struggles, melancholy, heartbreak, and introspection. It makes a wonderful book club read: the trials of Vera and Stanley are well worth plumbing for dynamic discussion."—Library Journal (starred review)

"Two crossword puzzle lovers come together and fall apart in this smart, romantic debut. . . . Bartsch's delightful novel creates a lovely marriage between words and romance."—Kirkus Reviews

"Smart and sprightly . . . readers will root for Vera and Stanley, who are uncommonly agreeable characters. . . . Reader, can you spell romantic comedy? Clearly, Bartsch can and does to wonderfully good effect."—Booklist

"Two Across, the debut novel from Jeff Bartsch, follows the developing relationship of two young people from their school days far into adulthood. As Bartsch unravels Stanley's charades and how they affect people around him, he weaves in enough crossword clues to keep any puzzle fans curious . . . Entertaining . . . . the end result of Two Across is an examination of a relationship's points of intersection and the clues that lead us back to ourselves."—BookPage

"I fell in love with TWO ACROSS twenty seconds into the first page, and I swear-with my right hand raised and my left on a Jane Austen novel-that with this book you'll meet your new favorite author. His warmth and wit remind me of Laurie Colwin and the other best practitioners of smart romantic comedy. I wish I'd written this wonderful novel. Well, first I'd have to be as good as Jeff Bartsch."—Elinor Lipman, author of The View from Penthouse B and The Inn at Lake Devine

'What a quirky, witty, wonderful read. I ignored my family for the better part of a beach vacation because I couldn't bear to put down this gem of a book. Jeff Bartsch is an immensely talented writer, and I plan to be first in line to buy whatever it is he publishes next."—Cristina Alger, author of The Darlings

From the Publisher

06/15/2015
Debut author Bartsch’s promising tale is hurt by emotionally distant writing and an abrupt, disappointing ending. It’s 1960 when Stanley, trapped by his agoraphobic mother, and Vera, forever moving from one hotel room to the next with hers, meet as two teenagers who tie for first place in the National Spelling Bee (in Washington, D.C.). While his mother plans his future, Stanley just wants to create crossword puzzles, and so he hatches a plan to gain his freedom while keeping his fragile mother in the dark. He and Vera pretend to marry in order to cash in on the wedding gifts. Vera, secretly in love with Stanley, agrees to his scheme hoping that, in time, he’ll come to share her feelings. Stanley and Vera have good chemistry together, and the novel is populated by a quirky, diverse cast of characters. Unfortunately, Bartsch’s writing is detached and often clunky (“He tried, but she didn’t want to listen, and said she was done with all that, and furthermore she declared she was done with love”). Add to that a sudden ending and readers may feel cheated. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 08/01/2015
Bartsch's first novel opens at a 1960 spelling bee at a Washington, DC hotel, where we meet Vera Baxter and Stanley Owens, brilliantly fierce competitors in the national championship. In a rare occurrence, they tie for the win, a turn that bonds them over the course of years to come. Stanley and Vera have similarly awkward upbringings: Stanley lives in the hotel hosting the competition with his agoraphobic mother. Vera also resides in various hotels with her single mother, who travels while pursuing a burgeoning sales career. The young people's lives continue to intersect as they grow up, though they have different paths and goals. Once Stanley decides he needs Vera to accomplish his ambitions, their relationship becomes increasingly muddled. Stanley's lifelong interest in solving and creating crossword puzzles leads the two of them into a complex mode of communication over the next several years. VERDICT This nerd-meets-nerd love story reflects the complexity and depth of human relations. Not for fans of easy-flowing romances; this is full of struggles, melancholy, heartbreak, and introspection. It makes a wonderful book club read: the trials of Vera and Stanley are well worth plumbing for dynamic discussion. [See Prepub Alert, 2/9/15.]—Julie Kane, formerly with Sweet Briar Coll. Lib., VA

Library Journal

2015-06-25
Two crossword puzzle lovers come together and fall apart in this smart, romantic debut. Stanley Owens and Vera Baxter meet as teenagers in 1960 when they tie for first place in the National Spelling Bee. Their initial dislike of each other quickly turns into a tentative friendship. Although they have their oversize intelligence in common, Stanley has no desire to follow his mother's plan for him to go to Harvard. Instead, he asks Vera to fake-marry him so he can use their wedding gift money to start a new life as a crossword puzzle writer. But what Stanley doesn't know is that Vera hopes their sham marriage might turn into something real—she's secretly in love with him. Pulling off a fake wedding proves slightly more complex than Stanley anticipated, and the repercussions of their con job follow them through jobs, colleges, and other relationships. As Stanley and Vera grow closer, his feelings for her become stronger—but his inability to be honest drives them apart again and again. Their only way of finding each other is by leaving clues hidden in newspaper crossword puzzles. When Stanley finally realizes his true feelings for Vera, will he be able to get her back? Or will it be too late? Bartsch creates two characters who are, although frustrating at times, easy to root for. The side characters, like Stanley's mother and Vera's college roommate, are also fully drawn and fun to read. Although Stanley and Vera's relationship does become a bit repetitive at times, readers will still be invested in their love story and its whimsical details. Bartsch's delightful novel creates a lovely marriage between words and romance.

Kirkus Reviews